Ags

Maybe not.

Maybe...

Since using the 485 MC with the AsiAir, I am getting blocks/bands of colors in low light regions...

That last one was a bit grey... tried a brightening with the Microsoft tools.

Do you think this would work for the Air Mini, or would the bigger antenna overload an optronic phase coupling (or whatever)?

I have the same finderscope - it changed my life!

Here is my effort at getting more out of the 3 hours of data. Starnet was used by the Siril DSA star reduction script, so clearly that's working.

I have no doubt the lunar landing is going to go ahead on schedule, on budget and without mishaps. But it will be the Chinese who do it.

I added another hour on Sunday night and it looks like I might able to add maybe 3 hours tomorrow. I'll see how far that takes me as I want to switch to my duo filter after that.

You misunderstand me. We don't need to worry about lost tax revenues, as those formerly engaged in these unproductive activities will surrender to the logic of the situation and voluntarily give 100% of their expenditure on such wasteful pursuits directly to scientific and technological research.

Starlink is an example of a commercial opportunity that opened and initiated the most massive launch program of the space age.

we should go to the Moon and Mars, and further out than that too! The small and insufficient investment in space exploration is not the reason we have not fixed the problems on Earth. The 'lets fix Earth first' argument sounds a bit like saying 'lets shut down all research projects so we can buy food aid'. If we really wanted to sort out our problems, we could stop wasting money on things with truly zero or negative value, like sport, alcohol, cosmetics, gambling etc etc. Leave my rockets alone!

What a view!

Share away - more good stuff is good!

I recently acquired an RC6, HEM15, ASIAIR and guide camera. I just want to say it is a pleasure everything works together so flawlessly! I love the smooth hum of the mount as it zips about. Plate solving is so cool I'm not bothered by the occasional failures. The Air makes guiding and capturing hassle free. The RC6 is superb and collimation was not as hard as I feared!

This was an accidental target as I was planning on doing M27 but plate solving wasn't working in that part of the sky. I really should have used my Duo filter for this target, but I shot this as plain RGB. RC6, 110 1 minute subs, ASI485MC binned 2x, DSS, Graxpert, Siril, Gimp. I was hoping to shoot another hour, but clouds. Starnet did not work on this image - too many stars I guess.

The ESA Euclid space telescope has an array of 6x6 CCDs, each with about 4000x4000 12um pixels. That gives it a sensor of about 300x300 mm.

I think the answer to my question is a qualified yes. - for small targets that frame well on both sensors, there is no advantage from a larger sensor size - for large targets that requires a mosaic in one or both sensors, the larger sensor has an enormous advantage in light gathering - a larger sensor will provide more artistic options for target framing - a larger sensor can be used more easily with larger apertures - when comparing different size sensors with the same scope but different targets appropriate to each sensor, the large sensor image can be significantly better because it will have gathered far more light from its target (I.e. the large sensor target covers more mm2 on the sensor, so if surface brightness of the two DSOs is the same, the larger sensor will have collected more light) - the results from both sensors may appear more similar if one insist on 100% zoom pixel peeping, but doing so is like imaging with both sensors reduced to the same ROI, which would defeat the point of comparing the sensor sizes

I should have been clearer. With a larger sensor (e.g. full frame camera vs crop) you would use a longer lens for the same framing. The longer lens has shallower depth of focus so it has more pronounced bokeh. All quite irrelevant for AP of course.

Glad to hear this. I had a quick look at some doubles with the RC6 once and star colors and brilliance were very, very good.

I had some issues collimating the RC6, I found a Cheshire about as useful as a chocolate rocket, and only made progress when I switched to collimating with my camera. The results from the Cheshire were highly deceptive. Hope the issues you face are "only" cooling!

Another grand astronomical event I successfully avoided. Of all the nights to go to bed early.

I was thinking of getting a CC6, but I went another path and got its photographic evil twin the RC6. I am very happy with that scope, I hope you will enjoy the CC6 as much!

More nicerer. More seriously, I am just looking for different perspectives, so i am sure people will have their own standards of 'better' which will lead to divergent answers.

This is something I have wondered about... does a bigger sensor result in a better picture, if we keep the scope the same and select similar targets appropriate to the framing of each sensor? Also assume the pictures are displayed at normal picture size, so no pixel peeping! The noise grain would be finer on the larger sensor, the stars would be smaller and the larger sensor would obviously capture more light/data... In conventional photography a larger sensor gives better bokeh etc, but does a similar rule apply in astrophotography?