Ags

My laptop lasts barely 2 hours out in the cold, so it severely limits imaging time. I did get a Pi 4 running Astroberry a while back, but I had trouble getting it to run the AZ-GTi successfully so gave up on it. Tonight I could have got three of four hours of imaging in (instead of just 90 minutes), so I need to get the Pi working. It just needs to capture the images, I can put up with being deprived of my phone for a night while it runs the AZ-GTi (probably good for me). But... what can I use as a portable power source that can last for 6 hours? Ideally the Pi would be writing the data to a thumb drive.

Actually I am thinking of selling my last few lenses, to fund a duo band filter and a sorely needed IR blocker. It looks like the ZS66 with a 0.63 reducer is wide enough.

Here is my attempt, and my first entry into one of these events. 620 six second subs with an ASI485MC and Zenithstar 66 reduced to f4.3. Bortle 8 skies, full moon, no filters. Processed in APP. I want to add more data to this if I get clear skies.

Thanks, I am giving M45 a try tonight.

Hooray. While watching with my family we couldn't agree on pronunciation however. Naaahsa or Nasser? Eeeesa or Aysa?

I thought JWST data would all be public domain?

Ariane has a superb launch record, the bigger risk is surely when JWST goes all origami in deep space.

@savcom I think you are looking for this: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-mount-accessories/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe-mount-extension-tube.html Regarding AZ-GTi slew speed, you can loosen the clutches and move it quickly by hand without losing alignment.

Just completed my first image in APP - 620 16MB (6 second) frames, took about 12 hours on a fast laptop. What worries me is I want to increase the frame count by a factor of 10!

I literally downloaded the trial version of AstroPixelProcessor, ran it with default settings and nudged a few sliders 1% from their defaults in the final processing. I now believe in magic, and have bought an APP license.

I was using Alt-Az mode, and I wasn't using goto - I just levelled the mount and used point-and-track (that seems to give better tracking 🤣). One innovation I did was use the rotating focusser of my telescope to compensate for the rotation of the target. @AstroNebulee and @badhex thanks for the comments, I did the picture with AstroPixelProcessor and it has really taken my image to the next level!

My AZ-GTI did well this week. Orion, 285mm focal length, f4.3, 600x6s subs, alt-az mode.

I thought I could get more from the data on Orion, but not using Gimp. I gave AstroPixelProcessor a try. Awesome software. License purchased!

If I won the lottery, my mansion on La Palma would feature a brick observatory hosting a 230mm CFF apo.

The researchers specifically mention astronomy as one of the applications, so hopefully they can achieve the desired quality!

Not the problem here - with this technique, the polymer lenses are not polished at all! The smooth surfaces are formed by surface tension.

Last night I was counting the blessings of my little "rig", while I imaged the Moon and M42. It's an AZ-GTi, carbon fibre tripod and Zenithstar 66 scope, so I could quickly move it around the garden while M42 moved between obstacles on my southern view. Getting the AZ GTi to track objects reliably for hours has been difficult, but this week I found all I have to do is exactly level the tripod (very easy with the twist clamps on my Artcise tripod), point the scope at the target and select point-and-track from the Synscan app. The target stays centered with no drift at all. Of course this means I am imaging in alt-az mode, but I had an epiphany last night and realized the ZS66 has a rotating focusser, so I could tweak the focusser periodically and drastically reduce the effective field rotation. As I never shoot subs of more than a few seconds, and I am always checking on the progress frequently, that will probably work for me. Did I mention that the RACI attached to the main scope makes alignment super easy? Or that the "huge" sensor of my new ASI 485 MC really opens up the FOV? Here is the Moon shot at 285 mm focal length (I am using an SCT 0.63 reducer that with my spacing is giving a 0.73 reduction). I need to get an IR-cut (or IR-pass) filter, so the image could be sharper, but at least the Moon gave me an easy way to get focus right. And here is M42, good by my undemanding and unambitious standards even though there is less than an hour of integration time and colors are off and stars are bloated because of IR leak... I have a 2" Baader UHC-S filter, but no way to mount it on the ZS66, only on my camera lenses.

Great picture! Also, enjoyable website. I agree with all your controversial opinions! https://urbanastrophotography.com/index.php/2021/12/09/10-controversial-opinions/

@PeterW Yes I have tested the colors under a red light. The same colors are used in the double star book in my signature. The charts should look a bit like this: Detailed finder charts are provided per object, showing a five degree finder circle (total finder chart 10 degrees square).

On that subject, I was just adding a dab of lubricant to my T2 threads today.

Just installed Good to Stargaze. It says I am in Bortle 7.4, not too far from my estimate of Bortle 8++.

A lovely image, regardless of the grid!

I think intense light pollution multiplies any variability in the sky quality - a little haze will reflect the city lights back at me very strongly, but the same haze in the middle of nowhere has nothing to reflect.

It is from the original article and also wikipedia.

Is the Bortle scale related in any way to the Chortle scale of humor? For example, a Chortle 1 quip can make Spock laugh.