Clavius 11.08.09

[AztecastroMcJ]

managed few avi's with x2 barlow and webcam got this shot of Clavius

[AztecastroMcJ]

heres 2 stacked frames merged gives wider shot of above

[AztecastroMcJ]

finally heres same above pic brightened up

[tinvek]

strange i can't see any sign of clavius base or any PANAM lunar shuttles

[Leedsgreen]

Aztec,

That is a wonderful image of Clavius and really raises the bar for a Skymax 127 image. I have recently bought one but have struggled to match the quality of my Equinox 66 refractor. This shows me what is possible and encourages me to keep trying.

BTW, could you tell me how you find the AZgoto mount? I currently have the Merlin autotrak but notice they now sell this as GOTO as well. In my mind it is more study and portable than the AZgoto, particularly as I have heard the latter can be wobbly. What is your experience and how well does it track in lunar rate when imaging?

Thanks for any advice and cograts again on a wonderful set of images.

Nick

[DaveGibbons]

Stunningly good images from your little mak mate! well done!

Cheers

Dave

[bish]

Great picture. Far better than anything I've managed to achieve.

[AztecastroMcJ]

thx for comments everyone

Nick(leedsgreen) my 1st few weeks with scope i was concerned about stability of mount

for 1st month i used on lowest setting for tripod to help stabilize it more

recently i have been using with tripod legs half extended much nicer to use regarding comfort and more stable than i thought

had one reasonably windy night too but found mount was fine

was thinking of adding a bit of weight to legs or platform just to make it more secure

but as said haven't found this needed so far

seems to track well in lunar rate aswell as sidereal n solar

took mainly 60sec avi's n few 150 sec both kept lunar surface in good fov withnot much movement at high mag

hopes this helps

thx again James

[Leedsgreen]

James,

Great help thanks. BTW if you could give any more info on what settings you used in registax for Clavius image that would be great (i.e. quality and wavelet settings etc) as well as any other tips. (If too much hassle, please don't bother)!

Cheers,

Nick

[mike.brightmore]

Super images. Sometimes when I look at craters and images of them they look like they are coming up out of the ground (ie embossed, like mounds) rather than 'holes' in the surface. Does this ever happen to you or is it just my eyes?

[Herakles]

really good images with the wee mak,

Super images. Sometimes when I look at craters and images of them they look like they are coming up out of the ground (ie embossed, like mounds) rather than 'holes' in the surface. Does this ever happen to you or is it just my eyes?

Not just you , seems to be like that times, some sort of optical illusion, if ( this gonna sound right daft ! ) you turn lappy upside down , you see what you would expect to see.

Disclaimer Do not try rotating a CRT round , lol

Pete

[Paxo]

Excellent images James, the mosaic has been put together very nicely as well.

Steve..

[AztecastroMcJ]

James,

Great help thanks. BTW if you could give any more info on what settings you used in registax for Clavius image that would be great (i.e. quality and wavelet settings etc) as well as any other tips. (If too much hassle, please don't bother)!

Cheers,

Nick

hey Nick,

still learning myself but trying not to do to much processing on AVI's,

tend to use 80-90% quality if AVI's looks ok

if bit dodgy lower this to 60-70% (try to get at least 100-200 frames stacked)

have just been using one alignment point rather than multiple,

for wavelet i have been adjusted bottom 3 sliders only usually,

used 30,20,10(from bottom up) quite alot

think with barlowed shots Clavius i got away with using bit more

think i used 40, 30, 20, 10 again from bopttom up and left top 2 sliders at 1 (unadjusted)

only other thing dun was brightness and contrast on wavelet section (never use lightness)

noticed most pics seem to get spoilt if u use wavelet to much, but noticed some pics handle it better than others

cheers James

[Leedsgreen]

Thanks very much for tips James. Will try when I next get a good look at the moon (and will post anything good here)!

Cheers,

Nick