Imaging with the 130pds

[Whistlin Bob]

Here's my effort from Monday night on the Cocoon nebula. This is 40x 3 minute subs using an Altair 4nm dual band filter and an SVBony SV405cc.

[braybarr]

Got 4hrs of Ha data on Monkey Head recently. Boy do I love this scope. 

Edited October 25, 2022 by braybarr

[braybarr]

Elephant Trunk Nebula in OSH as well as a split of SHO and Foraxx’s (thecoldestnights.com) dynamic SHO. 

4.5h Sii and Oii, 4h Ha. Had an absolute blast with these. 

[RolandKol]

My, kinda, cloud piercing image
Shot in between and even through some clouds, only 2h per channel and STRONGLY overprocessed as my lady liked it more in such a manner....
(probably red colour is luring for ladies)  

 

 

Edited October 31, 2022 by RolandKol

[braybarr]

Sorry for clogging the thread but I’m just over the moon!! I’ve had the 130PDS for a few years now and I’m just finally getting to the point of being able to image without issue. 

I’m up to 12 hours of Ha on Flaming Star Nebula and I’ve always dreamt of getting data like this. This scope is so amazing for its size. 

[Stuf1978]

IC63 with the 130PDS. Shot with a ZWO ASI294MC Pro, 11.5 hours of 5 minute subs with an Optolong L-eXtreme plus 15 minutes of unfiltered subs for rgb stars

[Turbocoo]

Bubble nebula taken in August, rubbish weather since! 

Asi533 

Ts Maxfield cc 

Optolong L-extreme 

Edited November 7, 2022 by Turbocoo

[edarter]

M106 taken earlier this year. Early(ish) days for me with PI but fairly happy with this one!

[edarter]

And now a reprocess in PI of some old M51 data with new data added earlier this year. Feeling a bit more comfortable with PI now

[RolandKol]

A bit of comedy here before the weekend,

any advise would really help.

 

[Ratlet]

Just wondering who among us are use a mask on the primary vs those who have siliconed it in?  I'm in the process of modding mine up and have floc'd it (inside and outside of the focuse tube too) and just getting onto the primary.

Also wondering if I did mask the mirror would it matter if it was coloured plastic that was used, so long as it is low reflectivity?  I've not got any black for the 3D printer, only rainbow.

Also hoping the floc will help with contrast on jupiter as it is a tad washed out IMHO.

[AstroMuni]

I have acquired a 130PDS recently and need some advice. I use an ASI533 pro and 30mm guidescope+ASI120mini attached to it. As I setup and takedown the scope every night, I need a space-saving way to store the OTA with cameras attached. On my 130 Astromaster it stands up on its base but with the 130pds I find it impossible and that means I have to store it along its side making sure that it doesnt roll and cause the main camera to hit the floor.

How do others store their scope?

[AstroMuni]

Here is my first image taken with the 130pds, ASI533MC Pro on a HEQ5 Pro. This is 30mins worth data. EDIT: Forgot the Baader MPCC. Comments welcome.

Edited November 24, 2022 by AstroMuni

[Ratlet]

3 minutes ago, AstroMuni said:

Here is my first image taken with the 130pds, ASI533MC Pro on a HEQ5 Pro. This is 30mins worth data. Comments welcome.

Cracking.  Really nice image for only 30 min of data.  I'm rocking the same setup.  Did you use a coma corrector?  Your stars look nice in the corners.

[AstroMuni]

3 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Did you use a coma corrector?

Thanks. I have used the Baader MPCC for this but needs  a bit of backfocus adjusting to remove small coma in corners

Edited November 24, 2022 by AstroMuni

[edarter]

On 24/11/2022 at 14:23, AstroMuni said:

I have acquired a 130PDS recently and need some advice. I use an ASI533 pro and 30mm guidescope+ASI120mini attached to it. As I setup and takedown the scope every night, I need a space-saving way to store the OTA with cameras attached. On my 130 Astromaster it stands up on its base but with the 130pds I find it impossible and that means I have to store it along its side making sure that it doesnt roll and cause the main camera to hit the floor.

How do others store their scope?

I store mine on its side with dslr, guidescope and guide camera all still attached. I just make sure it's already gently rolled so the dslr is resting on the surface it's stored on....if that makes sense.

[Space Oddities]

On 24/11/2022 at 15:23, AstroMuni said:

I have acquired a 130PDS recently and need some advice. I use an ASI533 pro and 30mm guidescope+ASI120mini attached to it. As I setup and takedown the scope every night, I need a space-saving way to store the OTA with cameras attached. On my 130 Astromaster it stands up on its base but with the 130pds I find it impossible and that means I have to store it along its side making sure that it doesnt roll and cause the main camera to hit the floor.

How do others store their scope?

I bought a chest a few months ago, in which I placed a couple V-shaped wooden planks (below is the 1st prototype with cardboard). I improved the design by adding felt on one side of the V, and anti-slip rubber on the other side, so the OTA doesn't rotates due to the weight of the focuser. I also added a sheet of plastic wrapping that came with my Ikea trash bin (which looks like a Newtonian now that I think of it), so that dust doesn't get in.

It works really well to securely store the OTA and its accessories. When I need it, I just pick it up. Sadly the camera and filter wheel don't fit, so I have to take them apart, but that's not a big concern since I sometimes use the camera and EFW on another scope anyway.

I can leave it in my living room without anyone knowing there's a treasure inside 

 

[CocoBungoClub]

Hi, Newbie here.  I have been slowly getting into astrology since I bought a cheap 2nd hand skylux refractor last year.  I then bought what I thought would be an upgrade but was still dipping my toe with a £30 second hand Konosmotor 500. It wasn't but has given me some experience with collimation.

Anyway Christmas is coming and I thought I'd had my mind set on the 150pds having seen some example photos and then I discovered this mega thread which has changed my mind to the 130pds.  

I am just after some advice really, I have an existing eq2 mount ( I think, how do you tell)  will this fit / suffice for the time being ? 

My initial aim is to seen the planets in much better detail, is the 130pds a good scope to view these with ? But I am also keen to view the deep sky objects which I can see it's very capable of. 

Apart from the scope is there anything else you consider to be essential to get the most out of it from the start ?  I am planning to get into astrophotography so thank you to the 8 years or so worth of posts on here. 

I've attached a pic of my mount if anyone could assist me what type it is.  

 

[Ratlet]

1 hour ago, CocoBungoClub said:

Hi, Newbie here.  I have been slowly getting into astrology since I bought a cheap 2nd hand skylux refractor last year.  I then bought what I thought would be an upgrade but was still dipping my toe with a £30 second hand Konosmotor 500. It wasn't but has given me some experience with collimation.

Anyway Christmas is coming and I thought I'd had my mind set on the 150pds having seen some example photos and then I discovered this mega thread which has changed my mind to the 130pds.  

I am just after some advice really, I have an existing eq2 mount ( I think, how do you tell)  will this fit / suffice for the time being ? 

My initial aim is to seen the planets in much better detail, is the 130pds a good scope to view these with ? But I am also keen to view the deep sky objects which I can see it's very capable of. 

Apart from the scope is there anything else you consider to be essential to get the most out of it from the start ?  I am planning to get into astrophotography so thank you to the 8 years or so worth of posts on here. 

I've attached a pic of my mount if anyone could assist me what type it is.  

 

The 130pds is pretty decent for visual imho.  It's very good on DSO.  I've been working my way through some of the more choice examples and have managed to see M33 from my bortle 4 location (bortle is a measure of how light polluted your sky is).

It does well on the planets but is not optimised for it.  I've had some good views, but I think the eyepiece I'm using is letting me down.  The scope comes with a 28mm eyepiece that is good for most DSO.  You will need to get a shorter focal length eyepiece for planetary/moon.  The scope has a 2" focuser but comes with an adapter to 1.25" eyepieces.

I don't think that mount will work as the scope is quite heavy.  You might want to consider an AZ5 with steel tripod.  It will handle it well.  Personally I am not a fan of Newtonian scopes on eq mounts because the eye placement can be funny.

If you are thinking about something for purely visual you might want to look at the 130 heritage dob.  Similar scope but with a dobsonian mount.  Then all you need is a table.

Edited November 27, 2022 by Ratlet

[AstroMuni]

On 27/11/2022 at 08:26, Space Oddities said:

Sadly the camera and filter wheel don't fit, so I have to take them apart,

Everytime I refit the camera the tilt and other aspects are ruined, hence until I get a compression ring or find some other way to get repeatability I prefer storing with camera attached.

[sagramore]

On 27/11/2022 at 19:29, CocoBungoClub said:

Hi, Newbie here.  I have been slowly getting into astrology since I bought a cheap 2nd hand skylux refractor last year.  I then bought what I thought would be an upgrade but was still dipping my toe with a £30 second hand Konosmotor 500. It wasn't but has given me some experience with collimation.

Anyway Christmas is coming and I thought I'd had my mind set on the 150pds having seen some example photos and then I discovered this mega thread which has changed my mind to the 130pds.  

I am just after some advice really, I have an existing eq2 mount ( I think, how do you tell)  will this fit / suffice for the time being ? 

My initial aim is to seen the planets in much better detail, is the 130pds a good scope to view these with ? But I am also keen to view the deep sky objects which I can see it's very capable of. 

Apart from the scope is there anything else you consider to be essential to get the most out of it from the start ?  I am planning to get into astrophotography so thank you to the 8 years or so worth of posts on here. 

I've attached a pic of my mount if anyone could assist me what type it is.  

 

 

I'd second what Ratlet said - the focal length of the 130 PDS isn't amazing for planetary stuff - they might seem a little small compared to some other bigger scopes.

My Skywatcher 200P Dobsonian is my preferred for visual. I managed to pick one up second hand a few years ago for only about £180 and it's a great scope for star hopping, learning the skies, and looking at some faint things as well as having the focal length to see some planets. I can recommend that. It's 100% not the way to go for photography though, so there's that to consider if that's truly your medium-term goal!

If you do want to go down the photography route, you probably want to be prepared to spend a *lot* more on the mount than you do on the scope. It's all about stability and good tracking, and for that you need to almost go "overkill" on the mount. You can put a bad scope on a good mount and get some half decent images. But a good scope on a bad mount will be horrendous to work with.

EDIT: When I say spend more on the mount than the scope, that's only true for these neat and efficient newtonians, like the 130PDS. You can spend a *lot lot* more on scopes if you want to

Edited December 1, 2022 by sagramore

[Whistlin Bob]

Bit of a processing binge tonight  

The trusty 130 currently has an SVBony 450cc with an Altair 4nm dual band filter in it. 

First up is Pacman - 4 hours of 5 min subs from last week. I've found the best way to process data from this is to separate the R, G and B channels - chuck away the blue because it's too weak, and then process the Red (Ha) and Green (Oiii) in the same way as mono output.

 

Then from this week is the Heart and Fish Head nebulae. A really clear forecast meant I was able to leave it running overnight and collect 5 hours of data. Really happy with this setup...

 

 

[Human1234]

Hi, sorry for asking what I'm sure is a pretty obvious question but I'm completely knew to this hobby. How would I go about connecting my 130pds to a canon dslr? Thanks to anyone that helps.

[Nicola Hannah Butterfield]

14 minutes ago, Human1234 said:

Hi, sorry for asking what I'm sure is a pretty obvious question but I'm completely knew to this hobby. How would I go about connecting my 130pds to a canon dslr? Thanks to anyone that helps.

Basically you need either an M42 or M48 (preferred if full frame Cannon) to Canon EOS, M48 I believe is the 2" mount screw thread on the scope, but would need to check this

P.S. and Edit dont ever be afraid of asking stuff

Edited December 20, 2022 by Nicola Hannah Butterfield

[Human1234]

4 minutes ago, Nicola Hannah Butterfield said:

Basically you need either an M42 or M48 (preferred if full frame Cannon) to Canon EOS, M48 I believe is the 2" mount screw thread on the scope, but would need to check this

Thank you so much for the help! Is this the only thing I need?