Stu

I’m going to lock this thread now, please, as per the rules, start a new thread for each image you want to enter Any on here won’t be considered I’m afraid.

Actually that should be a challenge I take on, trying to see some sort of detail on Venus!

Ssssh Chris, I was hoping to keep that plan secret while I put the finishing touches to it.....

Are you just saying that all entries should be accepted and that behind the scenes a judgement is made about whether they meet the criteria or not? I have no major problem with that. The issues come with repeated questioning of the rules which, given the amount of effort put in by admin to put this competition together, and by mods to judge it, just makes people question if it is worth it. If you are ok with no one questioning rules, entering the competition if you think you meet them and the judges making their decision then I don’t see that’s a problem. Sounds like we both think along the same lines

That all sounds very civilised Doug I have been enjoying a few early evenings like that myself, great fun and very relaxed.

Many doubles don’t need dark skies to observe them, infact twilight can help control glare around the brighter ones. Solar, lunar and planetary observing mainly for me, will also try imaging the same targets with my new Galaxy S9. @LukeSkywatcher you can’t really miss Jupiter at the moment, very bright opposite Venus in the West and transitting before midnight. Plus as said, Saturn and Mars in the morning sky but getting earlier obviously through to their oppositions. Four bright planets visible, how many do you want?

Peter, the thing is there are now many adequate NV images out there (on SGL and CN) to illustrate the reality, and if I expected to see even a mono version of that image for my £6k+ then I would be disappointed. Totally agree that it is great to support progress and adoption of the technology. Pioneers like yourself have selflessly given your knowledge to others who can now reap the benefits, all good.

There is no bullying here Alan, there is nothing wrong with differences of opinion. The comments have all been polite and are meant to be helpful and to keep expectations realistic for anyone looking to make such an expensive purchase.

Well it’s a dilemma choosing between two good things, if it were between two bad things then it would be....well, bad I guess

Can you over ride the auto white balance Gavin?

Hmm, that’s interesting Ade. After I posted it did drop connection a couple of times...... Hope my experience is more like Nick’s!

Agreed, it is worth setting realistic expectations, particularly when the kit costs so much! It is awesome stuff, and I doubt I will ever have as good a view of the Horsehead nebula again, but it it is definitely not like looking at a live long exposure image. I tweaked Alan’s original image as best I could but even taking it to mono, adding a tint and softening a bit it is still not an ideal reference vs the actual images which are available. I think it is the finer resolution that you don’t get which makes the biggest difference.

How does any scope penetrate mist? Not sure I understand?

I was due an upgrade for my phone, and my iPhone 6 Plus is still working fine so I thought I would allow myself to go for a Samsung Galaxy S9 for a couple of reasons. Firstly, having seen the low light performance of Gavin’s phone, I wanted to try one out for the sort of smartphone shots I do ie quick snaps handheld at the eyepiece which should hopefully now have less noise and show more detail in the less bright objects. Second point was for the AZGTi with SkySafari. As I think we all know, the solution with iOS is not that great, and currently I use a Synscan handset with a GPS mouse and Skywire, which misses much of the freedom and flexibility which the mount should offer. You also can’t charge the phone when using Skywire which is sometimes a pain. Anyhow, I’ve just managed to connect the Synscan app and then SkySafari very easily, and to demonstrate to myself that I could control and do test gotos with the mount. I’m very much looking forward to giving it a proper go at night. Should be much easier , and will really allow the mount to perform as it should do.

I’ve viewed through Gavin’s NV under light polluted skies through his 160mm (I think?) I think the beauty of his phone shots are that with the exposure lengths used, they are able to fairly accurately replicate the eyepiece views. You can see how the results improve under the much darker skies on the IOW, something I would love to experience some day.