StuartT

FANTASTIC!! That was it! Thank you 😃

Ok, I have a new laptop and have installed ASCOM platform or EQMOD or whatever it's called and the drivers for my mount (EQ6R Pro), but when I connect up it can't see the mount. I am using exactly the same cable as I used to use on my old laptop (so it's not the cable). Device manager is showing it using COM4 so that's working. When I open EQMOD Toolbox I see this So I click on Driver Setup and select COM4 but when I then click ASCOM Connect, it pops up with this! What am I doing wrong?

When doing the first stage of this (entering the telescope profiles in APT's Object Calculator) it only seems to let you save the focal length, not the aperture for some reason. The aperture has to be entered afresh each time. It would be better (surely) if you could save both aperture and focal length for each of your telescopes?

Ok. But do I need to change it in ASPS each time I use a different scope? Or only change it in APT?

Thanks. The reason I ask is that ASPS seems to have a focal length box in the settings dialog. But maybe I just ignore that, do i?

Quick question... Is it sufficient to enter my scope's focal length in APT? Or is it essential that I also set it in the various plate solving apps too? (as that's another thing to remember when switching telescopes on my mount)

Ok, fair point. If I hadn't been working the next day I would've just taken a load more subs (which I guess achieves the same effect). Pity I had to pack up really, as I had good polar alignment by the look of it.

wow! thanks everyone. Your comments are really encouraging! I wonder if anyone has any thoughts about how long I can go with subs (I am not guiding) with this 400mm lens? I made 60sec my upper limit and have nice round stars, but I'm wondering if I could go a bit longer?

Thanks! I have been using an Astronomik CLS filter thus far, but would I need that if I am using this feature of APP? In other words, do I need both?

wow! Thanks so much for going to the trouble. I wish I understood all the stuff you did, but it sure looks fine! Maybe one day I can learn to do that myself. When you say the 'data' was nice to work with, I am not sure what you mean. Is a FITS file not just an image? (forgive my ignorance, but I'd never come across this file format before using APP)

Right! I never thought of that. Yes, it does indeed make sense. Thanks 😀

Whenever I try to balance my mount I tend to find there is a limit to how free the rotation is in the RA and Dec axes even with the clutches fully off. This means it's very hard to see when they are balanced as I don't know if the lack of rotation is because I have actually achieved balance, or that the axis is just too stiff to show the movement. Does anyone know how I can loosen things up a little? It's an Eq6R Pro Thanks

Welcome to SGL. Just to echo Philip R - definitely do not use a telescope from inside the house. In addition to the two reasons he points out (air currents and vibration) you will also get an extremely restricted view. Windows only provide access to a tiny proportion of the sky. If you are going to spend several hundred dollars on a telescope you absolutely must use it outside (just a back yard is fine - you don't need to drive it anywhere)

Thanks. Please feel free to fiddle with the original and see if you can get more out of it (as I wouldn't know which ones to fiddle with!) M27_Dumbbell_Nebula-RGB-session_1.fits

David, what an absolutely fantastic post this is! Stuff explained so clearly and comprehensively is absolute gold dust to beginners like me. This stuff can be very frustrating and intimidating when you're starting out, but I got it working perfectly thanks to you! No more hand controller and 2 star aligning! I can now just point the scope somewhere, plate solve and align! Just like magic! Thank you 👏

Thanks. No, it was shot with a Canon 400mm f/5.6 telephoto lens. But my next job is to try it with my 8" SCT for a larger image (though with shorter subs, as I am not guiding)

Here is my first try at using Astropixel Processor just with all the default settings straight 'out of the box' I'm still very new to astrophotography, but I'm reasonably happy with this effort. 45 x 60sec lights (Canon EOS750D, 400mm lens, ISO1600) 15 darks 19 bias 27 flats

Ah! I didn't realise that. I think APT must have kindly included that info in the filename. I did shoot darks, flats and bias frames so maybe it will all come out in the wash. But is there any way I can stop the sensor heating up like that in a DSLR? When I am shooting, I fold the LCD screen inwards which I think switches it off. I do this to save battery life. Thanks for this comprehensive explanation (though unfortunately, I can't follow what you are doing). It's good to know my sky ain't too light 🙂 My initial image wasn't stretched in any way. It's just what the camera captured

Thanks both. It wasn't so much the colour of the sky that was worrying me, but just the sheer brightness of it. If stretching lowers the background brightness of the sky, will it not also lower the brightness of the nebula too? In other words, how would photoshop 'know' I only want to darken the sky? David, I am not sure what you mean by 29C... ? where are you getting that from? Although it was a very warm day, it had cooled down quite a bit by midnight

Hi. Here is the original RAW file and a PNG version too. Thanks L_9428_ISO1600_60s__29C.CR2

I'm shooting a pile of lights of M27 this evening, but I am worried the sky is way too bright. Surely if the sky is a similar brightness to the actual target, then no amount of stretching is going to separate them? Or have I got that wrong? These are shot at 60sec ISO1600 with an Astronomik CLS filter. The moon is still only 10% and has practically set (and these images are East in any case)

well fancy that! Many thanks. Save a bit of faff then. 😊

Ok, thanks everyone. I am shooting RAW. So am I to understand that with RAW files the white balance setting doesn't matter? I guess I was thinking that I would need to counteract the blueness caused by the CLS filter. But maybe I don't?

I use an Astronimik CLS clip in filter for suburban light pollution, but it gives a strong blue cast. So I tried setting a custom white balance with a white sheet of paper in daylight. But my DSLR seems to forget this setting after I’ve changed the battery. Are there any other ways of dealing with this? Thanks

Just stumbled on this thread. I'd never heard of APP before. I am a total noob and have been using DSS and photoshop. Would I be better off with APP?