Sabalias

Hi Adrian,

Welcome to the forum

Stu

Apologies if I misunderstood the original ask.

Stu

It produces a picture for you to refer to so that you can make manual adjustments to put Polaris at the right spot on the reticle.

Stu

Polar Scope Align Pro (PS Align Pro) is the app I use on my iPhone. Not sure if it's the same as @Neil H but the images look similar. It has a function where you can program in the orientation of your polarscope so that you can see a picture that closely resembles what you can actually see through the scope.

Stu

Benvenuti!

24 minutes ago, maw lod qan said:

Congratulations! Now, seek therapy quickly before the addiction takes hold! In no time you'll be out in cold weather taking images of the planets and things you cant see with your own eyes!

You've just joined a crazy group of people!😁

You’re not wrong 😆! I took a similar photo of the moon last autumn (well done by the way @Maideneer). Then bought a ring to connect my camera to a spotting scope and took some photos of Jupiter and her moons.  Then I bought a second hand (astronomy) scope, and mount; but found that my camera isn’t great for low light photography (very, very poor signal to noise ratio). So more recently I’ve splashed out on a guide camera and bought a second hand DSLR and sent it off for astro-modification. Now I’m waiting for some clear nights!!

Stu

33 minutes ago, wibblefish said:

Since I got my telescope back in Nov last year I have been enjoying the sights on the regular basis (when the cloud permits!) but at the moment I find myself in a bit of an ebb with it due to either unfavorable conditions or to little dark (yesterday didn't get anywhere near proper dark nights till 11pm). I am also restricted to only really having Friday / Saturday nights to play with at the moment and due to small kids and work during the week means I don't want to be up super late! 

What does everyone else do in these lighter months, are you staying up later to do the odd hour around midnight or up early in mornings? 

I'll let you know when I have a few clear nights! 😆

Joking aside, I'm not a night owl so late May through to late July tend to be quiet months for me on the observing front so I hope to use the time to service my mount and, perhaps, clean my primary mirror. I like @Rob and @Stu's suggestions though.

Stu

Hi Dougie,

Recently I decided that I needed to invest in some guiding equipment but I didn't want to spend a fortune. As Budgie1 mentioned, you need to connect the camera to a computer of some description with the appropriate software installed, this then drives the guiding function (either through the camera using the ST4 connection or direct to the mount using - in my case - USB cable).

I chose to go for the ZWO ASI120MM for my guide camera and also bought a Raspberry Pi kit to make into an Astroberry. Although it's a bit daunting to begin with, getting the Astroberry up and running was not too difficult - I followed a number of online tutorials (both on the astroberry server site and YouTube). Now I have a solution that I can control from my PC or a tablet over a web interface. I understand that the ASIAir may be a cleaner option but the Astroberry seems very good to me at an excellent price (even cheaper than a second hand ASIAir, though not by much).

Stu

Welcome to SGL Tevin.

2 minutes ago, oscar_camilleri said:

Easy when you have what one might class as a hyperactive 5yo who is constantly after you attention all day long. trust me , you will learn how to sleep with our eyes open and nod you head at her questions at the same time 🤣

Those days are long gone for me; however, they may be in my future if either of my kids have children of their own.

6 minutes ago, oscar_camilleri said:

At the moment its early for me. Usually if weather appears to be nice, I set the alarm for 3am.  Go have a quick look through the window and if I can see Jupiter and clear skies , ill go and setup in the front garden and usually am ready by 3.30am, stay till around 4.30 which currently is when dawn starts coming into force.  All packed and back in bed by 5. Sleep till 7 and then up and ready for the usual daily routine.

If I woke fully at 3 in the morning I'd not get back to sleep at all. A few nights of that and I'd not be able to set up my electric toothbrush, let alone my mount and scope 🤣

Hi All,

Apologies, I haven’t had a chance to read everything in this thread yet so I might be repeating someone else’s comment but....

Have you thought about the learning experience? Among other things (the excitement of seeing something with my own eyes , the joy of managing to get a viable photograph) I get a significant amount of enjoyment and reward from learning about astronomy and the equipment I use. 

Stu

Thank you all for the warm welcome 

Stu

Hello John. Welcome. 

10 hours ago, CotswoldsBloke said:

Astrophotography is my main area of interest, with DSO's like Galaxies and Nebulae being the focus. Like most of us in the UK, the weather hasn't helped and in my specific case it has really hampered the build up of experience and  momentum to help me progress. That coupled with a lack of patience.....

I’m dabbling in AP and have found that there is a lot of useful information on these forums and some very helpful videos on YouTube. I also read Making Every Photon Count by Steve Richards - highly recommended. I should also mention Astro Baby’s site which has some really useful tutorials (I found the collimation one invaluable).

Stu

Thanks @alacant

On 13/03/2021 at 12:33, alacant said:

Ah, OK,

As you're going to need a coma corrector anyway, this one will enable you to reach focus easily with your dslr without having to move mirrors, cut tubes, or use Barlow lenses. 

The big advantage of this combination over the PDS is that you get to keep the small secondary mirror. 

HTH

 

Hi Alacant,

I have a 150PDS and an EOS 600D on order (will be getting modded). Just wanted to clarify from your comment - should I be looking for a different coma corrector?

Thanks in advance,

Stu

Hi Nick,

Welcome. I hope you find what you need here. As a matter of interest, what are you trying to achieve?

Stu

12 hours ago, Astro Caller said:

Hi Stu

Iv not read any of the responses, but thought I would add a few points .

With regards to the motors whining are you using a power box i.e. Pegasus power box etc? your mount requires 12v to perform well, however if your using a power box and 12v supply that also controls your dew heaters etc your voltage drop can be very excessive, I had this on my EQ6-R and ultimate power box, it turned out that with everything running my voltage had dropped to 11v causing my mount motors to whine as they have not got enough torque , I resolved this by purchasing 13.8v power supply. with everything running I was then providing my mount with 13.1v. no more whining.

When using 12v my motors would only whine when both RA and DEC was slewing simultaneously , again this all due to volt drop.

In some extreme cases it can also be caused by poor balance i.e. counter weight heavy,  camera heavy and even worm gears are to tight.

Best way to check this is undo the covers on side of the mount were the belts are, turn the power off and see if you can move the gears with your thumb, if you can move freely with power off your worm gears are probably fine, if they are solid and you cannot move them your worm gears are to tight. can be adjusted easily.

Also check your balance you want to be approx 1oz (28grams) east heavy RA and camera heavy DEC. if your to heavy again your motors wont have enough torque.

One last thing on alignment , have you set up your home position correctly? trip pod needs to be level, don't use bubble level on mount head, these are way off, use boat level and level on all 3 axis, then level you RA with counterweight bar pointing west , use the boat level to get perfect, then set clock to 18:00, do same with dec place boat level on dec (opposite to dovetail clamp and set clock to zero)

This will ensure your home position is perfectly level.

Hope this helps.

Thanks 

Thanks Astro Caller.

I may have fed in a red herring with the noise from the whirring motors - call it 'trying to be colourful in my prose'. The whole kit is connected to mains power supply at the moment - I have yet to purchase a stand alone power supply for the mount. I have been very careful about making sure everything is ballance but could you be give me a little more information about 'east heavy RA and camera heavy DEC' please, or point me to a resource on the net? I have also been careful about setting home position but I will start using a stand alone level to set the mount - thanks for the pointer.

Stu

3 hours ago, Sweet dreams said:

Thank you beka and Tiny clanged. As I am just a starter I do not know much about the sky. I hope that the stellarium will work and I am going to install it today. By the way, beka, tiny clanger and everyone else, can the light pollution in my city affect my observing of the planets. I am asking this as I am living in the highly polluted Indian city Chennai.

As I understand it excessive light pollution may have a small impact on your planetary viewing; however, you've already mentioned that you've been able to see Mars, Venus and Mercury so I don't think it will be too bad for you with the other planets. Something that can have a greater effect on planetary viewing is heavily disturbed air (rising air currents for example).

3 hours ago, Sweet dreams said:

Hii guys. I recently bought this telescope and just saw mars, venus and mercury. All of it looked like a bright star and nothing more. Mars was a  red dot. Should I use filter or is there any other problem in focusing. Or is it the maximum ability of this telescope

Hi there,

I can't speak for the telescope I'm afraid but now is not the best time to view Mars as it is a considerable distance away from the Earth and won't in opposition (close and fully illuminated by the sun) until December 2022. The last time it was in such a position was October 2020. This September you should be able to see Jupiter and Saturn but the magnification and clarity you get will depend on the eyepiece (and barlow) you use.

Hope that helps,

Stu

On 22/12/2020 at 23:04, W0nderste said:

You can do astronomy and planetary science through the Open University

Hi there. I can vouch for this course (or at least the one from the '90s) ; I started on mathematics and computing courses but did Astronomy and Planetary Science for a bit of a change. Fantastic course which made me feel less than microscopic and ingnited an interest in astronomy that has never gone away.

Stu

Hello from another new arrival who is also going through 'Gear Acquisition' 😁

Stu

Hello and welcome. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Stu

Hi Peter,

From one new arrival to another - welcome 🙂

Stu