Astro Noodles

1 minute ago, Dantooine said:

Well that’s not a bad start. It’s a good job you’ve not got serious 

🤣

It is all budget kit. And I have got an observation and an image set up for about £1000.  I now have to persuade my missus that the reason I'm not using it is because the sky isn't dark enough. 🤔

Hi 

What kit were you using? Also, what time were these subs take?

What do you think is wrong with the image?

Hi and welcome.

Nice kit you have there.

Hi Bill, Welcome to SGL

Hi Darkfighter

According to the Stellarium app that is HD234118. it is a K2 type star at a magnitude of 9.69

Hi Fexterity

I have no proficiency in astrology, but may I suggest that you look at a free app called Stellarium. It will tell you the Right Ascension/Declination and Azimuth/Altitude of all the stars you have listed.

It seems that up here at 54deg north, I am about to loose astro darkness and it won't be back until mid August.

What do you 'Northerners' do during the summer, especially astrophotographers when it is no longer dark enough ? Do you spend more time on SGL/dream of new kit/just go to bed early ?

Hi Darkfighter

Is a Hikvision a type of CCTV camera ?

18 minutes ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

A prime example. But it comes with an explanation. This was first attempt at the Great Orion Nebula. I think it is about one hour of exposures without calibration frames. I stacked it in DSS and sent the tif to my friend who has Pixinsight.

At the time just using an intervalometer, and getting one hours data with ok PA was a real challenge. Bit like rubbing your stomach and tapping your head at the same time.

The important bit of this post is that although I had downloaded GIMP to my PC it was a complete mystery! I had literally no processing skills, the software was incomprehensible.

Friend with PI sent back the first picture and I thought he was pranking me. The second came from his family member with software skills.

It was then I realised that this whole AP thing is a package. You and I are very near the beginning but the mountain is there to be climbed. I hope to see you along the way.

Marv

 

Those are beautiful images Marvin, especially the second one.

I accept what you are saying, that processing is at least 50% of the package. However, I am not yet at the stage where I have the image data to produce a nice image. Just practice and some clear nights should help.

1 minute ago, Shimrod said:

This last year I have been working from home, and my window looks west. Throughout the winter, a lot of days were clear blue sky, then as 5pm came the clouds would roll in. I've also noticed that quite often it seems to clear up around 1am - roll on retirement, though that's still a few years away.

Working for a living is interfering with my hobby. 😄

9 minutes ago, Shimrod said:

And I think that is probably the biggest advantage of all - time to get images and practice. I decided to get into imaging in the last year, starting with a DSLR and buying an ASI533 at the end of August. I think I have probably been out with it about 6-8 nights since then, and some of those have been short sessions as clouds have come over. I've yet to get anything I am really happy with and I'm still trying to learn the best way to get everything set up. I have a guide camera, but I'm still trying to get the basics right with both the setup and the software before I add an extra layer of complexity. I can lose time just trying to remember how to get everything set up again, as I haven't had enough time for things to become a habit.

How true that is. Northern England is not great for cloudless nights. What I've also found is that it seems to be clear after midnight more often than before midnight. If I could become nocturnal it would help. It's so disappointing to waste a clear night's imaging when you look at the subs and they are all rubbish.

1 minute ago, iapa said:

TBH I don’t have a PC outside.

I generally have used stick PCs, or, more recently I got an ASIAir, connected to my WiFi.

Both options run sufficiently warm to prevent dew build up.

I’ll take a tablet out to do polar alignment, but that’s it.

Yeah, I think that ASIair, Wifi and tablet is the way to go. But that's some way off for me yet. Recycling tub with holes cut in may be a cheaper option for the short term.

4 minutes ago, CloudMagnet said:

I bought a "tent" covering for mine that has really saved me a few times. It has a zip up front so when im not looking at the screen, the laptop is completly covered. Never had any problem with dew even when the whole scope was covered in frost.

Just also cut a couple of small holes on it to allow wires through for USB's and also leave a cloth ontop of the keyboard as well to help hold its temperature.

Something like this ?

Looks like a good idea.

Hi

Does anyone use a laptop outside to control their imaging sessions? If so, do you have problems with dew and/or frost? Is it detrimental to the laptop? And how do you overcome the problem?

3 minutes ago, iapa said:

Next time out, take photo when pointing at Polaris and upload to ASTRONOMETRY.NET and it will tell you where the image is centred and the distance from NCP.

Or install https://adgsoftware.com/ansvr/ written by one of PHD2 development team

 

Thanks iapa, I will do that.

What puzzles me is, if you look at the images, the stars streak at about 90deg from the first image. The subject is framed the same and the camera is at the same angle. The Skyguider only tracks in RA, so I think there is something going on that isn't PA related. 

Just now, iapa said:

How is your polar alignment?

I think it is pretty much spot on. Not really had any issues before finding North. I am using an app called PolarScope.

4 minutes ago, scotty38 said:

I always try and level as well as I can, I mean why not, but I have read plenty on here that says it's not "that" important to be spot on so if that's true it's not the cause of the changing streaks... Just scrolling back to check what guiding kit you're using but not sure why it would change other than a DEC versus RA issue for one or the other but even so I don't really know how that would manifest itself in the image.

Yeah, I'm scratching my head about this. Maybe something is slipping. I was very careful to ensure that the rig was balanced so it won't be that. 

I can get better results than this with a rough polar alignment with the Starquest mount. I was expecting a Skyguider Pro to be a big improvement. 

I have been wondering why the streaks are going in a different direction. The only thing I did differently was to extend the legs of the tripod. I levelled using spirit levels built into the tripod and mount but perhaps these aren't very accurate. Next time I will spend more time levelling using an independent spirit level.

Hi goddasgirl

There is a good app you can get for your mobile or tablet called Stellarium. It is free, and might help you identify the things you are looking at. I use it as do many on this forum https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noctuasoftware.stellarium_free&hl=en_US&gl=US

14 minutes ago, Neil27 said:

 

And a bunch of flowers for the wife!

😂

1 hour ago, AstroMuni said:

As has already been mentioned, I would suggest you try first with something brighter like M81, 82, M13. This will help you gauge the ideal settings on your camera etc. But if you feel confident why NOT M101

Too late. I spent a couple of hours last night on M101. 1st hour 60 x 60sec subs. Star trailing really bad so binned them. This one is 40x 30sec iso 1600. Star trailing still bad so I need to understand what is going on there because I spent a good deal of time getting the polar alignment spot on.

so not much improvement compared to the last one. 😞

I feel encouraged to get out again tonight and give M101 another bash.

16 minutes ago, Padraic M said:

 

 One thing to check - I believe that Astrophotography Toolkit (APT) can autofocus AF lenses on a Canon with Digic 3 or higher - your 1100D is Digic 4 so it may work. I don't know if the lens has to be a Canon ef/efs lens in order for it to work. My DSLR isn't Digic 3 so I haven't been able to try it. I always found manual focus to be a pain and I never nailed with the DSLR. APT is a fantastic piece of software to control all aspects of your image capture workflow, but it does mean you'll need to bring a laptop to your mount.

 

The 1100d only goes to x10 magnification on the lcd screen. I downloaded APT to help with the focus and had it all set up but the I dropped my camera and it broke the USB port. 😭 So I will just have to get as best focus as I can with the x10 image until I can arrange something else. A member on SGL suggested that I look into getting a wifi enabled SD card.

I will definitely be using be using APT in the future.

2 minutes ago, AstroMuni said:

I would say thats quite a good image. What software are you using for stacking and post processing? I feel that those can make a big difference too.

Thanks AstroMuni. I am using Deep Sky Stacker and GIMP.  I am comfortable with DSS but need to spend a lot more time with GIMP to get the best out of it.

Thanks for the praise and constructive comments guys. 

The reason I started this post is that I was pleased with my early results (considering that I am completely new to both astronomy and photography). I just haven't made a lot of progress in the last month. I have spent hours trying to get decent images of M101. Do you think that it is just too difficult a target for a beginner with entry level skills/kit? Or do you think I should press on with it?