Lodestar Live and x2 first lights

[Geordie mc]

Hi everyone. On holidsy in France at the moment with lovely clear skies so decided to give Lodestar Live a try. Really impressed with this software so a huge thanks to its creator. I must read Don's guide now! Anyway, I used a Celestron Edge 800 with 0.7 reducer and the body of an old Barlow to get better spacing. Lodesatr x2 mono camera. All on an unguided HEQ5 Pro mount. I imaged M27, M57 and M13. For a first go with no idea what the various settings in the software meant I was quite poleased with the results. I saved the fits files as well so might try stacking them in Maxim and see what that gets me - a headache probably:)

[aparker]

Great results, and welcome to the club/obsession.

As a next step I'd suggest getting a Bahatinov mask (inexpensive on-line) for your C8 to get the focus really dialed in with your Lodestar.  Also be sure to check the Starlight Xpress website for the latest software - now up to Starlight Live v3.

 

Alex

 

[RobertI]

Very well done on your first attempt with Lodestar Live (now called Starlight Live), some great results. Did you try live stacking in the software? What length if exposure were you using? I would second Alex's suggestion for a Bahtinov mask, makes foscussing so much easier,

[Geordie mc]

Thanks Alex and Rob. I will check out the software update. I have a mask somewhere and will dig that out too. The images varied as I was just experimenting. The exposures seen]med best at around 7 - 10  seconds. Any longer and I was getting slight trailing. They were stacked using median  or mean. Most were about 10 - 20 per stack. I must get better at making notes as I go. 

I enjoyed the session so much I might try using some filters or even investing in the color version of the x2 in the future. 

Thanks again guys.

[aparker]

You can have a great time with a narrowband H-alpha filter this time of year.  The bright nebulae in Cygnus, Sagitarius, etc are amazing in narrowband.

I would also suggest giving your 65mm frac a try for some wider-field views.