Jup n Ganymede 17.10.12 +star test C11+SPC

[AztecastroMcJ]

so got few Jupiter captures with 2.5x barlow

and some quick star tests (just camera no barlow) this morning with C11 + SPC

before clouds arrived to spoil seeing Ganymede transit

def need to sort collimation out next time out,

seeing was better than last time out but as collimation off i wasn't expecting anything great

hopefully Neil or someone can confirm current collimation is rubbish lol and i'm not seeing things

looks worse on one side of focus than other, what u think ?

James

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Collimation does look off. Still got some detail there, but when collimated a C11 can capture more (focus needs to be spot on as well, of course).

[cgarry]

Yes, your collimation is way off. Easily fixed though!

Cheers,

Chris

[Freddie]

That's an ok pic there given how far out your collimation is. Get that screw driver out !!!

[Space Cowboy]

That image is pretty good considering how far off collimation is. I use a laser with my Dob but I don't think they are much use with a C11

[cgarry]

Get that screw driver out !!!

Shudder! I remember why I bought Bob's knobs now.

[Freddie]

And make sure you've got a good grip on the screw driver. I doubt corrector plates work very well with big scratches !!!!!!

[AztecastroMcJ]

lol yep screwdriver on standby,

tho prob shud get bobs knobs ordered as thought of dropping screwdriver is not very nice

really need dew heater strip aswell as corrector mists up very fast with no dew shield on and i cant collimate with dew shield on

hopefully strip will keep dew at bay

thx guys

James

[AztecastroMcJ]

how do you power dew strips btw take it it plugs in to powertank ?

[neil phillips]

so got few Jupiter captures with 2.5x barlow

and some quick star tests (just camera no barlow) this morning with C11 + SPC

before clouds arrived to spoil seeing Ganymede transit

def need to sort collimation out next time out,

seeing was better than last time out but as collimation off i wasn't expecting anything great

hopefully Neil or someone can confirm current collimation is rubbish lol and i'm not seeing things

looks worse on one side of focus than other, what u think ?

James

I think the guys with SCTs should really be advising you James as they are using them on a regular basis. But i will say this, and Chris will know more than me for sure. And hopefully will chip in if i am right. Be careful to collimate when the scope is cool. as any side temperature distortions will to a degree give you false readings. The scope has to properly be cooled to collimate.

It looks to me here the scope may not have been cooled enough. Because the side thats leaning does seem to have a temperature affect on it too. So again the guys with SCTs will know more about that than me. But if your getting that kind of test without barlow. i suspect it will look far worse with barlow. Chris will know what power to be using when testing. Thats all i can say

[Freddie]

Yep definately need to ensure scope is fully cooled before collimation. For me, any hot air currents show as wobbly lines at the top of the image(though I guess that depends which way up your cam is) I set up ready to image and use the same setup to collimate. I also use metaguide as it stacks images so helps to keep the effects of poor seeing under control for collimation. Be a perfectionist, slightly out can make a massive difference.

[AztecastroMcJ]

Cheers Neil n Freddy, i'll make sure i sort it next time i hope