First capture

[CKP]

Most of the week I've been learning about my mount and how to use and align it.

Firstly,  I'd like to thank everyone for their advice on helping me get through this.

I didn't have much time last night, but I really wanted to get the camera out. 

M57 is a target that eludes me in the eyepiece, I know where it is and I think I can see it, but I  can never make out the hole in the middle to give it the overall ring shape.

After doing a north alignment (I bought a cheap compass from gooutdoors to see if it's different to the phone app) I went straight to m57. Instead of putting the eyepiece in, I put the camera in.

It was a blank screen. I set a 5 second exposure and straight away I could see the ghostly ring! The feeling was like looking at the moon through a telescope for the very first time! I tweeked the gain and then hit live stack. After 3 or 4 frames it was as clear as could be.

I was happy but tired, I didn't want to push it anymore so called it a night and went to bed a happy chappy.

Here is the original image I captured

I also had a play in snapseed for the first time and have no experience in processing and was happy with how many extra stars I managed to pull out of the image aswell as making M57 a little clearer.

[Mike JW]

Well done. Do you realise in the second image you have just picked up the central star. I rarely was able to see that even with my 20" Dob.

Mike

[CKP]

Thanks Mike,

I would love to say that teasing out the central star was intentional, but it was just a case of beginners luck!

[happy-kat]

I've found visually I've needed to use averted vision to see M57

That's a great capture and at your first go.

[CKP]

Thanks happy-kat,

I also use averted vision to see it, but without much detail, especially the hole in the middle.

Last night blew me away when it appeared on the screen of my laptop!

The sky is the limit from now on 😆 

 

[StevieDvd]

You may or may not know about parfocal rings and their use but I thought it might help if I remind you or others reading this.

If you tend to find an object with an eyepiece and switch to a camera (or vice versa) and have to keep refocusing on switching - then try a parfocal ring.

Focus the camera then switch to the eyepiece but instead of turning the focus knob you move the eyepiece up/down until it focuses. If that works you put the parfocal ring on and use that to act as a physical limit to the eyepiece position. From then on a good focus on one is good on the other. You can do this with 2 eyepieces of different magnifications as well.

You use the ring on the eyepiece that needs the focuser to be moved out as that gives room for the ring  to be used. Just make sure that any eyepiece/camera is held securely in the focuser when the ring is used.

If my explanation is not clear just google - "How do you use a parfocal ring?"

[CKP]

Thanks Steve,

I'd never heard of them. I have to collapse the truss a little to get focus with the camera, I wonder if the parfocal method would still work? 

[StevieDvd]

3 hours ago, CKP said:

Thanks Steve,

I'd never heard of them. I have to collapse the truss a little to get focus with the camera, I wonder if the parfocal method would still work? 

That would still work, it depends how you need to re-focus for the eyepiece. If the eyepiece needs the focus to be further out then the parfocal ring would adjusted so the camera position also is the same for the eyepiece.