Mars 26th/27th December

[yelsac]

Mars on the night of the 26th & early 27th. Still find it really difficult to process the images, I do struggle to get the focus just right with my silly eye sight. Wondering if my colimation isn't quite spot on to.

Anyway happy to get some detail coming through. Still love having a go at Mars even though its past its best. Setup- 250p, QHY5III462c, x2.5 Barlow. 4 min avi's, pipp, autostakkert, reg 6, Image Analyzer.

Any advice on better processing much appreciated

Thanks for looking

[Kon]

Nice set of images. Your focus could be down to seeing rather than collimation. Did you try a star test?

[Space Cowboy]

Good effort! Difficult to tell if its focusing, collimation or processing thats causing an issue. Would have to look at a raw stacked TIFF image straight out of autostakkert before any sharpening is used to get a better idea of where you are at. 🙂

[yelsac]

Thanks Kon 

No didn't try that although the last time I did it wasn't quite concentric, not far off.

Not sure if my secondary mirror is positioned exactly right as when I collimate I can't quite see all the mirror clips on the primary.

It's an old scope which was rather banged up by the previous owner, lots of dents. Would love to upgrade but we'll have to see 👍

 

 

 

[yelsac]

3 minutes ago, Space Cowboy said:

Good effort! Difficult to tell if its focusing, collimation or processing thats causing an issue. Would have to look at a raw stacked TIFF image straight out of autostakkert before any sharpening is used to get a better idea of where you are at. 🙂

Thanks for your comments

Below is the original & the 1.5 drizzled, mind you I just used the drizzled image. Its the second picture down from above.

2022-12-27-0027_6-U-IR-Mars_pipp_lapl5_ap30.tif

2022-12-27-0027_6-U-IR-Mars_pipp_lapl5_ap30_Drizzle15.tif

If you fancy having a go it would be much appreciated 😀

[Space Cowboy]

1 hour ago, yelsac said:

Thanks for your comments

Below is the original & the 1.5 drizzled, mind you I just used the drizzled image. Its the second picture down from above.

2022-12-27-0027_6-U-IR-Mars_pipp_lapl5_ap30.tif 1.15 MB · 0 downloads

2022-12-27-0027_6-U-IR-Mars_pipp_lapl5_ap30_Drizzle15.tif 2.59 MB · 0 downloads

If you fancy having a go it would be much appreciated 😀

Thanks, just had a look at your data and it looks like either focus or collimation is out. The detail is there but its not sharp.

[yelsac]

18 hours ago, Space Cowboy said:

Thanks, just had a look at your data and it looks like either focus or collimation is out. The detail is there but its not sharp.

Really appreciate you having a look 👍

Had a quick question for you, I seem to remember you use a 10" reflector yourself.

When collimating (I try to follow astro babys process) you look through a Cheshire or a collimating cap, you're supposed to be able to see all of the primary mirror clips on the secondary, I can't seem to be able to see all of them at the same time, can you see all of your clips when collimating?

[Space Cowboy]

24 minutes ago, yelsac said:

Really appreciate you having a look 👍

Had a quick question for you, I seem to remember you use a 10" reflector yourself.

When collimating (I try to follow astro babys process) you look through a Cheshire or a collimating cap, you're supposed to be able to see all of the primary mirror clips on the secondary, I can't seem to be able to see all of them at the same time, can you see all of your clips when collimating?

Yes I have the 10" Dob mounted Skywatcher. I've only ever used a laser to collimate. I think you'd probably find that easier giving a more definite result. My issue has been the quality of my eyepiece holder which was giving a defferent reading on the laser each time I collimated. I have the stock skywatcher focuser and have now replaced the 1.25" holder with a crayford 1.25" adapter which now gives a stable consistent laser reading each time. If you already have a crayford focuser then you will be fine as far as that goes.

Do you focus manually or with an electric focuser?

[yelsac]

Actually I do use a laser one which seems good. It's just when lining it all up visually as I said I can't see all the primary mirrors clips which I'm told you should be able to.

My scope is an old blue skywatcher one & was a little worse for wear with lots of dents in when I got it many years ago second hand.

The focuser was changed as the old one was awful. I fitted a second hand one not long after I got it. 

To be honest I thought about getting a new focuser but have also been tempted to get a new scope, never bought a new one before but we'll see.

Photo attached with an electric focuser 👍

[Space Cowboy]

21 hours ago, yelsac said:

Actually I do use a laser one which seems good. It's just when lining it all up visually as I said I can't see all the primary mirrors clips which I'm told you should be able to.

My scope is an old blue skywatcher one & was a little worse for wear with lots of dents in when I got it many years ago second hand.

The focuser was changed as the old one was awful. I fitted a second hand one not long after I got it. 

To be honest I thought about getting a new focuser but have also been tempted to get a new scope, never bought a new one before but we'll see.

Photo attached with an electric focuser 👍

Ah yes, same auto focuser as mine. There are lots of collimation tuts on YouTube. Unfortunately I only know about lasers 🙂

As long as the dents aren't on your optics you should be ok. 😉

[Kon]

On 08/01/2023 at 14:11, Space Cowboy said:

I have the stock skywatcher focuser and have now replaced the 1.25" holder with a crayford 1.25" adapter

Which model is it? I see similar 'issues' with my collimation (I use a Cheshire) when the focuser moves it is as if my collimation is off. As long as i do not mess with the focuser then it is all good.

[Space Cowboy]

3 hours ago, Kon said:

Which model is it? I see similar 'issues' with my collimation (I use a Cheshire) when the focuser moves it is as if my collimation is off. As long as i do not mess with the focuser then it is all good.

Which model is my focuser or my crayford adapter?

[Kon]

1 hour ago, Space Cowboy said:

Which model is my focuser or my crayford adapter?

The adapter please. If I read correctly you have the standard focuser but replaced the holder with the adapter?