M40

My thoughts are to try visual on some star clusters using the skymax. With the skymax small fov I think it unlikely I would find them, so my thoughts are to try the zwo guidescope as a main telescope in the asiair leaving me the skymax for visual. Has anybody tried that with the asiair? 

15 hours ago, PeterC65 said:

After every five or so frames I do an auto histogram stretch and auto colour balance (I'm using SharpCap) which usually changes the histogram and colour balance settings as a result of the data added by the new frames. I think this adds to any improvement as much as the additional frame data.

After about 30 frames, both the changes to the histogram and colour balance, and the visual changes, are tiny.

 

Currently every picture I take is asiair software based only. The one thing I would like to achieve is a darker background to the target. One of our sons has played with a few of the pictures with photoshop and got some pretty good results but I have zero interest in trying that at the moment. 

I have tried adding darks but that doesn’t appear to do anything so my next baby step was going to be flats.....but not yet my plan is to take one of my normal pictures and then take, as you suggested, about 30 or so just to compare. 

5 hours ago, PeterC65 said:

Two more nice images.

It looks like you're only stacking a small number of frames (4 and 5?). I find that the image improves noticeably over the first 20-30 frames and then you get in to diminishing returns where you have to wait for another 20 frames to notice any improvement. I'd be interested to see what you're getting after 20-30 frames with your monochrome camera. Generally I find that the background sky darkens considerably and the object clarity improves.

 

Last time I tried it, it didn't seem to add anything so next playtime I shall give it a go and see what happens 👍

Another clear bright night so a few more of the brighter targets, all using stellamira 85mm, zwo asi290mm, heq5, asiair.

M5: Gain 110 4x10 seconds. Distance about 24.4 light years away. 

M12: Gain 110, 5x10 seconds. Distance about 15.6 light years away. 

Quick question for you Ratlet, how much do you like your 130pds? Because I'm going to side with dweller25 and say that you won't use it when you get a refractor with a similar fov and good glass 👌

Next step I would take then is shine a torch into the polar scope to see if you can see it, hopefully you will. The polar scope does have a focus adjustment, fingers crossed it's simply out of focus. 

Been a while since I  have used the inbuilt polar scope, but don't you have to rotate one of the axis 90'? All the best and welcoje to the site.

3 hours ago, Antares Orion said:

M40 - The red led stays "on" , when i press the Enter button in order to make the Star Alignment, the mount moves just a little, stops moving, the led blinks 3 times, and the mount shuts off. Turns on again and the initializing process on the HC starts again! 

The flashing indicator gives you a low volt warning so, as has been said, power supply is the usual suspect. Just for your piece of mind, can you borrow a suitable battery from somewhere as an alternative supply?

Hello and welcome to the site 👍

My first thoughts were power supply, can I ask, when you turn the mount on, does the little red light adjacent to the switch stay on? Likewise when the mount drives, does the light flash or stay on?

15 hours ago, PeterC65 said:

I like the shot of M106 with the darker background sky. For me getting the right balance between a dark background sky and the detail in the object is always the tricky thing.

👍

I also took a picture of M106 on the 20th May, the difference in the brightness of the night sky is quite astounding and shows how the nearly full moon and mid summer affects things.

I don't usually play with the histogram as I like to compare things on an as is basis, but I just couldn't see M106. It didn't help where just about every cluster on my list  seemed to be low to the horizon so they were scrubbed. This time of year is pointing towards clusters and doubles for me with the odd M101 thrown in to playspot the difference

On 17/12/2013 at 13:23, skippyinspace said:

4) Daughter born so have been banished from going to the dome on a night.

Daughters ..... say no more 🤣

Another nice clear sky definately a bit bright. All taken with Stellamira 85mm, zwo asi290mm, heq5, asiair and simple screen shots.

M65 gain 110, 10 x 30 seconds. About 35M light years away. Definately coming back to this one when the nights are a bit darker.

M66 gain 110, 10 x 30 seconds. About 31M light years away.

M106 gain 110, 20 x 10 seconds. About 22-25 light years away. Played with the histogram with this one as the sky was just too bright.

M39, gain 110, 1 x 5 seconds. Open cluster about 1000 light years away containing 15 bright components of which there are 6 or more double stars.

And lastly for this night, it had to be done M40, the messier mistake, gain 110, 1 x 5 seconds. About 1000 light years away.

Got all arty with this picture 

Just a small update on the seestar, looks like a few pre-release models are out there and have generated a couple of youtube videos; one by astroworkz and a second by scottcastrophotography. No doubt more to follow 👌

Your videos are a great source of information Curtis, many thanks for spending the many hours to create them 👌 

2 hours ago, CHR15 said:

The asi air is a great device ain't it?

Certainly is 👌 I'm enjoying the simple setup, nice and straightforward. My plan is to try and get at least one new target every session, lets see what happens 🤣

If eea is starting to make you think Lightfoot, have a look through the eea reports section on the site 👌

I have a similar setup to CHR15 and the grin factor is always there when something pops up on the screen after just a few seconds. I have used my 85mm refractor on the azgti with eq wedge and it just manages, I wouldn't go heavier on that mount. I mount the asiair off the telescope which does keep the weight down a smidgeon.  And like CHR15, I don't use filters or reducers so about as simple as it gets. All the best.

Nice clear sky albeit a bit bright. All taken with Stellamira 85mm, zwo asi290mm, heq5, asiair and simple screen shots.

M51: 8 x 30 seconds, gain 110

M13: 6 x 10 seconds, gain 110

M101: 10 x 30 seconds, gain 110

Looking forward to your next pictures 👌 I  love the simplicity of the straightforward telescope plus camera arrangement on a goto for eeva. I have a similar fov to you in your 102mm/224mc combo with my 85mm/290mm combo so I will be stealing a few of your targets 😉. My challenge at the moment are the high clouds which smother everything except the brightest stuff and even then the target can still be just a blur. Enjoy

Hello barkis and welcome back. As you are not using the handset, are you connecting to your pc with an eqmod cable plugged into the handset port? As such you will need both the eqmod and ascom drivers. Some while ago I made a note of a youtube video which I found useful and it may help blow a few cobwebs off..... have a search for beginers guide to setting up and using ascom to control your astrophotography gear by Hogarths astrophotography. I had a quick look and it showed where to find drivers from. Hope it helps and all the best.

The way technology is being applied to astronomy is excellent, another branch to the hobby and that looks a very cost effective solution to NV 👌

17 hours ago, RobertI said:

That’s great to hear, I’ve also got an asi290mm which i bought to replace the Lodestar I used for many years, but not had a chance to use it yet. Your results bode well. 🙂

Are you using a reducer and or flattener? I normally use an rc6 reduced to f5 ish giving a focal length of around 700mm, but with image scale you are getting I’m thinking I could use something smaller. 

I'm not using either a reducer or flattener so the telescope is at it's native focal length of 560mm and f6.5. My thoughts are to keep life as simple as possible until I run out of targets but with the weather the way it is, I cant see me changing anytime soon 🤣

Many thanks, edited the post now to include asi290mm and heq5. I have a very basic setup using no filters and i tend to leave the histogram as is, but my next baby step is to include darks.

First break in the clouds for what seems weeks, so blowing the dust off...

M101, 6 x 30 seconds using 85mm stellamira, zwo asi290mm, heq5 and asiair. Also managed to get a supernova which is going to be visible for the next couple of months and is the closest to us for a decade at a mere 21 million light years away.

M106, 15 x 10 seconds using 85mm stellamira, zwo asi290mm, heq5 and asiair. Also managed to get NGC 4248 to the upper right.

Well happy with this pair

Hello Michaelxr3 and welcome to the site. When I first got my heq5 I couldn't read enough about home position, polar alignment etc, so adding my pointers to some great help already posted. 

First off, you need a bubble level and a pencil. You also don't need the telescope to be mounted or the weights installed to set home position or polar alignment so whilst you are learning leave them off, it will be easier to adjust the mount. When you get a handle on what you are doing put them on before polar aligning.

Level the tripod, it may/may not be required but just do it, it doesn’t take long.

Release the weight bar to its lowest position and lock it. 

Home position. You have two motor clutches on the mount, RA and DEC. Using the manual from the link provided earlier, start with the DEC clutch, release the clutch and manually move the mount head So that the dovetail lock is roughly horizontal, stick your bubble on it and set it precisely to horizontal and lock the clutch. Find the DEC setting scale and lock it to 90'. Release the clutch and return the head to roughly vertical, use the setting scale to set it at 0' and lock the clutch. Put a line across the fixed part of the mount and the rotating DEC part. This enables quick return to the DEC home position. Moving to the RA axis, release the RA clutch and rotate the mount so that the weight bar is horizontal, use the bubble on the weight bar to set it exactly level then lock the clutch. Find the RA setting scale and set to 90'. Rotate the mount back so that the weight bar is at its lowest point and using the setting scale lock the clutch at 0'. Again mark the mount on the RA axis. This is your home position. The two marks enable you to return the mount to home position quickly. Use the handset to park scope in the home position. The mount will then drive to this position, then turn the power off. If it has driven somewhere else, just manually set the mount to this position, job done. Always start from the home position.

Polar alignment. In the Northern hemisphere this is done by viewing Polaris through your polar scope and positioning Polaris at the correct position in the polar scope. Have a read of the info online and get back to let us know how you are getting on. You will need to ensure the handset time is in the correct format, mm/dd/yyyy, plus your precise location. Polaris is the brightest star in the area so you should have a good idea you are looking at the right star. All the best and hope it helps.