Albastars

Thanks @Clarkey , that's really useful. I was wondering about the quality of the focusers. It is a larger focuser on the Wave 115mm but I guess that doesn't necessarily mean its of a good quality. I think the Starwave is at the top of my list and if I need to upgrade the focuser, I can afford it. I will keep in mind the StellaMira FF, its looks a good option.. Ritchey-Cretien? Well, I hadn't considered them at all. More research needed! Cheers

I have around £2000 to spend on a new telescope and need some help choosing. It’s for imaging DSOs only on a Zwo AM5 mount. Presently, I have a WO Z73 and I’m using a modded Canon 800D but am looking at upgrading to a Zwo ASI2600 in the near future. I prefer a refractor over a reflector. I’m looking for as long a focal length as I can but I think up to 800mm is affordable and within my mount’s capabilities. I guess I will need a 1x Flattener too. I’ve found a few 115/f7 scopes including - Ts-Optics Photoline - £1299 Altair Starwave - £1299 Altair Wave - £1899 Starfield Gear115 (from FLO) -£2098 The cheaper ones appeal obviously but will I have to spend on upgrades? Do any of these scopes stand out as the best or are there alternatives, perhaps longer options? If anyone wants to suggest a reflector my main worries are its size for transportation, repeated colimation and the need to upgrade parts and fettle. Open to persuasion though - I was looking at the Vixen R200SS. Thanks

That is stunning! Thanks for posting.

Sorry @Elp I don't use DSS.

Similar for me with a modded Canon 800D. I came across this article a while back and found it useful - https://www.myastroscience.com/proper-flats-with-dslr

Thanks @ONIKKINEN and @Clarkey If it is tilt, I guess its a fraction of a millimetre? I don't think I have room to fit a tilt adjuster but maybe some copper tape in the right place might help. The weather for the next week is grim, so I'm going to have to be patient. Thanks again.

Hi, Can anyone tell me what might be going on with my star shapes? I think possibly I need to increase my back focus a bit but the corners are not uniform. Perhaps some kind of tilt in there as well? One debayered sub (180secs) attached. Ca\non 800D, WO Z73ZS scope with WO 0.8 reducer with adjustable back focus set to recommended 1.8mm - total BF of 56.8mm. Thanks Dave

I saw a great picture by Adam Block and was inspired to have a go at Orion. A year ago I thought the night sky was just stars, I had no idea about anything else! Canon 800D (modded), Canon 40mm Fornax Lighttrack II Bortle 3 ISO 400, F4, 82 x 2min subs - 2hrs 44min integration. Processed in PixInsight I would have liked longer but the clouds rolled in. I'm not sure if this is the finished image yet but here it is anyway.

I'm impressed, there is a lot hiding in that jpg. Thanks for taking a look. Rather than work on it though, I got another 4+hrs on the Pacman, this time in RAW. This is my processing so far but I've blown the big stars in the nebula - I'm learning about processing all the time, so I'll probably go back to it.

FWIW, this is just registered, stacked and auto stretched with no calibration frames. I guess if I worked on it there might be a reasonable image in there somewhere. But moving on, I was out last night and hopefully got 5 hours on the Pacman. Thats my third attempt in 10 days - the first try was ruined by gusting winds.

I had this odd feeling through the night that something was wrong after a rushed set up. Just collected 6 1/2 hours of what appears at first glance to be good data - except its all in jpgs 😖 Ah well, onwards and upwards.

Wow, that brilliant! I don't have PS but I can do it in Affinity Photo. Amazing.

Thanks. I had used my Sony A7Riii for a few images before I bit the bullet and bought a used and modded 800D from Andy Ellis of http://astronomiser.co.uk/ . Andy provided a quick and efficient service and all good with the camera so far. Because I've no before and after experience with the modded camera I can't really comment on star bloating.

Thanks Olly, I'm new to astrophotography (but not photography) and had tried to reduce the stars but I was getting too many artifacts. I use a star de-emphasiszer script in PixInsight based on work by Adam Block. I rewatched some videos and played with the settings a bit more and got a better result but perhaps not as strong an affect as yours. Re Image-Adjustments-Selective Colour in PS. Can the same be done in PI? In this version I increased the reds in curves using a colour mask. There is so much to learn that its daunting and fascinating in equal measure!

I took this on the night of the last full moon and had low expectations for the result - just out for practice really. Its not the best but I'm very, very happy with it. Canon 800D -modded, WO Z73 with 0.8 reducer (344mm) Lightrack II mount ISO 200 90 x 3min subs 30 each of darks, bias and flats Processed in PixInsight Suggestions to improve it are very welcome.

Thanks everyone. I have lots of options now! @Grant93 Red dot finder. @alacant When you get close to your target, lose live view and take single, say 5s, frames at ISO12800 so you can see any nebulosity and frame properly. @Tomatobro I plate solve until the declination matches the object and then adjust the RA. Adjusting both at the same time does not work for me. @Tiny Clanger Cheap 50% solution (i.e., gets the alt sorted, you pan for the az) get a simple electronic level (they cost around £15 , are powered by a couple of AAA cells,) Find the alt of your target with whatever ap or program you like, put the level on the tube, elevate it to match. @Tiny Clanger'Push to' with SkyEye. @Spile I had to look up asterisms! Right Angle Finder. All good suggestions, thanks. And not expensive solutions either. I'll give them all a try. Re the SkyEye app. Its Android only but I searched for something similar for iPhones and it seems I already have something installed - Polar Scope Align Pro. I need to find or make a phone mount/cradle to get this one to work but it does look promising.

I get lost sometimes trying to find targets. I can find constellations by eye and the bigger stars in my scope and then star hop towards the right area. Then it gets difficult sometimes. I've tried twice to find the Soul Nebula and failed - the area between Cassiopeia and the Heart and Soul nebulae seems really dark. Being on hands and knees plus twisting my neck to see live view doesn't help either. I'm viewing/imaging with a WO ZS73mm (FL 430mm or 344mm with reducer) and live view on a Canon 800D. I use SkySafari as a star map. I have a Fornax Lightrack mount and can move the Dec and RA independently. Get a Go-to mount is the obvious answer but I'm not ready for that yet. I can blind plate solve with Sharpcap but its very slow and often fails to solve (PA works amazingly) - I need more practice and to tweak the settings I guess Am I missing something? Some bit of hardware or software? A red dot finder would help with the initial navigation but with finding an invisible target? Thanks.

Thanks Wim and City9Town0. I tried arcsinh initially but it didn't work for me - I was a bit too aggressive I think. On seeing Wim's processing (thanks for taking the time) I gave it another go and got a better result. Great info Wim about the differences between scopes. It would seem some of my problems are due to my expectations! For my own curiosity I'll try again but with a shorter exposure time. Thanks again.

I'm a newbie at this and, as recommended in another thread, I tried a star cluster just after full moon last week. I imaged Caroline's Rose - NGC 7789 last week with the moon at 62%. Canon 800D - modded but not full spectrum WO Z73ZS (430mm) 4hrs integration (120 x 120secs) plus 30 bias, 30 darks and 30 flats ISO 200 I usually expose for nebulae at ISO 400 and 3 min subs but went with the above to prevent blowing out the stars. That didn't work too well it seems. I've tried Photometric Colour Calibration and the Repaired HSV Separation script that I have seen recommended but I cannot get colour back in the stars. After sorting the background and gradient plus a bit of deconvolution I'm happy enough with the image - it just lacks colour! A stacked and cropped (no other processing) xisf file is attached if anyone has the time/inclination to look at it. Can this image be rescued? Re the exposure: I found this lovely pic on Astrobin - https://www.astrobin.com/ey3xlq/ - 30sec subs at ISO 800. Are 120secs too long no matter what the ISO? 2BREF_crop.xisf

😱 Well, I did ask. More years ago than I care to remember I scraped a Grade C Pass in maths. That is the stuff of nightmares for me! Thanks for explaining though vlaiv.

Thanks vlaiv and Colm. Great info and tips there. I think I'll hold on the filter for now (maybe keep a look out for a bargain on the L-Enhance) and I'll read up on quad band filters. I will take a look at star clusters - you are right Colm, I could do with more practice, lots of it! Are you meaning Photometric Colour Calibration there vlaiv?

This months full moon coincided with a lovely clear night and this got me thinking. Is there a filter that can help counter the effects of moonlight as well as light pollution? TBH I'm doubtful because moonlight is broadband, right? But I've read that the Baader Neodymium filter can help - reports seem to vary. Here's my set up/situation: Modded (not full spectrum) Canon 800D WO ZS73 scope with flatteners, both the x1 and x0.8 Fornax Lightrack mount (3 min unguided subs with the above are OK to my eyes) Have Bortle 4/5 skies. North and east of me I have B4. To the south and west I have B5. I'm targeting emission nebulae and the large galaxies at the moment and I want to preserve star colour as much as possible. In my limited experience I haven't found light pollution to be a problem so far. However, my research so far is suggesting the Baader Neodymium, the Optolong L-Enhance and the Optolong L-Pro might help. I guess that the L-Extreme filter is the best option but I don't think I can achieve long enough subs. Any suggestions?

Wow! I think that's gorgeous.

I managed 3 1/2 hours on the Pelican Nebular a couple of nights ago. I think its my best image yet. Processing in PixInsight, the first image is a straightforward stretch plus curves. For the second, I split the channels and played around (I saw some techniques for OSC narrowband Hubble-like colours). Stars were diminished on both. Colour wise, I guess the first is the most accurate but I like the second one best. Canon 800D modded, WO 72ZS Fornax Lightrack II 3 1/2 hrs (68 x 185sec subs) 40 Darks, 30 Flats, 37 Biases Bortle 5, but looking towards B4

I got this to work last night. Just as described in the CN thread.