Ags

I have a C6 coming this week (calloo callay! o frabjous day!) intended primarily for planetary imaging and visual use, but DSO lucky imaging has caught my eye. It looks like meaningful images can be taken with 500ms exposures at F10, which I think my AZ-GTi can handle. The thought of imaging planetaries, galaxies and globs at 1500m focal length (or 945mm with a reducer) with my humble equipment has me excited. The ASI 178 MM is nice and sensitive and it it has little little pixels that should love the sharpness of lucky imaging. Something to keep me busy while we wait for planet season? Time will tell if I can coax my setup to give results, but actual how-to info on DSO lucky imaging is hard to come by. Do I shoot video and stack like a planetary image in AS! or do I shoot individual frames and do a DSO pipeline in DSS? Does anyone know, or have any handy tips and tricks? EDIT: Just adding one of my efforts so the picture displayed for the thread matches the subject.

The Fi C6 will arrive in a few days. I'll put it on my scales when it arrives. If it really weighs 2.17 kgs... I will buy a new scale!

Full marks for recycling.

Interestingly, Celestron state on the link I gave above that the Fi mount max load is 3.6 kgs... When writing these specs, do they just roll dice?

I would think that but according to Celestron specs the Fi tube weight is 2.17 kgs which is less than half the 4.54 kgs usually stated for a C6 OTA. I don't believe either figure, for the record. https://www.celestron.com/products/astro-fi-6-schmidt-cassegrain-telescope

Hi, my supplier has proposed substituting an Astro Fi 6 OTA for the Evolution 6 OTA I ordered. Are there any differences to be aware of? The Fi looks lighter which is a strong point in its favor, and it's black which is also a plus. But does Celestron cut any corners with the budget oriented Fi OTA?

And I now have a C6 winging its way to me... 😜

I'll follow this thread with interest. I am a happy owner of a GTi although it can be a bit temperamental.

I don't think so - it's not just the weight but also the diameter and length. I am just going to trust the manufacturer's specs - the AZ GTi says it can take 5 kilos so I'll go with that!

CGI!

Elon Musk (All Hail Elon Musk) will do it. SLS is a horrible money trap. Yesterday's technology with each launch costing a billion dollars. https://spacenews.com/op-ed-nasa-need-another-space-assignment/

Because airliners have trick windows that make the horizon look curved. Or so I am told on the twitterfacenet.

Not impressed - why give the guy a national platform? We all may laugh, but he got to spread his ideas to a huge audience. And from the other side - there's something a bit off about putting somebody on TV with the intent to merely laugh at their sincere beliefs.

To add to that, even if Earth is compressed into a black hole, the gravitational strength experienced at 6371km from the black hole would still be 1g.

Well, the C6 weighs 3.8 kgs plus accessories, so that should be ok. But it is getting close - that's why I am looking for real-world experiences.

You don't need a lot of mass to form a black hole, you just need a lot of density. If the Earth was squeezed into a sphere 17.4mm in diameter, it would be a black hole. If you spread out the same matter over an Earth sized sphere the gravity at the surface is only 1g or course. By the way, as you travel into a uniform sphere the gravitational force experienced is equal to the matter closer to the center of the sphere than you. So if you went to the center of the Earth you would be floating about in free fall!

Just revisiting this thread - still not sure the AZ-GTi can take a C6. I have started saving for one anyway 😀 Does anyone have any new thoughts or experiences on the C6 + AZ-GTi combo?

I tremble at the thought of setting up that beast. Hats off to you. On a simple practical level, how do you manage it?

Looks like it went well....

Just posting a big Thank You to the postal workers who brought a ton of good stuff this year. AZ-GTi and ASI178MM in particular, an awesome year from an astroconsumerist point of view.

One Falcon 9 rocket launches 66 Starlink satellites at a time. As these satellites are in very low orbits they should only be visible in twilight. Those passing overhead at night will be fully in Earth's shadow.

That is lovely.

I got the Teleskop Service version of this: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astro-essentials/astro-essentials-canon-ef-lens-to-t2-adapter-for-cmosccd-cameras.html

The PDF looks brilliant.

I'd forgotten about the region around Sadr! Is there anything in Spring to early Summer?