Prep for first lunar session

[woldsman]

Am prepping for a first lunar session. As I work away from home during the week & can only image weekends, am developing a lunar capability to make the most of opportunities when the skies are clear but the Moon is bright.

My setup is as pictured. The scope is a WO GT 71 on a heq5 pro mount. From L to R: zwo asi 178 mc, Baader 685 nm IR filter (screwed close to the sensor using an adapter), short camera nose, zwo ADC, televue powermate x2.5.

Some observations and queries. 

1) I think focal ratio should equal camera pixel size (2.4) x 5. So x12 here. The scope’s focal length is 418mm with 71mm aperture which works out at x15. However, the powermate varies from x2.5 to x2 according to distance from the scope. So I think I should be ok.

2) Plan to use Firecapture and have watched a few videos and noted some settings. Would, however, greatly appreciate recommendations for settings (gain, exposure) and other tips.

3) With the ADC, plan to get the midpoint of the two adjusters aligned with the horizon in daylight. Then make tweaks on the night using the ZWO asi 178mm images. Unsure whether it is best to use the Moon itself or a bright star at the same horizon point though.

4) I am using manual focus. Plan to focus on a star with a Bahtinov mask.

5) The set up pictured looks right but if anything is obviously wrong a heads up would be appreciated.

Not expecting everything to run like clockwork first time but here goes…

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

[Yawning Angel]

Hiya!

I’d suggest not adding the Powermate to begin with, as it’ll complicate the learn

Keep your exposure low, below 10ms. Balance the histogram to around 60%

The ADC needs setting at capture time, levelled with the horizon based on the telescope position. You mention a mono 178, and an IR pass filter? If so, don’t use the ADC 

Good luck!

[woldsman]

38 minutes ago, Yawning Angel said:

Hiya!

I’d suggest not adding the Powermate to begin with, as it’ll complicate the learn

Keep your exposure low, below 10ms. Balance the histogram to around 60%

The ADC needs setting at capture time, levelled with the horizon based on the telescope position. You mention a mono 178, and an IR pass filter? If so, don’t use the ADC 

Good luck!

Thanks, Alex. 

Righto, I’ll start without the powermate to see if I can get a result tonight. That will affect the sampling though as I’ll be F6.

The camera is one shot colour (ZWO asi 178 mc) so I figured I would need  the ADC.

Re: the ADC & the horizon, my thinking is that if I set it in daylight all I then need to do at night is to rotate until the bubble is level as I know that the horizon then bisects the two adjusters.