1208 replies to this topic

[LukaszLu]

epic :-)

[Borodog]

epic :-)

Thank you, Lukasz. As I mentioned in the LOI thread, I am really dreading trying to tune out the sensor tilt. I may put it off until I have an entirely threaded optical train to work with.

[LukaszLu]

What do you mean by sensor tilt? I read your description in the lunar section, but I don't quite understand what happened ...?

[Borodog]

The sensor is not perpendicular to the optical axis.

[LukaszLu]

I understand that - but how did it happen? Has it moved inside the camera ??

[Borodog]

I understand that - but how did it happen? Has it moved inside the camera ??

The camera has always had moderate sensor tilt as reported by ASTAP. In some images it is worse than others. In this particular image I had installed a tilt adjuster but have not had time to adjust it yet, and it seemed to have made the tilt worse. Although, it occurred to me afterward that I had set my backspacing incorrectly, it having been months since I've imaged with the scope, and that may have made the sensitivity to the sensor tilt worse. In any event, I am in the process of replacing the image train with all threaded connections. After that It will have more confidence that everything is rock solid before adjusting the tilt.

Edited by Borodog, 08 August 2022 - 09:03 AM.

[LukaszLu]

Honestly, I did not know that the camera could have this type of drawback. In the case of a high-resolution camera - like yours - it probably takes its toll much more than in the case of smaller sensors...

[Borodog]

Moonkiller in better form last night. Click for the 31 Mpixel version on Astrobin.

 

[LukaszLu]

It's always good to check if Vallis Alpes and Plato craterlets are in place :-)

Edited by LukaszLu, 10 August 2022 - 03:10 PM.

[MiraS]

Hello,

 

Just some pictures from yesterday night in germany made with my Vixen NP 80L with single motor drive for the New Polaris and ZWO ASI290MM as the camera. Also a Baader UV/IR Cut and yellow filter #8.

Just stacked in Autostakkert and sharpened with Giotto.

 

Ganymed on top left side:

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you like them.

Mira

[tim53]

Finally got my mgen 3 playing well with my sitech controller on the em-500 mount. Here’s a cropped 1 minute image take. With my Olympus em5ii through the televue renaissance 102mm f/8.8 apo. 
 

more tomorrow night!  

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[tim53]

This isn't quite fair, to be sure, because my C-9.25" isn't old enough to be a true Classic, but here's M13 again with my newer Panasonic Lumix S5, with the MGEN guiding via the 135mm lens.  The Lumix (and many other cameras, I suppose) has a nifty "Live Composite" mode that takes a continuous sequence of exposures that it then stacks in camera for things like "light painting" and star trails.  Before the sequence, it automatically takes a dark frame that it then subtracts from the subsequent frames.  I tried using this for my astrophotos last night, figuring that the frames would just stack on top of one another and maybe improve signal somewhat.  But I think the mirror was moving in the 9.25", or there was differential flexure between the scope and the guider (which is mounted on the 9.25"), because the two composites I took (one was ten 60" exposures, the other two) had trailing in them, though the MGEN was indicating guiding errors of about a half arc second.  But what really surprised me was that if I stopped the "composite" sequence after the dark and one frame were taken, the noise was surprisingly low.

 

I've got an SCT crayford focuser I can use tonight, and approach focus of the primary by turning the knob in one direction only so as to "push" the mirror up against gravity, and leave it there, only fine-focusing with the crayford.

 

So here's M13 again, through the 9.25" with the Panasonic Lumix S5 set to 1600 ISO and 60" exposure (cropped).

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Edited by tim53, 27 August 2022 - 12:22 PM.

[tim53]

And here's the ring (same everything else):

 

 

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[ETXer]

Last night, despite the rising full Moon, was a great session with my circa-1998 Celestar 8 Deluxe using the Revolution Imager 2 camera and DVR. Each image was a 10 or 15-second AVI video file that was then pre-processed using PIPP, then aligned, stacked and wavelets applied in Registax 6, then minor PS adjustments.

 

M2:

 

 

M15:

 

 

and M27:

 

 

The full observing report can be found here.

 

Cheers, Allan

Edited by ETXer, 10 September 2022 - 09:31 AM.

[Sky King]

Tasco 9VR - made by Vixen

60mm, F5, 300mm fl. - Asi533MC Pro - Optolong L'Extreme filter

 

SH2-108, The star Sadr (γ Cyg37 Cyg) and

NGC 6910      20x 120sec

 

 

 

Edited by Sky King, 25 September 2022 - 05:32 PM.

[MiraS]

Tried out imaging M57 with a long achromatic refractor.

Same mount as last time, Vixen New Polaris with single drive but with a Carton CST-80KU (80 / 1000mm).

Around 7520 pictures with 0.5 sec exposure stacked in Siril and just a bit sharpened in Fitswork (only the nebula).

Imaging camera was a ZWO ASI290MM with Baader UV/IR and a cheap #8 yellow filter.

The Carton is sharp and contrast is great, even without any coatings at all.

Click on the image to enlarge..

 

 

Picture is from my last visual use:

 

Mira

 

 

[tim53]

Impressive!

[highfnum]

meade ds10 with NV bi-ocular lens and S8 phone

stuff around orion

 

 

[TSSClay]

I was up at the "Great Lakes Stargaze" in Gladwin Michigan last weekend.  I took my Televue Genesis F5 (early) refractor and had a very clear night to try some astrophotography with it.  Managed four hours on the Heart nebula.  The scope has some minor violet halos as it is an achromat but they were pretty easy to deal with - reminded me of shooting film!!

 

 

I hope I get a chance to shoot through this scope more often!

 

Clay

[ETXer]

Got a chance to capture Jupiter at it's closest opposition since 1963 with my 1998-Celestron Celestar 8 Deluxe and a vintage Celestron Ultima SV-Series 2x Barlow with a humble ZWO ASI120MC (and a Windows Vista laptop!). The bad news was less-than average seeing and the planet was still not at a high point in the sky, but I'll take what I can get.

 

Best of 1084 frames, AS!2, Registax 6

 

The setup:

 

 

And the result:

 

 

Cheers, Allan

 

P.S. Here's the observing report.

Edited by ETXer, 12 October 2022 - 07:55 PM.

[jragsdale]

First light with a new to me Jaegers 6" f/5 (lens dated 4/77). Deployed it tonight with an NV setup comprised of the TeleVue 55mm plossl with 67mm converter. Antlia 3nm H-Alpha filter and a PVS-14 white phosphor NV unit. 

 

Bufferfly Nebula in Cygnus, 2 second cell phone shot, edited in phone.

 

I'm quite excited at this combination!

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[LukaszLu]

Got a chance to capture Jupiter at it's closest opposition since 1963 with my 1998-Celestron Celestar 8 Deluxe and a vintage Celestron Ultima SV-Series 2x Barlow with a humble ZWO ASI120MC (and a Windows Vista laptop!). The bad news was less-than average seeing and the planet was still not at a high point in the sky, but I'll take what I can get.

 

Best of 1084 frames, AS!2, Registax 6

Hi Allan, nice shot, however you seem to have exceeded the ~3-minute limit which avoids the blur effect of the detail due to Jupiter's fast rotation. Unfortunately, this limits the possibility of collecting more frames and obtaining a more precise and less noisy image - but there is nothing you can do about it. Personally, I stick to this limit even with Mars, which rotates twice as slowly.

Edited by LukaszLu, 13 October 2022 - 05:32 AM.

[ETXer]

Hi Allan, nice shot, however you seem to have exceeded the ~3-minute limit which avoids the blur effect of the detail due to Jupiter's fast rotation. Unfortunately, this limits the possibility of collecting more frames and obtaining a more precise and less noisy image - but there is nothing you can do about it. Personally, I stick to this limit even with Mars, which rotates twice as slowly.

Thanks Lukas. The capture time was actually only 90 seconds, I think any blur present was due to the seeing. Jupiter was still a bit low in the sky, only about 4 hours after its rising which made it even worse. I couldn't wait for later with an early wakeup the next morning... in any case it was an awesome visual experience and I have a nice "souvenir" of the opposition!

Edited by ETXer, 13 October 2022 - 07:44 AM.

[Uranotopia]

I've just found this topic... unfortunately haven't seen it before...

I show planetary imaging through my Tasco 102M of early 80s, AVI taken with not so young and not too old  DMK 21AU618. The images I made in 2020.

 

 

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[ETXer]

I've just found this topic... unfortunately haven't seen it before...

I show planetary imaging through my Tasco 102M of early 80s, AVI taken with not so young and not too old  DMK 21AU618. The images I made in 2020.

All very nicely done!