Mr Thingy

On 28/02/2022 at 17:23, AstroMuni said:

It could be a balance issue as suggested already. I have same mount as you without belt mod and there are a few areas close to zenith where the mount struggles. Good luck finding the exact cause

I shot the same target again a couple of nights ago but rebalanced the rig a bit and all the subs were perfect. I guess it was indeed a balance issue.

I assumed balanced problems would manifest in a more regular disturbance of the tracking, rather than occasional large errors. 

Anywho, thanks to all for the guidance.

23 hours ago, malc-c said:

Thats the debug log not the guide log....

Doh! I'll try to figure out how to find/generate a proper log.

Strangely, the effect was absent in my session last night. Thinking about what was different, I was shooting at about 30 degrees from the horizon, whereas in the problem session I was closer to the zenith at about 70 degrees. Not sure why that would create an issue though...

Looks like another clear night tonight, so I will see if it happens in this session.

Thanks for the responses. It's due to be clear tonight so I'll send some pics if it happens again.

I've attached a PHD log. Not sure if this is what's needed but was the only log I could find.

Regarding specs:

Imaging scope: Evostar 72ED + ZWO 183GT

Guide scope: Evoguide 50ED + ZWO 120 MM mini

cheers

PHD2_DebugLog_2022-02-25_183403.txt

Hello SGL,

I'm looking for a bit of help on diagnosing a problem that's emerged recently, leading to spoilage of about 50% of my images in my last 2 sessions. The effect are stars that either have a line coming from them in specific direction, like when the mount is jolted, or they appear with a second image above each star, like it lost position for a short period before correcting. Stupidly I junked the pictures so I have no samples to share.

What is strange is that some images are absolutely fine.

I'm looking for some advice on where to start looking for a diagnosis - maybe some of you have experienced and fixed this?

Some info:

- polar aligned via a Polemaster so I'm confident it was well aligned

- I noted in the title that I have a guiding issue but I don't rule out a mechanical issue. An option I have is to try without guiding to see if the issue continues.

- HEQ5 (belt upgrade). Guiding with PHD2.

- Clear skies - no interference on guiding from clouds.

TIA

-Thingy-

Really nice image. So interesting and very well taken.

Stunning! 

So many stars and so well captured.

It's like a tartan pattern all over the image but only affected my Ha images and not the OIII ones I took in the same session. I'll restack them and see if the problem persists.

18 hours ago, Adam1234 said:

I usually start off by mapping 100% Ha to red, and 100%Oiii each to Blue and Green, then experimenting by say adding 20% Ha 80% Oiii to the green or blue, seeing what I get, adjust the ratio maybe 10% Ha or 50%. At the end of the day, the amount of Ha you add in to either the blue or green channel is personal taste. 

Depending on the amount you add you can get an RGB type look (straight 100% Oiii in both green and blue), but you can also get a Hubble type look by adding in Ha to the green I think. 

For me personally, I try these experiments but usually end up finding that 100% Oiii in green and blue works best for me

Super! Thank you. I will try that out.

But first I have to fix a problem with stacking that has left some weird patterns.... we AP'ers are gluttons for punishment!

Very quick first effort below.

Got some ideas to improve it.

Thanks. 

I should have mentioned I shot in mono with Ha and OIII 🤭

I will look at the video though as there are no doubt some useful tips.

I want to dabble with HOO but I'm unsure how to create the data for the green channel

I've read that you assign Ha to red, OIII to blue and a mix of Ha and OIII, but what does mixing Ha and OIII mean in practice? Do you stack them together or perhaps somehow process them together after stacking?

I use DSS, Siril and Gimp for processing, in case that's relevant.

TIA for any guidance.

Poised for the elephants trunk nebula in OIII, despite my cat making best efforts to trash the shots by clambering over my gear. 

12 minutes ago, Sabalias said:

Very nice. What’s your set up?

Stu

Thank you. 

Set up is:

SW 72ED 'scope

ZWO ASI 183 MM (pic 1) / ZWO ASI 533 (pic 2)

HEQ5

Stacked is DSS. Basic pre-processing in Siril. Streching in Gimp.

My first astro snap taken back in Late Dec 2020 (pic 1) and the same taken on Tuesday (pic 2) (basic processing only so far).

I'm pleased with the progress and that I managed to remember how to use everything after the summer break (small issue with focusing though, which you may see, but easily fixed for next session).

Just 1hr integration on pic 2.

Another happy NINA user here. Intuitive interface. Lots of functionality. Very good bit of (free) software.

There are plenty of good YT videos on how to use it too.

To tame the blue bloat, an L3 filter for use with my OSC.

So many stars. Fantastic!

A warm welcome from another Suffolk resident!

Wow! Simply stunning and you have revealed so much interesting detail that it's captivating to look at. 

18 hours ago, tomato said:

I know the OP has gone mono but I don’t think the latest OSC cameras combined with the latest dual band filters are a non starter for NB targets.

Here is a 1 hour integration with a RASA8/QHY268c OSC using the IDAS NBZ dual NB filter. I dare say a mono camera with separate NB filters will give a better result but this took an hour to capture and 20 minutes to process in APP, so I’d venture OSC NB imaging can be quick and reasonably straightforward with the appropriate equipment and software.

 

 

 

Owning a mono system I have been somewhat envious of what can be captured in short imaging sessions, like yours above. My time is very limited, so I recently added an OSC to my collection so that I have the option for short sessions and I must say that I'm very happy with it.

For sure the results won't be as good as with the mono camera but for short windows of opportunity and short processing times, I'm very glad to add this utility.

Below was a camera test 2 weeks ago. Under 1hr integration time.

Stunning image. The detail in the dust clouds really add a sense of scale. 

Is that a tail of the galaxy to the left?

My ZWO EAF has no manual option. They do supply a separate hand controller though, so you can control via that for visual.

1 hour ago, maw lod qan said:

I've seen some very incredible "grazers" that just get into the atmosphere to make a bright dot traveling across the sky.

No tail or color and lasting much longer than what you expect.

That's very interesting to hear. 

It seemed to be traveling too fast for a satellite, even one in low earth orbit.

A "grazer" would indeed seem more likely.

1 hour ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

I am not really sure what I am talking about here so take it with a pinch of salt but I certainly do remember some issues with using two same make cameras on APT (I think) and somebody suggested using the native driver for one and the ASCOm driver for the other. Like I said this is from a year or two ago and I am not computer wizard so I could be wrong with this thought.

I have to go out now but I will have a search when I get back if nobody else chips in in the meantime.
APT is a great piece of software and the chap that wrote and maintains it is very approachable and very helpful you could always drop him an email.

Steve
 

I had this issue. I fixed by moving to NINA 😂

Very happy with that decision as I find NINA very intuitive, save for a few very minor quality of life annoyances.

3 hours ago, ddm4313 said:

I got frustrated a week ago because my PC wasn't detecting the mount, fast forward 20 mins and  I realize the cable wasn't plugged n.

I did similar, only mine was plugged in but the mount not turned on.

At least NINA reminds me in some cases when I forget something, like forgetting to connect PHD2, or cooling my camera. Only so much my little brain can cope with, so I'm happy to offload some checks and balances to our robot overlords.