Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Lagoon + Trifid Nebula 3rd July 2016 First DSO image


MY Yau

Recommended Posts

Hi,

This is my first attempt. First cloudless night after scope purchase 7 weeks ago began with trying to get PHD2 to work and alignment. My problem at my house is limited view and in light polluted city and no sight of Polaris as I am near the equator. So I level the mount, roughly point the tripod North and adjust the latitude with leveler app on my iPhone. PHD2 stars are overexposing so I use 0.5s exposure (only to be pointed out later that I can adjust the gain.) Frustration at getting the DEC to level but getting it quite close in the end. In the end FB forum users kind enough to flood me with tips. Went ahead to test guiding with 30" exposure of the DSLR. Unable to expose longer as the trial Backyard Nikon expired while waiting the clouds to clear. Lolz. Manage to get roundish stars so I am stoked. Looked up Stellarium and point it to Lagoon + Trifid Nebula. Fire a test shot. It's on the edge of the frame, so I adjust the framing. Start guiding and snapped up roughly 1 hour of 30" subs. Took some darks and bias at the end of the run. Didn't take any flats as I was not prepared to do anything more than just trying to setup the guide scope. DSS the subs and curves adjustment in PS and final crop with adjustments on LightRoom.

Second image is what I taken 3 years ago with DSLR + 300mm lens with no tracking mount. Stacked 400+ of 1.3s exposures. The bug has bitten me then and now I can start imaging with a tracking mount. There's still a lot more to learn but one step at a time.

Thanks to the users here for tips and comments on the gear selection when I was deciding on what to buy.

Gear as follow:

Skywatcher 80ED + 0.85x Flattener/Reducer

Nikon D750 

William Optics 50mm/200mm fl Guidescope + ASI290MC

Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro

IDAS LPS-D1

 

Please give me tips and guidance. Thanks.

Autosave.jpg

1149433_10151846366122022_2061964537_o.jpg

loc.jpg

13592336_10154408549967022_5955121439925159701_n.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi MY Yau,

not a bad effort considering where you are. Light pollution looks really bad! First thing, you didn't mention that you did a polar alignment. The HEQ5 can do polar alignment without seeing Polaris. A good polar alignment is important for longer exposures. Second, get a light pollution filter. A CLS or as in my case the UHS-C filter should cut out most of the yellow-orange glare. And third, get a intervalometer for your Nikon. I bought one of ebay for under 20A$ and it allows me to take longer exposures. Once you get longer exposures you should be fine!

Good luck!

HJ 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, hjw said:

Hi MY Yau,

not a bad effort considering where you are. Light pollution looks really bad! First thing, you didn't mention that you did a polar alignment. The HEQ5 can do polar alignment without seeing Polaris. A good polar alignment is important for longer exposures. Second, get a light pollution filter. A CLS or as in my case the UHS-C filter should cut out most of the yellow-orange glare. And third, get a intervalometer for your Nikon. I bought one of ebay for under 20A$ and it allows me to take longer exposures. Once you get longer exposures you should be fine!

Good luck!

HJ 

Hi. Thanks for the input. 

From my understanding, HEQ5 handset can only align the stars for goto, not polar alignment. As I can't see the pole from my location, I have to rough it out and depend on drift alignment or other software to fine tune. 

I do have a filter. IDAS D1 as mentioned in the gear list. 

I also have a intervalometer but didn't set it up. I plan to use backyard Nikon in the long term. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After 2 or 3 star alignment you have an option in the synscan setup menu to do a polar alignment on basically any star. This feature has been available for some time, but you may have to upgrade your synscan firmware. Have a look at the skywatcher website.

Good luck,

Wim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, wimvb said:

After 2 or 3 star alignment you have an option in the synscan setup menu to do a polar alignment on basically any star. This feature has been available for some time, but you may have to upgrade your synscan firmware. Have a look at the skywatcher website.

Good luck,

Wim

I must have missed it on the manual. I do have the latest version. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe that there is an updated manual available from the sw website. Otherwise just page through the synscan menu. Before doing the polar alignment you need to do a star alignment so that the software can calculate the polar misalignment.

Good luck, 

Wim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, MY Yau said:

I must have missed it on the manual. I do have the latest version. 

Basically, I start off with a 2-star alignment. Afterwards I scroll down in the menu (2 steps) and select polar alignment. Synscan will ask for a star and you will have to use the controller keys to center the star (you can use the last star from your 2-star alignment to make things easier). Follow the prompts on the controller and adjust the the alignment star physically with the screws on the mount. Repeat the process from the 2-star alignment step until your deviation from polar alignment is lower than 1 arcmin (or thereabouts since you are guiding).

When this is done, mark the positions of the legs on the ground. I glued washers on some bricks in my backyard. This will make the process MUCH easier the next time around.

Clear skies

HJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, hjw said:

Basically, I start off with a 2-star alignment. Afterwards I scroll down in the menu (2 steps) and select polar alignment. Synscan will ask for a star and you will have to use the controller keys to center the star (you can use the last star from your 2-star alignment to make things easier). Follow the prompts on the controller and adjust the the alignment star physically with the screws on the mount. Repeat the process from the 2-star alignment step until your deviation from polar alignment is lower than 1 arcmin (or thereabouts since you are guiding).

When this is done, mark the positions of the legs on the ground. I glued washers on some bricks in my backyard. This will make the process MUCH easier the next time around.

Clear skies

HJ

Just found out I received a v2 manual with my v4 Synscan handset. Tried doing 2 star alignment and then polar alignment a few times. Results are a mixed bag. Most likely because I can't get a low altitude star for alignment. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.