Grifflin

Thank you.  Yep, that makes sense.  The target I was imaging earlier was the Christmas Tree cluster.  Good point about using Astrobin though.  

If I already have around 6 hours of integration time using a dual narrow band filter (L-Extreme) and I have the opportunity to take another 6 hours in one night (no moon), would I be better to continue with the filter OR use no filter apart from the UV/IR cut on the camera and combine as a sort of LRGB?

Neil

I use a 120mm and connect it via the USB 2 port on the back of my 2600 (previously I used the 294).  Works fine for me.

Neil

Worth having a look at https://outsideology.com/  .  Not cheap but I'm pretty sure they will build to whatever spec you are needing.  Also have good after sales support for snagging etc.

Neil

@HesperLiz Now you've got it in the polar scope field of view, you might want to mark in some fashion where your tripod legs are set so it is easier to repeat on future nights.  Unless you've got a more permanent set up in which case ignore  

Neil

.....or it is so bright that it has caused a diffraction spike.  🫤  Doh!

Hi All

Couldn't pass up the opportunity to try and image this SN last night.  Have to apologies because the detail is awful as I couldn't get the guiding to work, camera tilt, possible collimation issues, no astro dark etc.  However, I was somewhat surprised to see what appears to be a jet coming out from the SN.  Might be an artefact of the poor imaging but thought I would post it here for interest.

RC 8 - ASI 2600MC - no filters - ~3.5 hours of 45s subs.

Stacked and pre-processed in WBPP.  Background extraction, SPCC, BlurX, EZsoft stretch, NoiseX.  no other processing.

Neil

Edit: Adding a smaller JPEG

M101-SN.tif

Just seen this on the RC Astro site.

https://www.rc-astro.com/resources/MTFAnalyzer/

It seems to be a calculator for assessing the effectiveness of camera to telescope combinations.  Rather technical for me but looks like it is along the same lines as the Astronomy Tools CCD Suitability calculator but appears to give different results.  Any  thoughts?

Neil

On 04/04/2023 at 18:26, powerlord said:

so the asi2600 has 3 bolts in the end, and 3 grub screws.

I can find no docs anywhere explaining how to adjust anything... are the grub screws push/pull or are the bolts in play too - and one set push and one set pull ? and if so- which ?

stu

Might also find this link to a CN post useful

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/849141-asi2600mc-pro-tilt-adapter-adjustment-walkthrough/

Neil

12 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

In Ps I do not add NB to broadband at the linear stage, I do it with fully processed images.  Since I know what parts of the NB will be going into the final image (that is, the parts where the NB is brighter than the BB) I can stretch the two sets differently. The BB stretch must keep a low noise level in the fainter parts because it will be seen in the final image. The NB image can be stretched in the knowledge that its fainter parts will not be included in the final blend, so I can use a very extreme stretch. As long as the faint stuff in the NB is darker than the same faint stuff in the BB, I don't have to worry because it won't be added. 

In a nutshell, the stretches used in NB can (and in my view should) be very different from those used in the BB.

Olly

Thanks Olly

Yep, I think I get what you are saying.  I'll give that a go although, to be honest, my processing skills are pretty basic at the moment but this will be good practice.  

Neil

Thank you both.

PI is crunching through the stacking at the moment so it will be a while then I'll give those expressions a go.  Presumably I will want to do this on non-linear data?

Neil

Thank you.

I'm using PixInsight for my processing so I guess the process here is to stack the two sets of data separately and process each until they are in a non-linear state.  Presumably I would then combine them using Pixel Maths and just play with the balance (e.g. 60/40 or 70/30 etc).  Would there be a more clever way of doing the combination given there is only an hour of narrowband data versus 11 hours of broadband?

Neil

Hi All

I have captured a few nights of data on M31 using an L-Pro filter.  The other night we had intermittent clouds so was doing some experimenting and tinkering with the rig but used M31 as my target and, having discarded a lot of subs, I find I have about an hour of decent dual narrowband data using the L-Extreme filter.

The question I have is, can the L-Extreme data be used in some fashion with the broadband data and if so how might it be used?  For example, is there any value in extracting the Ha data and somehow combining it with the broadband data?  Or something else?

All subs taken with the same camera and telescope.  120s subs for broadband and 180s subs for dual narrow band.

Grateful for your thoughts.

Neil

Mods....apologies.  Should have put this is the Image processing section

Yep, I use TeamViewer and it works just fine.  I guess it depends how good your WiFi is to wherever the rig has been set up.

Neil

I have not done this although I probably will at some point this year.  However, I see that the info from Pegasus does state that the universal bracket will work with a Baader Steeltrack.

Neil

Perfect...thanks Nigel.  So, if I understand it correctly, we are broadly talking about 'size' i.e. half light radius with globular clusters being predominantly in the <=10pc range...ish.

Neil

Hi All

I've been struggling to find a clear definition between what differentiates a Dwarf Galaxy from a Globular Cluster.  The little research I have done seems to come up with various criteria such as number of stars, size, star forming regions, age etc etc. but I wasn't sure I could find a clear definition.  I've no doubt that the answer is out there....  Grateful for your thoughts.

Neil

You may have fixed this already but, for what it is worth, I had a similar problem with my Pegasus Focus Cube.  Turned out it was a slightly loose connection in the USB connecter on the Cube.  Might be worth trying a different USB 3 cable?

Neil

Thanks all.  Just as a follow up, I have not touched the RA axis but have used an M8 rod cut to about 10cm which is screwed into the Dec saddle.  Whilst not perfect, it has made a noticeable improvement to balance and, perhaps more importantly, guiding.  Still not quite right but my guiding has gone from about 0.7-0.9 RMS to about 0.5-0.7 RMS.

Neil

Hi David

Many thanks for the info.  You're right about my comment and it is probably a bit misleading.  I think when I wrote it I was thinking more about the excellent images I see here rather than any specific issue with the quality from the SW 80 ED.  To be honest, I suspect that most of any issues I have (real or perceived) are more about my abilities rather than the scope itself.  In the link below is an example of what I have been getting which to be honest, works for me.  Absolutely agree about the focuser and I also like the idea of the integrated rotator as well.  That said, I'm starting to err more towards getting the 2600MC before upgrading the scope.

Neil

1 hour ago, NGC 1502 said:

I’m replying because no one else has😊

Best guess to answer your question.  If it were me I’d squeeze everything you can from your current scope before considering an upgrade.  Put the money you save towards your next energy bill……..😳

Lol...thank you  Yep, that is kind of what I was thinking.  If the collective wisdom is that it does provide an appreciable improvement (subjective I know|) then I might go for it.  Otherwise, as you say, put it towards the next energy bill  

Neil

Hi All

I have been using the SW 80 ED DS Pro paired with a ZWO 294MC for the last couple of years and have found it a really good scope to start my astro photography journey and has given me results which, if not necessarily great, have been pleasing to me.

I am now considering upgrading and currently have my eye on the StellaMira 90 ED Triplet from FLO but I guess my question is, will it give me a noticeable improvement in quality?

For context, I use my SW 80 with a 0.85 FR/FF but plan on only using a FF with the StellaMira which means both will have a very similar field of view.

Should also say that I am considering upgrading my camera to a ZWO 2600MC as well!

Grateful for your thoughts or any other recommendations.

Neil

Hi All

Was having a go at imaging the Wizard Nebula last night and on one of the subs I noticed that there were two pairs of 'stars' that did not appear on any other sub.  This was a 300s sub, time stamped at 23:57.  Screen shot below with 'stars' arrowed.  Any ideas?

Neil

Brilliant...just the info I need, thank you!  As you said Vlaiv, just need to check on all my thread dimensions etc. then I should be in business  

Neil

2 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

I solved that issue on mine with this:

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p5769_TS-Optics-2-5--Rack-and-Pinion-Focuser---supports-up-to-6-kg---travel-95-mm.html

 

Thanks Vlaiv...yep, thought that was going to be the way forward.  I had been looking at the Baader Diamond SteelTrack but wasn't clear if it would accept a fully threaded connection.  I'll have a look at the TS Optics one though.  Thank you

Neil