Bluemoonjim

wow!

Use the filter!!

Think you got to suck it and see I took this without a filter with just under half moon and have definitely got some sky glow in there... but hey, it's art! good luck with it, with or without filter.

Hi I think the suggestion to try it and see how it goes is a good one. So easy to keep spending money on bits of kit! Having said that, I suspect that you will quickly find the limitations of your current setup. (USB2 rather than USB3 ports being one possible limitation with some cameras) I don't know what your financial situation is (obviously) but there are some very well specified, older laptops on the used market that would cover all the bases for around £200 or less. Good luck

Hi For what it's worth.....I have been using similar spec' Gigabyte Brix as Centroid. I wouldn't call it overkill but it certainly handles everything very smoothly. Purchased from dealer on Ebay with 12 month warranty for £140. It has solved all my previous USB cabling problems and has proved to be vary stable. I'm currently running an Altair Astro 269c osc, Zwo mini guide and PMC8 mount control directly connected to the Brix. I then connect to my main PC via ethernet cable using Microsoft Remote Desktop, this allows me to run SharpCap, Cartes du Ciel, PHD2 on the mini PC. At the end of session I just copy my folder of images across to main PC for processing. Also have the option of WiFi Remote Desktop but broadband in my neck of the woods is not very reliable. Jack

Hi Would be happy to have peoples input here. I've just made the move from unmodified DSLR to OSC camera (AltairAstro 269c) I did have a pretty good routine with calibration frames using the DSLR and thought the OSC would be much the same but...I am confused. With a OSC camera: 1. I am presuming that dark frames still need to equal exposure time of the lights (as with dslr) is this correct? 2. When shooting flats, is the governing factor setting the histogram correctly (ie whatever exposure and gain setting is needed)? 3. If using dark flats, can I forget about bias frames? 4. Is 'unity gain' something I should be aiming at for all imaging? 5. Is the 'live stacking' process like using DeepSkyStacker, so that the final image can be processed in Photoshop. First light with OSC camera last night and had some success using SharpCap and letting the histogram 'brain' choose my settings but seemed to end up with longish exposure times (4 - 5 minute subs). I can't quite figure out how to set shorter exposures without moving away from the dreaded 'unity gain'. That'll do for now

M40's pointer to the 'What can I expect to see' article is relevant. So many first time scopes end up on ebay etc because actual viewing can't possibly live up to expectation created by the images that are used to promote some of the lower end 'scopes. The disappointment, combined with the challenge of finding targets often leads to a quick abandoning of what can be a lifetime of interest. So, unless you have a little experience, I would go for ease of use and quality of image. For your sort of budget you can pick up one of the longer focal length Skywatcher Achromats (90mm to 120mm objective range) either on eq or alt mount. These, in my opinion, are so much easier to use, setup move, maintain (no collimation to worry about). They're great first time observing scopes that can take you a long way into the hobby. But that is only my opinion and, of course, I could be wrong 🙃

Hi Richard Thanks for the encouraging words. I can certainly understand what you are saying regarding intergration time and tha abilty to see H-alpha compared to my current setup. I did attempt the Witches Broom in the Veil nebula a while ago and (apart from focussing problems!) soon realised that it would requier many hours to get anything like a decent amount of detail using my dslr. Now I have seen some of the images captured by yourself and Lee (check out his website) I know it's just a matter of time before the itch to buy a dedicated camera will have to be scratched!

Very nice images Richard. I'm inspired. Wish I hadn't seen them though, this is going to cost me serious money 🙂

Thank you all for the feedback, I'll be checking out 'Dark Art or Magic Bullet' and thanks for various suggestions. Lee, I looked at the 533 but on the Altair Astro version they warn that it may have problems running on usb2 their 269c has similar pixel size (3.3) and supposedly good to go usb2. Anyway, we'll see. Plenty to be getting on with without spending a load more cash.

You nailed it - ' the unachievable goal'. More like art than science.

Skies are officially bortle 4. Quite rural, can see milky-way. I use dss and then photoshop for processing, haven't tried any photoshop plug-ins yet. Once dss has finished I import into ps and play with levels and stretches. Not really worked out a proper work flow yet

Hi I've attached a couple more images. These were around 25- 30 lights 10 Darks 10 BIAS 10 Dark FLATS iso 800 240sec for Sunflower Galaxy iso 800 150 sec for Whirlpool Galaxy Be merciful I have other images, but these are most recent. So far, managed no more than about a dozen sessions some of them were completely fruitless in terms of images, so I do appreciate it is early days.

Hi Lee Thank you for response. Just read your web pages about upgrades. Think I'm there on most of it bar the OSC camera, the pier and the electronic focuser The OSC route is what I'm considering, apart from the more whimsical issue about pursuit of perfection, one of the things I was hesitant about was whether my current usb cable setup could handle the data from one of these cameras. My trusty Canon downloads images using BYEOS quite reliably but when I experimented using a small sensor Altair Astro GPCAM I had all sorts of usb traffic issues ie. drop outs, freezes. I think it may be voltage power issues rather than data but I am running cables out about 10+ metres, from nice warm garden studio, and wonder if long usb2 can truly support these larger sensored OSC cameras. I had been considering a 183c but from what I think I now understand, that may not be best for my scope which is 102mm F/7 (714mm). So now I think it's between a 269c or the 294c or maybe you would recommend something other? I'll take a look at the FLO sale, thanks for the heads up on that.

I started my AP journey at the end of summer 2020, so still very much a newbie, but at the stage of beginning to make some sense of how to capture images and getting familiar with various bits of kit. I have so far been using an unmodified Canon EOS 500d as my main imaging camera a ZWO 120mm for guiding and am now getting some reasonably trouble free sessions with some pleasing (to me) results (after some of the sessions ANY sort of result was pleasing!). When I look at more experienced people's images I can see that I have some way to go to achieve something similar. I have been considering buying a dedicated astro' camera but I am also starting to realise that this is a pastime that can quickly consume large amounts of money and sometimes give little return, either because the newly purchased bit of kit is not quite the right 'bit of kit' or because to get the best out of the new kit you need to upgrade other parts of your setup ... and so it snowballs. The whole process of astrophotography has so many variables and nuances and even experienced practitioners seem to find much to debate regarding methods and equipment so it quite easy for people like myself, new to the field, to go off on all sorts of tangents, often expensive tangents! I have to remind myself from time to time why I was drawn to AP in the first place, remember the wonder I felt at my first view of space through a telescope. It was a late summer evening, about 50 years ago using one of the old telescopes that used to be on the seafront in most seaside towns. There was a very bright star out above the sea and with no knowledge, just out of curiosity, pointed the 'scope at it. The 'star' became a small bright disc with four small stars (moons) in a diagonal line across it, it was Jupiter. I couldn't believe that I could actually see another world, it was bloody amazing! I know that to progress with AP one does have wrestle with issues of pixel scales and focal lengths, cabling issues, tracking, guiding, exposure times, calibration frames, processing etc but I'm wondering at what point does the whole thing become an unwinnable pursuit of perfection? As I said I have been excited by results so far, in much the same way I was with my first view of Jupiter, so should I stick with what I have and just work on getting better? OR will £1000+ worth of dedicated astro camera make THAT much difference, I don't know, will it?

Hey Michael and Vlaiv Thank you so much for the responses. Explanation about chromatic aberration makes perfect sense of what I have been seeing in SharpCap. Also appreciate the point about the quality of mount, at this stage my expectations are not particularly high with regard to accuracy, just needed to know I won't be making things worse. So much to learn, but good to know I haven't got completely the wrong kit! Cheers guys

Hi I have the Altair Astro Starwave 102ed-r, which is 102mm f/7 (715mm) At the moment I am using a 50mm f4.1 (206mm) guide scope with a with ZWO Asi 120mm mini mono. Guiding with PHD2 seems to be working ok... but I noticed that when using Sharpcap to focus the guide scope on the moon it is was not possible to achieve a sharp, detailed image. Presumably this has something to do with focal length and camera pixel size? I have been trying to get my head around info regarding this online but there seems to be (as always) differing ideas about what constitutes an ideal setup? My question is: Is my combination of camera and guide scope going to give me best possible chance of accurate guiding? Sorry for my non technical terminology but I'm still in the noob department.

Hi Chris I have had an Explore Scientific Exos2 with PMC-8 since September 2020. This is my first EQ mount and my main reason for choosing it was that I couldn't find a Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount for love nor money! From what I have seen the SW HEQ5 is superior in terms of construction, finish, and by many accounts, tracking accuracy. IF you can find one, the HEQ5 at approx' £1000 is currently around £300- £350 more than the Exos2-PMC8 depending where you buy, so although not a massive difference it was a consideration for me. As I am fairly new to the world of AP it is difficult for me to discuss the Exos2 in any great technical depth, however.... I have found setting up the mount and connecting up the PMC8 system pretty straightforward and have to say everything worked as it should first time out. Considering this was my first attempt at AP and I was on a fairly steep learning curve (still am!) I was more than pleased with my first experience with the mount. I decided that the Explore Science app Explore Stars was not for me and instead opted for Cartes du Ciel for go-to/tracking and Backyard EOS for imaging. My first images, taken using Canon 500d unmodified and a TS Optics f/7 72mm doublet, were around 3 minute subs unguided. The short focal length, wide FOV of the scope is a very forgiving of tracking errors, even so I was surprised at how well the session went (nice round stars). I've recently moved up to a 102mm f7 scope and, although still a fairly forgiving setup, have started using PHD for guiding and the mount seems to be performing very well. As I say, I don't yet know enough to give in depth analysis but for the money, at my level of experience and equipment, I can't really fault the Exos2-PMC8. I would add that there is a level of support from Explore Scientific and community which goes far beyond what you would normally find from any manufacturer/distributor.