1218 replies to this topic

[Finger Prints]

Hey, folks.

I've had a '63 vintage Edmund's Super Space Conqueror 6" F8 Newtonian for right at 9 months. I have upgraded the secondary-mirror's mount from the original stem-mount to a spider-mount as well as moving to a 2" focuser. Having recently upgraded from the original manual equatorial-mount to an EQ6R Pro, such greatly opened up the possibilities of better observing/imaging as a whole . . . . .

- Having typed all of that, I wonder, . . . Is it still a "Classic"?

Anyhoo,
- Know that I am VERY much the amateur with the whole telescope thing and with only recently getting the fancy mount, am just getting started in the capturing and processing of the many frames thing.

Had some "OK" seeing the other night and spent a few minutes on Jupiter.
6" F8 Newtonian, @F32 via a 4x Powermate. Prime-focus with a standard Canon EOS 6D controlled via BYEOS (5x for the 1-to-1 pixel ratio). Processed with PIPP, AutoStakkert4, WaveSharp 2 and Photoshop CS5.

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Edited by Finger Prints, 06 February 2025 - 01:06 AM.

[oldmanastro]

Yesterday we had an excellent night with transparent skies and excellent seeing. Scruffy had not done any imaging for sometime but it was busy this night doing Jupiter, Mars and the Moon. Jupiter showed a lot of detail visually even at 400x with the UO ortho. The festoons in the image were evident as well as some of the details in the equatorial zone. A small angular size Mars showed the albedo features clearly as well as the north polar cap that is now reduced in size. The moon was great. I did a close up of the grater Gassendi on the northern border of Mare Humorum. It is always an impressive crater. The visual view was very detailed at 300x with a 6mm W.F. SvBony eyepiece. Scruffy behaved well. This Celestar 8 continues to do a great job after its rescue from oblivion 5 years ago. Mars was imaged using a 3x barlow. Jupiter and Gassendi with a vintage Ultima 2x barlow. 

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[VA3DSO]

Yesterday we had an excellent night with transparent skies and excellent seeing. Scruffy had not done any imaging for sometime but it was busy this night doing Jupiter, Mars and the Moon. Jupiter showed a lot of detail visually even at 400x with the UO ortho. The festoons in the image were evident as well as some of the details in the equatorial zone. A small angular size Mars showed the albedo features clearly as well as the north polar cap that is now reduced in size. The moon was great. I did a close up of the grater Gassendi on the northern border of Mare Humorum. It is always an impressive crater. The visual view was very detailed at 300x with a 6mm W.F. SvBony eyepiece. Scruffy behaved well. This Celestar 8 continues to do a great job after its rescue from oblivion 5 years ago. Mars was imaged using a 3x barlow. Jupiter and Gassendi with a vintage Ultima 2x barlow. 

Simply fantastic images! Thank you for sharing!

[ETXer]

Beautifully done as always Guido! Especially noteworthy is Mars, now much smaller than it was during its opposition, great detail given its small size now. Gassendi has always been one of my favorite lunar features and you nailed it. Some of those satellite craters are barely 2km across, showcasing what the Celestar can render with the 2x Barlow. Well done!

Edited by ETXer, 12 March 2025 - 08:18 PM.

[Bomber Bob]

Yesterday we had an excellent night with transparent skies and excellent seeing. Scruffy had not done any imaging for sometime but it was busy this night doing Jupiter, Mars and the Moon. Jupiter showed a lot of detail visually even at 400x with the UO ortho. The festoons in the image were evident as well as some of the details in the equatorial zone. A small angular size Mars showed the albedo features clearly as well as the north polar cap that is now reduced in size. The moon was great. I did a close up of the grater Gassendi on the northern border of Mare Humorum. It is always an impressive crater. The visual view was very detailed at 300x with a 6mm W.F. SvBony eyepiece. Scruffy behaved well. This Celestar 8 continues to do a great job after its rescue from oblivion 5 years ago. Mars was imaged using a 3x barlow. Jupiter and Gassendi with a vintage Ultima 2x barlow. 

Wonderful pix, as usual!  Look at those Gassendi Rilles! (Say Gassendi Rilles 10 times real fast... I bet you'll sound like Gassendi Grills by the 10th.)

 

I may try imaging Jupiter with my SVBONY camera next week - before it gets much lower.  It's my newest planetary version.

Edited by Bomber Bob, 12 March 2025 - 09:49 PM.

[oldmanastro]

Wonderful pix, as usual!  Look at those Gassendi Rilles! (Say Gassendi Rilles 10 times real fast... I bet you'll sound like Gassendi Grills by the 10th.)

 

I may try imaging Jupiter with my SVBONY camera next week - before it gets much lower.  It's my newest planetary version.

Thank you JW! The SvBony cameras are very good. I got the SV305 back in 2022. The first one was defective but SvBony replaced it very fast. Image size is a bit bigger than on the ZWOASI224mc. This image of Jupiter was taken with Scruffy in 2022 using the SV305.

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[oldmanastro]

Beautifully done as always Guido! Especially noteworthy is Mars, now much smaller than it was during its opposition, great detail given its small size now. Gassendi has always been one of my favorite lunar features and you nailed it. Some of those satellite craters are barely 2km across, showcasing what the Celestar can render with the 2x Barlow. Well done!

Thank you so much Allan! These Celestar 8s of ours are just great. There's another image where I captured the whole Mare Humorum. It is from the same day as the Gassendi image. As soon as it is processed I will post it here.

[Bomber Bob]

Thank you JW! The SvBony cameras are very good. I got the SV305 back in 2022. The first one was defective but SvBony replaced it very fast. Image size is a bit bigger than on the ZWOASI224mc. This image of Jupiter was taken with Scruffy in 2022 using the SV305.

Thanks Guido!!  I think I bought the SV305, but I'll have to check.  (Rain for the next 4 days, so I'm cleaning accessories.  NO Telling what I'll find in the shed.)

[oldmanastro]

A couple more images from March 11 and 12 respectively with Scruffy (Celestar 8). The image from the 11th is Mare Humorum, one of my favorites. The Jupiter image is from the 12th and shows the effect of less than good seeing. Jupiter was lower in the sky and under the influence of thermals from the reinforced concrete roof. Visually the GRS was difficult to spot. There was also an annoying wind that stopped some of the captures due to vibrations.  The 12th was our last clear day. It has been rainy and overcast since yesterday.

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[Borodog]

Circa 1985 white tube Celestron Super 8.

 

[LukaszLu]

Pure beauty.

[Borodog]

Thanks Lukasz.

[LukaszLu]

The photo is technically very good, which is rare in this subject. However, I think it is above all very interesting from a purely artistic perspective. Really very suggestive.

[Borodog]

The photo is technically very good, which is rare in this subject. However, I think it is above all very interesting from a purely artistic perspective. Really very suggestive.

 

With any Earthshine image I am definitely taking a lot of artistic license, pushing the saturation & the stretch, leaving in the noise, leaving the trailed stars, etc. The trailed stars provide a sense of movement, of the Moon rocketing through the sky, and the noise gives the image a photographic grain to my eye.

Edited by Borodog, 06 May 2025 - 11:13 AM.

[deSitter]

With Earthshine image I am definitely taking a lot of artistic license, pushing the saturation & the stretch, leaving in the noise, leaving the trailed stars, etc. The trailed stars provide a sense of movement, of the Moon rocketing through the sky, and the noise gives the image a photographic grain to my eye.

 

The color is the same as ocean water, which is just what you'd expect.

 

-drl

[Airship]

Waxing Gibbous Moon – 5/9/2025 22h 20m EDT
Telescope:  6” f/15 Jaegers refractor, Cave Astrola mount
Camera: Canon EOS Ra, Baader Fringe Killer (Minus Violet) Filter
Exposure: 180x1/2000 sec, ISO 3200, saved as RAW
Seeing: Fair, 3/5
Software: Backyard EOS, Nebulosity, Autostakkert, Registax, Photoshop

 

 

Just a quick test image of the moon to see what it was like to image with the 6” f/15 Jaegers on it’s fully manual Cave Astrola mount. There are no slow-motion controls of any sort on this mount which made framing the moon a bit of challenge, but overall, it was fairly easy.

[Airship]

M13 - Globular Cluster in Hercules
Telescope:  6” f/15 Jaegers refractor, Cave Astrola mount
Camera: Canon EOS Ra, Baader Fringe Killer (Minus Violet) Filter
Guide scope: None
Exposure: 32x10sec, ISO 5000, saved as RAW
Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)
Flats: Synthetic
Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, fair transparency, bright moonlight
Lensed Sky Quality Meter: n.a.
Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.
White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic
Software: Backyard EOS, Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

 

 

This was the first of two deepsky images taken with my 6” f/15 Jaegers on its fully manual Cave Astrola mount. There are no slow-motion controls of any sort on this mount which made framing the image a bit of challenge, but overall, it was fairly easy. I located the object using the setting circles and taking test images using 1 second exposures and with a gain of 40,000. I then roughly centered the object N/S and to the east of center. I then turned the drive off and let the object drift to the near the center of the field before turning the drive back on.

[Airship]

M92 - Globular Cluster in Hercules
Telescope:  6” f/15 Jaegers refractor, Cave Astrola mount
Camera: Canon EOS Ra, Baader Fringe Killer (Minus Violet) Filter
Guide scope: None
Exposure: 31x10sec, ISO 5000, saved as RAW
Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)
Flats: Synthetic
Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, fair transparency, bright moonlight
Lensed Sky Quality Meter: n.a.
Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.
White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic
Software: Backyard EOS, Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

 

 

This was the second of two deepsky images taken with my 6” f/15 Jaegers on its fully manual Cave Astrola mount. There are no slow-motion controls of any sort on this mount which made framing the image a bit of challenge, but overall, it was fairly easy. I located the object using the setting circles and taking test images using 1 second exposures and with a gain of 40,000. I then roughly centered the object N/S and to the east of center. I then turned the drive off and let the object drift to the near the center of the field before turning the drive back on.

[Airship]

The Jaegers doing its thing by moonlight...

 

 

Enjoy!