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Imaging with the 130pds


Russe

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10 minutes ago, Pankaj said:

Are you doing any selling for this ditherbox you created ?

No, unfortunately not, but information about how to make one are in the thread. The code is on github. 

https://github.com/wberlo/AutoDither

Using the dither bix oresumes that you have a mount with a st4 port and a snap port (camera port). Most skywatcher mounts have these nowadays.

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I have been spending a while trying to get my first dedicated astro camera (ZWO ASI 1600 pro) set up properly with CC spacing, filters, OAG etc.... Still not quite there with it but after many nights of faffing on I decided it was just time to point it at something.

Rosette Nebula was overhead so this is my first ever narrowband image. It’s a rough and ready affair taken in bright moonlight with very little understanding of camera settings ! I definitely need to learn more about using this camera (I’ve come from a DSLR) but this first image makes me believe there is some potential there.  15x 300 sec subs no calibration frames.Rosette-Neb-Ha.thumb.jpg.d9a6c8364e8240d8840ae0d412fea5b4.jpg

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Here's my HSO M42. Wasn't sure if it would work, but a few things stand out - there's barely any Oiii in M43, the Sii signal is faint so it picks out eth trapezium really well, and the Ha signal gets a lot more faint stuff than a straight L - at least with my light pollution. 2117244244_M42HSOAstra.thumb.png.a97c5de5ee325175d125151a230fd086.pngImprovements with more narrowband processing experience await...

 

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Just putting my thinking cap on about something  - namely how to collimate this (and other newts) with the imaging camera in place.

Previous thoughts about this always involved putting a short focal length lens where the filter would be... however... today I had another idea.

Astro cameras are very sensitive things and can easily cope with a high f ratio. So, what about doing away with the lens concept and using a pinhole instead? 

It's cheap, anyone can make it, and with a few careful calculations should deliver the right focal length required for taking images of the secondary mirror.

Daft idea? Maybe... maybe not 😄

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7 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

No idea, seem to recall from distant school days that pinhole cameras were something like f/50 ?

Long time ago so could be talking rubbish, and not for the first time 😂

Dave

Yeah, just looking ar a few examples done with a dslr. Its possible but to improve the sharpness I need to make the hole smaller. 

I will do a few experiments when I have a spare evening this week 

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On 06/02/2020 at 07:43, alacant said:

Hi everyone.

Not had the little 130 out for some time, so to redress the balance here's a -bit disappointing- cone nebula. Disappointing through impatience more than anything; need more frames, but there's so much going on below e.g. canis major stuff I never get around to...

There's something there but not enough.

Thanks for looking and all comments most welcome

Cheers and clear skies.

1369366464_2-2264(copy).thumb.jpg.41c6665634a29c6ce403dab2f02d77f2.jpg

My hat off to you for a wonderful composed image. The colours are nicely balanced, may I ask please what was your data capture details?

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Well, I gave it a go....

Good news: I got an image at the right distance from the pinhole.

Bad news: The image is not yet sharp enough to use, I was testing it on a barcode. Still too blurred, for macro (what this essentially is) the hole needs to be >tiny<

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Hi Guys, 

I know that this is an old thread. Really impressed with everyone's results with the 130. I was wondering, as I already own a EQ5 pro mount and canon 60d if I could get away with the adding a 130pds for astrophotography? Will the mount suffice? 

Thanks for your help 

Simon 

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Hi @Simon Dunsmore

It may of been created many many years ago in a galaxy far far away, but this thread is very much still alive and kicking :) 

I had the same mount a few years ago and manged with a 150 6-n so I am sure this would be a perfect scope for the mount. The tripod is a bit wobbly but I did enjoy how easy it was to move about and required no stripping down. 

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4 hours ago, Simon Dunsmore said:

Hi Guys, 

I know that this is an old thread. Really impressed with everyone's results with the 130. I was wondering, as I already own a EQ5 pro mount and canon 60d if I could get away with the adding a 130pds for astrophotography? Will the mount suffice? 

Thanks for your help 

Simon 

Yes.

I managed with an EQ3-2 for a few years before getting an HEQ5.

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4 hours ago, Simon Dunsmore said:

Hi Guys, 

I know that this is an old thread. Really impressed with everyone's results with the 130. I was wondering, as I already own a EQ5 pro mount and canon 60d if I could get away with the adding a 130pds for astrophotography? Will the mount suffice? 

Thanks for your help 

Simon 

I use an eqm-35 which is "similar" to eq-5 and it glides. You should be gliding too. Hth

Edited by mAnKiNd
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Quick update on my quest to collimate via a camera.

Given up on the pinhole concept for now, as I spotted a super cheap 8mm CCTV lens (cs mount) that will work with either my QHY5 or 178mm camera. I can just pop that on and collimate / tinker until im blue in the face :D

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1 hour ago, CaptainShiznit said:

Asking here for 130PDS owners rather than start a new thread. What coma correctors are people using and would recommend?

Baader MPCC MkIII since the Skywatcher one causes reflections on very bright targets such as the horsehead

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2 hours ago, CaptainShiznit said:

Asking here for 130PDS owners rather than start a new thread. What coma correctors are people using and would recommend?

I've read about many cc's and they all have their stated pros and cons, but in my own search for a cc, I've personally decided that two are worth exploring: TSKomakorr and TSGPU. My rationale for preferring these two, is that they can be directly threaded to the 130PDS focuser with either one of these two adapters: FUFmpcc and TSM54-T2, which to my own peace of mind, is a more stable connection vs. clamping and also helps with having enough backfocus.

Having said that, I sincerely respect other people's opinions and wonderful results with other cc's and do not contest that. Such cc's include the: Sky-Watcher f4 Aplanatic Coma CorrectorSky-Watcher 0.9x Coma Corrector (though users have reported reflection issues), Baader Mark-III MPCC Coma Corrector and Explore Scientific HR Coma Corrector among others. These cc's are all clamped into the focuser and not screwed into it. I would however personally consider a clamping style cc if I purchased a Baader 2" ClickLock M54 Clamp with it, so that I could leave the cc permanently clamped into the focuser rather than taking it on and off every session. A clicklock however, will eat up backfocus, which can cause reaching focus issues.

I will be getting me a TSKomakorr soon, so I can report my experience with it in due course. The above comments are mostly my own perceived thoughts about connectivity and not actual performance. Without having owned any of them to test for myself, I can only reiterate other peoples comments and results regarding performance, so I bow out for that.

HTH you with your search as it has in mine. 

Edited by mAnKiNd
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Having used the Skywatcher CC for a few years, I think the issues are overstated.

Yes, you do get a faint blue patch 180 degrees around from Alnitak when you image the flame and horsey.

It's not an issue in narrowband or even with the L-enhance, and I haven't seen the problem anywhere else, not even M42.

It's big advantage is that 'it just works' no messing with adjusting spacers, just fit a t-mount + dslr or for an astro cam get the image plane 55mm back.

Example with L-enhance and DSLR - no sign of a reflection.

2079538397_FlameandHorsehead.thumb.png.3994e8fb9fde35ffba8c316b3faf4b79.png

 

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3 hours ago, mAnKiNd said:

Hi

Another advantage is the wider field of view: 585mm over 650mm. Any (rare) reflections are easily treated in post processing.

The best of the bunch IMHO is the 4 element cc available in two guises: the SW aplanatic or the GPU.

HTH

Edited by alacant
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17 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Having used the Skywatcher CC for a few years, I think the issues are overstated.

Yes, you do get a faint blue patch 180 degrees around from Alnitak when you image the flame and horsey.

It's not an issue in narrowband or even with the L-enhance, and I haven't seen the problem anywhere else, not even M42.

It's big advantage is that 'it just works' no messing with adjusting spacers, just fit a t-mount + dslr or for an astro cam get the image plane 55mm back.

I think you are quite right. I have tried a couple of coma correctors but always found the Skywatcher 0.9x corrector to be better especially when it comes to using a DSLR as I never needed spacing. I found baader to be fiddly in spacing even with a DSLR.

I have found spacing around 60mm to be better when using SW CC with my ASI294MC Pro and the 130PDS

This image is my latest using the above equipment. 

Regarding reflections, the only time I observed reflections was when I was using LRGB filters on a mono camera using the 130PDS.

I put it down to filter coatings myself.

Nadeem. 

Edited by Skyline
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On 08/02/2020 at 22:08, Stub Mandrel said:

Received wisdom is that it is caused by lack of dither.

Personally I can't see how fixed noise can become streaks when I'm guiding and the image drift over a session is far less than the length of a streak...

My pet theory is that it is associated with very thin cloud and it follows the wind direction.

I share that thought too...

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