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First Light with FSQ 85 - at last!


steppenwolf

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Wednesday night was the first clear(ish) night I've had here since taking delivery of the FSQ 85. Despite the high moisture content of the air that left a thin high mist across the sky, I finally got first light with the new 'scope and only the third outing with my QSI 683 CCD camera. Although it won't win any prizes - the composition is not quite right, I didn't flat field it and there are some star shape issues to resolve, I was delighted with the wide field of view that the FSQ 85 gives with the .73x reducer. My software alert system worked perfectly to page me warning of cloud cover so it was a pity about the cloud but the warning system worked perfectly, nearly waking the whole household!!!

The Cygnus Loop

Also known as the Veil Nebula Complex, there are three particular regions of interest. From top left to bottom right in the image below, The Witches Broom Nebula (NGC 6960), Pickering's Triangle and the Eastern Veil (NGC 6992). This is a great object for narrowband imaging as it responds well to Ha and OIII filtering.

Camera: QSI 683 WSG8
Filter: Baader 7nm Ha
Mount: Mesu 200
Telescope: Takahashi FSQ 85 with .72x reducer
Guiding: SX Lodestar with QSI integrated OAG
Bad Pixel processing: None

Deconvolution: none

Calibration: none (oh the shame of it - I believe there is a book out there that says your MUST calibrate?)
Stacking: MaxIm DL
Post Processing: PhotoShop CS3
Subframes: 11 x 1200sec Ha

Sky: Very milky with the session finishing early with full cloud cover!

post-1029-0-60026600-1382713276_thumb.jp

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Calibration: none (oh the shame of it - I believe there is a book out there that says your MUST calibrate?)

Sorry Steve, what book is it that you're talking about?    :tongue:

I've struggled to get my reducer perfectly square to the OTA.  I thought the first one was loose due to a fault, but the replacement has arrived in similar form, and this one has an allen key included for the set screws which secure the collar to the reducer.  So I think tak must supply them not fully locked.  This has certainly left me with some play in the reducer, even when fully threaded to the CCA.

Jack

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What do you put the star shapes down to?

Hi Simon, I am currently assuming sensor tilt as I had fantastic tracking that night - my graph looked like it had flatlined!

Sorry Steve, what book is it that you're talking about?    :tongue:

Can't imagine but I clearly don't practice what I preach .... :lipsrsealed:

So I think tak must supply them not fully locked.

That's very interesting - I too have that small Allen key so I will check this out tomorrow - currently capturing those darks I 'forgot' to take ......

Thanks for your comments folks, I must say that I am really looking forward to getting this set-up fully running as it is gear that I have lusted after for a long time and I've had to sell and save furiously to get this far!

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I guess they're not bad, these FSQ85s...  :grin:

I'd forgotten about those little allen key tilt adjusters but, yes, I had to centre mine at the beginning. Doubtless you can tune out chip tilt with them but all I did was loosen the screws, press one part down into the other on a flat surface and tighten them again. All was then well. Chip distance is pretty critical but I'm sure you'll have got that right.

Nice wide image but you do have to go after the tail! (Be sure not to dock it, either, as I did, dammit. It gets longer the deeper you go!)

Olly

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So I think tak must supply them not fully locked.

I'd forgotten about those little allen key tilt adjusters but, yes, I had to centre mine at the beginning.

Right folks - my corrector collar turns out to be as loose as Mr. Loose from the town of Loose - on - Loose near Looseville.  :Envy: 

I love this place (SGL) no matter how far down 'the journey' you are, there is always something new to learn and I am still like a sponge!! :cool:

Thanks for the heads up folks. :grin:

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Hi Steve,

Fabulous wide-field shot of the Cygnus Loop. Yes I can see many, many hours of enjoyment with your new Mount, Scope & camera set-up. 

Once you've ironed all the little quirks & foibles. But that's what's so enduring with astrophotography.

The one big reason I have ventured this far into imaging is reading and understanding the fundamentals of your book, and when things go wrong,

you are mentioned in derogatory terms.. "that blumming SR if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be in this mess".... But what it normally boils down to is

Blame the worker not his tools syndrome. So now when things go wrong I call it an SR moment.

Clear skies & let's see those images coming.

Steve

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Hi Steve,

Fabulous wide-field shot of the Cygnus Loop. Yes I can see many, many hours of enjoyment with your new Mount, Scope & camera set-up. 

Once you've ironed all the little quirks & foibles. But that's what's so enduring with astrophotography.

The one big reason I have ventured this far into imaging is reading and understanding the fundamentals of your book, and when things go wrong,

you are mentioned in derogatory terms.. "that blumming SR if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be in this mess".... But what it normally boils down to is

Blame the worker not his tools syndrome. So now when things go wrong I call it an SR moment.

Clear skies & let's see those images coming.

Steve

I always blame Bill Gates...

:evil: lly

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  • 2 weeks later...

So now when things go wrong I call it an SR moment.

Funnily enough, Steve, that's pretty much what I call it too!

Nice wide image but you do have to go after the tail! (Be sure not to dock it, either, as I did, dammit. It gets longer the deeper you go!)

OK, here's a bit more tail from my 'second light' but I'm still struggling to get the stars to my satisfaction. I'm working on it - watch this space!

post-1029-0-13155100-1383770876_thumb.jp

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What's wrong with the stars?  They look pretty fantatsic pictures to my [novice] eye.....?  What should the "eagle eye" be looking for?

Star shape in the far corners is the problem. The problem looks a little like 'field rotation' through poor PA but this is not the case. The following composite is a 100% crop of all four corners in a single image. This is either sensor tilt (although I have not seen the issue with this camera before) or a collimation error. In all other respects, I am very pleased with the image and extensive field of view:-

post-1029-0-91224200-1383780028_thumb.jp

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You don't need much tilt to get that elongation. I have the same problem with my FSQ106, it was perfect for a while but needs a bit of tightening of the focuser.

Are you scared of posting a link to a full-res image? ;)

/per

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A very nice and crisp tester. You must be very pleased so far. Good luck with finding and curing the miss alignment.

I look at it and think of ceilings and floors. Your floor is my ceiling !

Dave.

One of the finest Avatars I've seen too. A credit.

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Star shape in the far corners is the problem. The problem looks a little like 'field rotation' through poor PA but this is not the case. The following composite is a 100% crop of all four corners in a single image. This is either sensor tilt (although I have not seen the issue with this camera before) or a collimation error. In all other respects, I am very pleased with the image and extensive field of view:-

attachicon.gifveil_2_corners.jpg

Looks like spacing, my APM & Riccardi did this when its too close between the CCD and rear reducer element, get the spacing spot on a 'perfect' stars are again available..

Dont ask me why its not uniformly wrong on all corners, I put that down to perhaps one of my front elements a micron out of colimation..

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