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Hi, By chance I was also looking at Jupiter and just caught the two moon shadows as seen below. I was primarily setup simply to practice my imaging as I am still very new to the imaging aspect of astronomy. The equipment I used was a Tal100RS refractor with a DIY focus pro electronic focuser, /Celestron X-cell 2x barlow and a Zwo ASI-224MC. I stacked the top 5% of 4000 images. It was only during the processing that I noticed that you can also see two of the moons as well as the shadows of Ganymede and Calisto. 2021-10-04-1959_3-Jupiter with Calisto and Ganymede shadows.bmp

I really need to get a good understanding of binning.

I really like the idea of trying with what I have. You can tell my lack of experience in that I didn't think this was possible! My Classical cassegrain is an 8 inch version though unfortunately I don't have a DSLR. So it seems the best initial way is to try some galaxies so how I go. Then change the camera, either by finding a decent price second hand DSLR or potentially getting a dedicated astro-camera.

Hi, I currently have 2 scopes one a Tal 100mm F10 Refractor and the second a Stella Lyra classical cassegrain (my new toy that I am still getting to grips with). I also have a Zwo ASI224MC camera. So clearly all these add up to planetary and lunar photography. However, I have a bit of a yearning to start on the long and I suspect difficult road towards astrophotography of DSO's. From what I have read I would ideally need a fast F5 or 6 APO scope and a cooled camera maybe something like a Zwo ASI294MC pro (I don't think as a beginner I could go for a mono camera and filter wheel). My issue as I see it is that buying an APO scope and the Zwo camera is quite an outlay given I have little/no experience. I was therefore hoping someone could advise me on the best route in with potentially cheaper scope and camera. Though I don't want to buy something that becomes frustrating due to lack of its quality soon after purchase. I am very happy to buy secondhand. To me it feels wrong to spend a lot of money from the get-go without developing skills and competency along the journey. I should also add that I have an Ioptron IEQ30 go to mount, which I hope would/should be able to cope with a starter setup. All thoughts recommendations and experiences gratefully received. Thanks, Ian

Exactly the same thing happened to me this afternoon when I was trying to find the best way to fit an ASI224MC to my flip mirror. Luckily i was sitting in the kitchen and I simply had to screw the anodised plate back on. I haven't checked for dust but seeing as the transparent disc did not come off I hope all should be ok. I was surprised how easily the whole thing cam apart though.

Hi, Funny the IR issue has been raised. Just last week I watched a you tube video on lunar photography that suggested that best results would be obtained using an IR pass filter and I have just received an Astronomik 742 IR pass filter to try. I am also working on an electronic focuser using an Arduino Nano board, step motor and myFP2M software. So far for about £9.00 i have the motor working with the software. I just need to work out how to attach it to the Tal scope. all good fun. Thanks again for the thoughts and feedback, there is so much to learn. Ian

Sorry for the delay in responding to this, but can I ask a very basic question! When I reduce the area what I see is smaller area of the moon, which is effectively blown up to the same size as when using a larger area. The affect being like increasing the magnification, however, the image quality is reduced. I had imagined that reducing the imaging area was primarily useful when looking at planets where the majority of the observable image was outside the planet in view and therefore a waste of the detector. Is my understanding correct or not? Also if you do as Cosmic Geoff suggests, how do you get a better more crisp image? Again I apologise for the basic nature of my questions. Many thanks, Ian

Thank you so much for the fantastic feedback, really helpful!! With the questions you raised, I do have an IR blocking filter on the ASI224MC, I did try without and it looked worse! The moon wasn't terribly high, so maybe this contributed to the problems. Your exposure comments are really interesting as I had mistakenly thought that I should keep the gain low to prevent noise and then compensate with the exposure time. I will have to try the other way round! Your other comments are also really helpful I will need time to digest them, but thanks. Ian

This is a stacked image from a 30 second video, I have done little or nothing to enhance beyond the stacking. It gives you an idea of the magnification with the 2x barlow. Does it seem a reasonable magnification and if so what can I do to improve my photos? Many thanks, Ian 2021-04-19-1920_5-Moon_lapl3_ap1587_conv.tif

Oh dear, that is concerning! Are there any definitive or good 'starter-guides' to getting the right equipment together in the right combination? I was contemplating upgrading my scope at come point but recently concluded that there was a lot I needed to learn before spending considerably more. Many thanks, Ian

Hi, Yes is seems to work ok with my 24mm eye piece, though the exact magnification I am unsure of. It is a cheap barlow, I would be happy to upgrade but am not confident based on the results I am currently getting that it would be worth while.

Hi, I have been capturing 30 second videos and processing through Autostakkert. From the analysis I normally take the best 50% and stack these. The image is then taken through Registrax. However, it is clear to me from the very beginning that the results are not going to be good enough. Indeed when I look at the laptop screen at the time of capture, the image looks just like when you push a telescope beyond its maximum magnification. I have tried being really careful with focus etc but I am not impressed with any of the images taken. I have had some success without the Barlow, though sharp as these photos are, they are nowhere near as magnified as when I just use the 6mm eyepiece. This was why i was wondering about how or when to use a Barlow or other knowledge I need to get a descent photos. Thanks, Ian

Hi, I am very new to imaging and just trying to learn some very basic steps. In the first instance I am looking to take decent photos of the moon and then move to other planets. My setup is a TAL100RS refractor which has a 100mm diameter and 1000mm focal length (this scope works well with eyepieces at 6mm (166x)) the telescope is being used with a Zwo ASI2 44MC camera. When I use the camera straight into the scope I can get quire decent images that I have successfully stacked. However, the magnification is a little low. So I thought I would try a 2x barlow. When I do this the magnification is very high and all the images I get look like the same effect as pushing the telescope to a too higher magnification, in that the images are blurry and nowhere near as detailed as I can achieve with an eye piece. Do I need a 1.5x barlow or am I doing everything wrong? As I say I am just learning my way round capturing images and so would be grateful for any advice. Many thanks, Ian

That is interesting. Looking at the Rother Valley Optics website where I got my mount, they state approx 9kg Skywatcher EQ5 Pro GOTO Equatorial Mount & Tripod - Rother Valley Optics Ltd Certainly the Tal which from memory is about 5kg doesn't get close to its capacity, it only uses 1 of the 2 counterweights and the weight has to be put high up otherwise it's too much for the scope. Does anybody else have experience of the capacity of the EQ5? Cheers Ian

Hi Thanks, For the helpful thoughts and comments. Clearly this is more difficult than I thought! The weight of the C8 does seem an advantage over the classical cassegrain. This comment above, is what concerns me that I could go to all the expense and effort and be rewarded with little in the way of an improvement! I am pretty unsure what to do, it feels like if I change the scope I should go for 8 inch in order to get the improvement I am looking for. But, unless I change the mount a classical Cassegrain maybe too heavy. The StellaLyra 8 appears to be 9.1kg, whereas the EQ5 is rated at 9kg, I am not sure if 100g is of consequence. I also saw reference that it might actually weigh less than this. It would be good to have the weight confirmed. The other issue being that at 9.1kg, the combined weight of the scope and mount is getting pretty high for taking in and out of the house. Whereas the C8 is only slightly heavier than the TAL100 (100mm refractor). I am very grateful for the thoughts and feedback, and hope the discussion continues. Ian

Hi, My main interest is in lunar and planetary observation and currently use a TAL100RS on an EQ5 go-to pro mount. I am just considering an upgrade. I have read good reviews of Celestron C8 XLT cassegrain scope. One endless online discussion was dismissive of the C8 saying their 6 inch Newtonian was better. So looking for any thoughts or advice. Essentially I would like a scope that is an decent improvement on the TAL. Thanks in advance. Ian

Thanks for the advice. I am now looking for an EQ5 or equivalent. Many thanks, Ian

Hi, I am new to the forum and just rediscovering my love of astronomy. I recently bought a TAL 100RS refractor and am looking for a suitable mount. Ideally i would like one that could be computer controlled, but that may be price prohibitive. The scope ways about 4.5-4.8kg. I did wonder about EXPLORE SCIENTIFIC IEXOS-100 PMC-EIGHT, but would really appreciate advice from people who no far more than I!! I am happy to go second hand. Thanks in advance. Ian