LaurenceT

I hear it's on back order already! Must be flying off the shelf....

I think there can be various causes, but the one that comes to mind is that if the target is very close to the zenith then alt az mounts have more difficulty tracking.

I decided to have a go at the Iris Nebula when the stars appeared briefly last night. I only managed to get 20 minutes of total integration of 10 second subs. It was over the northern part of my garden which is heavily light polluted due to street lamps and Heathrow in the distance so I have previously avoided it. There were also many intermittent cloud bands. I tried several apps for stacking and stretching but the best one for bringing out the blue nebulosity turned out to be Astro Pixel Processor, unfortunately there is no structural detail visible which doesn't really surprise me! I realise this is precisely why I have the Seestar, the forecasts last night showed continual cloud cover, I wouldn't have contemplated setting up my astrophotography kit. If I had set up my longest scope the iris nebula would still have been a tiny blob. Setting up the Seestar took just over 5 minutes.

It's been cloudy all evening over Camberley and as I've got a rotten cough (thanks Granddaughter) I thought I'd turn in just before 10. I made the big mistake of popping outside and lo and behold...stars! Set the Seestar up in 5 minutes and been happily on the Iris Nebula since, funny how a bit of astro stimulation makes you feel better!

Is it possible to show your Seestar in EQ mode or if not possible then a description of how you do it?

I've only just started taking flats and dark flats (novice mistake) and I'm using a panel bought from the same place I buy my dew heaters. It's made quite a difference, no weird blobs on images caused by little bits of stuff in the imaging train! I've cobbled it together with a spare mobile phone charger using 3M Command picture hanging strips and a short usb cable, makes it very easy to use. 5 Inch LED Light Panel (dewcontrol.com)

Excellent image, well done.

There's already one for sale on Facebook, used only once apparently🙄

What I'm looking forward to are at least 500+ time lapse videos on Facebook Seestar pages of the eclipse. I asked my Seestar last night if it was disappointed at missing out on the eclipse, it didn't answer so I've contacted ZWO for a "chat" facility firmware upgrade.........

Apologies if this has been posted already but there is a new Siril script for Seestar: Siril - New ZWO Seestar script and tutorial Amongst of my many astro weak points processing is one but I ran this M42 a second time through the new script with some post processing and I was quite surprised at some of the detail. #1 is the first attempt , processed in the Seestar and tweaked in DXo and Topaz, #2 is the one run through the Siril script and followed by some processing in Siril, DXo Photolab3 and Topaz I'm aware that both are poor by non-Seestar standards.

Thanks, I've just started taking flats and dark flats now, it's made a difference.

I don't agree with your analysis, it's not a one trick pony as it can make images of many (but not all) different objects, it also doubles as a simple approach to EAA and outreach. Half decent images? Most of the images I have seen are exactly that, only half decent by the standards of general astrophotography but they are images nonetheless. A simple analogy would be my decades long hobby of bird photography. I would hope that the images I have taken are the result of good fieldcraft, knowledge of my subject and the ability to use the instruments I have available. I would be proud to present those images for the highest scrutiny. On the other hand if I am out and not specifically doing bird photography I may see something avian that interests me and I take a quick shot either with the camera I have or indeed a phone camera.. I class those as record shots and would present them as such. I would think that all of the Seestar images I have seen are presented as that, they are presented as "an image of X taken on my Seestar" just as I would present a record shot of a bird to other serious bird photographers. They are also not "Polaroids" because they give people the opportunity to enhance the images, something that is not given to users of Polaroid cameras.

It won't replace the rig you've created which I imagine is quite complex and expensive but it can compliment it.

The " holiday" thing was a major part of my pitch to my Domestic Financial Controller " the Az GTi is soooo noisy on a campsite".....

Ed's probably still miffed he dropped somebody elses telescope the other day and totalled it, must have cost him dear😆.