Ags

I am hoping it stays clear tonight, so I can try a much longer sequence. I think I will ditch the delay between sequences to get it a bit smoother and go down 5 or 6 millisecond subs. It's hard to give up the 8ms subs, because at 120 fps I'm capturing 960ms of light per second.

I finally had a go at shooting a Jupiter animation, and I am pretty pleased with the result. I think the animation helps bring out the detail despite the limited aperture. I am particularly pleased I picked up some clear white ovals in the south. By pure luck, I also picked up Callisto making its escape off to the bottom right. 8 ms subs, ROI 640x480, 10 two-minute sequences at 120fps with 30-second gaps. I shot without a barlow last night, not entirely sure that is an improvement... It sure was easier to track the planet though! 🤣

What kind of telescope are you using? For example, I recall that the difference between a Hyperion 24 and an ES 24 was drastic in an f5 Newt, but the eyepieces performed indistinguishably in an f13 Mak. I use a Super 25 a lot, but it definitely has shortcomings, such as a real fishbowl effect if you try to use it for daylight spotting.

Can we have a Nagler 31 for scale?

Well, it is a bit wider than the Nagler Zoom, so the Svbony one is surely a step in the right direction? The zoom range of the Svbony is ideal for me and I really like the compactness. The eyepiece is also visually appealing, which is apparently an important criterion for me 🤣 Regarding settling times, I agree. But I am prepared to give this a go - 60 degrees AFOV could be workable with a 400-600 mm FL scope.

I believe the target price is around $150, which is the sort of price point that makes the eyepiece interesting for me too.

I think if they sort out the glare issues, everyone is going to own one of these.

It should be available by the end of the year. There are a couple of engineering sample reviews about, relatively positive but some glare issues.

It looks a lot like the Nagler zoom, but it adds a couple of mm on the wide end and offers a constant 56° FOV.

Those look really good, streets ahead of my efforts with a C6.

Ironically I ended up keeping the ATT6 snd selling the Castor to fund new adventures. Yes the Castor is better, but the AZT6 is lighter and cheaper, factors which make me more inclined to forgive its shortcomings. To answer your question, I always used the Castor on a Berlebach Report 112 tripod, quite short but with 25 kg capacity.

I see clear skies, but where is the telescope??? I was busy prepping my semiregular game of Dungeons and Dragons, and forgot to put out the telescope to cool! I hope the clear skies hold, and that 1 hour is enough time for a C6 to cool!

Yes that is looknig more natural and relaxed! A lot of detail for 8"!

A telescope always accompanies me on holiday. My portable setup includes: ZS66, AZ-GTi, AZT6, RACI, 20/12/6 mm eyepieces, ZWO camera, laptop, power pack, Artcise tripod. On the last trip I did however forget the USB cable for the camera!

That's what I remember from my N16 - very strong field curvature, much more than a wider eyepiece like an ES 24/68 would show. I could see the issue in a Mak, so I blamed the eyepiece. Pleased to hear the 10 mm at least does not exhibit this - I'm tempted to replace my rather bulky Speers WALER 4.9 and 13.4 mm with the Nirvanas.

Ok, I will try ditching the barlow next time.

I am imaging the planets this year with an ASI485MC and C6. The camera pixels are 2.9ųm, so superficially the native focal ratio of F10 should be fine. Due to the bayer matrix the blue and red pixels are actually spaced every 5.8ųm, so am I correct in using a barlow to increase the focal ratio to around F20? Secondly, I am thinking of imaging the Moon in daylight as I have a limited view of the sky and want to image the Moon in its older phases which I can't do by night. For this project I am thinking of getting an 850nm IR pass filter and using the sensor in mono mode. Would this work? Here is the light curve of the ASI485MC: And here us my best Jupiter so far this year:

It was less than an hour of 6 second exposures.

Thanks! Yes, that was shot alt-az with an ASI485MC and ZenithStar 66 (reduced to f4 with an SCT 6.3 reducer).

As far as I know there is no need to align (what?) North. Just plonk the scope down, get it level, point at whatever, and point-and-track it. In theory the tracking will be just as good as a three star alignment, unless you are pointing at something near the zenith (in which case the mount won't know where north is). I never use goto because I hate the bother of alignment. I took this with point and track.

I am afraid eyepieces trigger an unresolvable collecting glitch in my brain. I am constantly thinking about how to rejig my collection - I don't have many but my particular "thing' is trying to create the smallest collection of eyepieces that feel "complete". This is complicated by my wish to have parallel sets of widefields for regular viewing and plossl-likes for nostalgic viewing.

Looking forward to reading your thoughts.

That is very neat hole!

I couldn't understand my N16 - It was great on some nights and appalling on others. It got so confusing I sold it. I am thinking of buying a new one...

I want them all!!!!!!!!