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Unitron 510 Notes

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#76 jgraham

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Posted 25 July 2023 - 09:14 AM

I gotta say that I was soooo happy with how the lens turned out. It's gorgeous! You really have to look closely under just the right lighting to see the erosion to the coatings on the inside face of the rear element. On my next night out I want to spend some time splitting close double stars and taking a very close look at the diffraction rings. I swore the last time I had it out checking the collimation after the second inspection/cleaning that I could only see the first ring and it was close and tight to the Airy disk. Ugh. It is supposed to be clear this evening, but I still gotta get up for work tomorrow (66 more days). The Plan is to soak up some moonlight and then hop over to Izar and down to Porima. They aren't the closest doubles, but very pretty. I should take a peek at Antares while I'm at it, but I suspect that the seeing won't cooperate. On the way to parking the scope I'll just have to stop by epsilon Lyra to take a peek. I see that Cassiopeia is rising in the northeast begging for attention, but I just gotta wait a bit longer, or get lucky with a cool clear Friday or Saturday evening. Yeah, like that's gonna happen. smile.gif

 

Fun stuff!

 

P.S.

 

Ugh. Yes, it is supposed to be clear this evening. However, we are under a veil of smoke that is worse than I have ever seen before. We just can't catch a break this year. :(


Edited by jgraham, 25 July 2023 - 01:23 PM.

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#77 CHASLX200

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Posted 25 July 2023 - 06:18 PM

I gotta say that I was soooo happy with how the lens turned out. It's gorgeous! You really have to look closely under just the right lighting to see the erosion to the coatings on the inside face of the rear element. On my next night out I want to spend some time splitting close double stars and taking a very close look at the diffraction rings. I swore the last time I had it out checking the collimation after the second inspection/cleaning that I could only see the first ring and it was close and tight to the Airy disk. Ugh. It is supposed to be clear this evening, but I still gotta get up for work tomorrow (66 more days). The Plan is to soak up some moonlight and then hop over to Izar and down to Porima. They aren't the closest doubles, but very pretty. I should take a peek at Antares while I'm at it, but I suspect that the seeing won't cooperate. On the way to parking the scope I'll just have to stop by epsilon Lyra to take a peek. I see that Cassiopeia is rising in the northeast begging for attention, but I just gotta wait a bit longer, or get lucky with a cool clear Friday or Saturday evening. Yeah, like that's gonna happen. smile.gif

 

Fun stuff!

 

P.S.

 

Ugh. Yes, it is supposed to be clear this evening. However, we are under a veil of smoke that is worse than I have ever seen before. We just can't catch a break this year. frown.gif

You are way more brave than i am. I would clam up it  in no time. Clamchip would be proud of me.



#78 jragsdale

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Posted 26 July 2023 - 03:11 PM

You are way more brave than i am. I would clam up it  in no time. Clamchip would be proud of me.

I've found with big glass as long as you plan your steps in advance, have all the tools, towels and rests already setup, and take your time, don't force anything, it usually goes fairly well. I took apart and fully cleaned all 4 surfaces on two 10½" lenses and two 6" lenses quite recently and it was easy peasy.



#79 CHASLX200

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Posted 26 July 2023 - 06:23 PM

I've found with big glass as long as you plan your steps in advance, have all the tools, towels and rests already setup, and take your time, don't force anything, it usually goes fairly well. I took apart and fully cleaned all 4 surfaces on two 10½" lenses and two 6" lenses quite recently and it was easy peasy.

I have bad eyes and now my mind is to the point i can't do stuff like that in any way. I have no wish to even use a screw driver anymore or any of the things i used to do.  I clammed up my first try at a 60mm lens at age 14 and learned early on never again to take a lens out of a cell.  Newt mirrors are easy. But i don't play around with fracts or collimate them.


Edited by CHASLX200, 26 July 2023 - 06:24 PM.


#80 jgraham

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Posted 26 July 2023 - 09:04 PM

Despite the thick veil of smoke, I did manage to get the 510 out to take a peek at the moon. I was hoping to do some high-resolution evaluation and get a feel for the image dimming at high magnification using the moon, but the smoke was so thick it started out pretty dim. Still, the view was very enjoyable. The detail all along the first quarter terminator is always a joy. The lighting was perfect for viewing the Alpine Valley and Hadley Rille. I always enjoy seeing the Rille as a beautiful thread winding its way around the plain at the base of Mount Hadley. The sunlight was also perfect for observing the sun rising over Plato. As I watched I could see the shadows of the crater's rim slowly drawing across the floor of the crater. I did not notice much in the way of image breakdown at 364x, but the field was a bit dim so I wouldn't call this a fair evaluation. It did appear that the resolution was being limited by seeing as I could clearly see the turbulence in the air. It will be better once we get into the cool, clear evenings of autumn. Backing off to 227x brightened things up a bit and the field looked excellent. At 143x it was incredibly sharp across the field. That is one thing that I have noticed about the field in these long focal length refractors is how sharp the field is from edge to edge. I am using a set of Meade UWA eyepieces which perform very well providing a nice balance between magnification and field of view.

 

The 510 from last night out in my backyard on the Orion Atlas EQ-G...

 

Unitron 510 (7-25-2023)-1.jpg

 

Next up... my first set of test images...

 

Enjoy!

 

 


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#81 jgraham

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Posted 27 July 2023 - 08:54 PM

The Unitron 510 configured for imaging on my Orion Atlas EQ-G and fitted with a Canon EOS Ra full-frame DSLR. The finder has been replaced with a Williams Optics 50mm guide scope and ASI294MM Mini guide camera. I added the Unibalance rings to the lower end of the telescope to shift the balance upwards a bit. In this configuration the camera clears the ground by about 2” when the scope is pointing at zenith. The camera was fitted with a 2” GSO IR cut filter. I used the Canon long exposure noise reduction to automatically take and apply darks to the source images that were saved as RAW. The images were dithered between every pair of source images. My backyard is a solid Bortle 8 (red zone). All images used a gain of ISO 1600. As dusk fell, I took 32x1/10s sky flats. Interestingly, the flats showed a significant amount of vignetting with an imaging circle that appeared to be about 30mm in diameter. (More on this in another post.) Therefore, in the images below I cropped the fields square to fit inside the flat-corrected field. These images are essentially full frame in height with the left and right edges cropped square. North is up, west is to the right (correct image). The exposure and number of subs are given below each image. All images were stacked with Deep Sky Stacker using mean with a 1-sigma clip, and then processed in Nebulosity 4 and Photoshop.

 

What impressive about these images is that the stars are nearly perfect all the way across the field! There is some chromatic aberration that the image processing tends to bring up, but it interesting to note that its not the same around all of the stars of similar brightness. I wonder if the actual star color contributes to the extent of the blue halo. Still, it’s not bad. This shows a lot of promise for high resolution imaging.

 

Enjoy!

 

Unitron 510 Imaging Atlas (7-14-2023)-1.jpg

 

 


Edited by jgraham, 27 July 2023 - 08:59 PM.

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#82 jgraham

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Posted 27 July 2023 - 08:55 PM

M22 (7-14-2023)-2j.jpg

 

M22 - Globular Cluster in Sagittarius. 50x30s.


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#83 jgraham

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Posted 27 July 2023 - 08:56 PM

M27 (7-14-2023)-2j.jpg

 

M27 - Planetary Nebula in Vulpecula. 11x120s.

 


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#84 jgraham

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Posted 27 July 2023 - 08:57 PM

M92 (7-14-2023)-2j.jpg

 

M92 – Globular Cluster in Hercules. 16x 45s.


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#85 jgraham

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Posted 27 July 2023 - 08:57 PM

NGC 7789 (7-14-2023)-1j.jpg

 

NGC 7789 - Open Cluster in Cassiopeia (Caroline’s Rose). 26x60s.


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#86 jgraham

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Posted 27 July 2023 - 09:00 PM

M2 (7-14-2023) 900x900-2j.jpg

 

M2 - Globular Cluster in Aquarius. 24x60s.


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#87 jgraham

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Posted 27 July 2023 - 09:56 PM

To make a long story short, on close examination I found that the draw tube on the 510 includes a baffle that looks to be a good match for the vignetting that I am seeing. I checked, and the draw tube from my 155 does not have this baffle nor does it show nearly the same amount of vignetting. So, I’m going to try another set of imaging using the draw tube from my 155. I may also switch to a cooled camera (QHY 368c), but I like the simplicity of the Ra.

 

So much to do, so few clear nights…


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#88 deSitter

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Posted 27 July 2023 - 10:07 PM

That's just great! A Baader Semi-APO filter will remove that last purple.

 

-drl



#89 jgraham

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Posted 28 July 2023 - 01:11 AM

Good point. I have a 2" Semi-APO filter installed on my AR6. It will be interesting to compare images taken with and without the filter.

Neat stuff!

#90 deSitter

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Posted 28 July 2023 - 01:53 AM

attachicon.gif NGC 7789 (7-14-2023)-1j.jpg

 

NGC 7789 - Open Cluster in Cassiopeia (Caroline’s Rose). 26x60s.

That little C shaped asterism in the lower left center is interesting, but it doesn't appear complete on a Stellarium simulation. Some of the stars are missing and it's not because the simulation isn't deep enough.

 

-drl

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#91 CHASLX200

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Posted 28 July 2023 - 07:05 AM

Good point. I have a 2" Semi-APO filter installed on my AR6. It will be interesting to compare images taken with and without the filter.

Neat stuff!

Well if you ever get tired of that 510 let me know as i can offer up a very nice price and will see if it can be stuffed in the Vette. Now that is a scope i would drive over a 100 miles for.  Really only a very few scopes i would drive far for.


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#92 jgraham

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Posted 28 July 2023 - 07:25 PM

I fully understand. It is truly an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to use such an amazing telescope. I am sooo looking forward to sharing it at our first outreach event. It is an absolute treasure!

#93 starman876

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Posted 28 July 2023 - 07:32 PM

I fully understand. It is truly an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to use such an amazing telescope. I am sooo looking forward to sharing it at our first outreach event. It is an absolute treasure!

I feel that way about all Unitrons.  My first Unitron was a 140.  I was so impressed by the build quality I just kept buying more and more of them.   That 140 showed me that they were not just another department store telescope.   Unitrons were meant as heirlooms you could pass down. 



#94 jcruse64

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Posted 29 July 2023 - 07:28 AM

I appreciate you taking the time to document it here and posting the astro pics from it. It's a fantastic scope, and many/most of us would never have a chance to ever see it.



#95 jgraham

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Posted 30 July 2023 - 12:41 PM

I am itching to get back to my evaluation of the visual performance of the 510, However, my first set of test images showed an unexpected level of vignetting. On closer inspection I found that the draw tube of the 510 includes a baffle that closely matches the diameter of the vignetting that I observed on my flats.  I noted that the draw tube from my 155 does not have this baffle and the flats from the 155 look excellent with just a tad of roll-over in the corners of a full-frame sensor. So, I decided to borrow the draw tube from my 155 and install it on the 510 to see if this cleans up the field. Unfortunately, clouds rolled in much earlier than I was expecting so I did not get a chance to take any deep sky images, but I did get a set of flats as well a quick set of images of the waxing gibbous moon during dusk.

 

This is an example flat using the original draw tube. The pixel values drop to near zero in the corners, so it is not possible to correct the entire field with flats. Noting that the sensor in the Ra is 36x24mm suggests that the reasonably illuminated field is about 36mm in diameter. For simplicity I cropped the images that I posted earlier square using the full height of the frame (24mm). I have never noticed any vignetting visually even with my 70mm Plossl, so the illuminated field is a good match for the 60mm Kelner that Unitron used for their wide field eyepiece.

 

Unitron 510 Sky Flat (7-14-2023)Lum-1.jpg

 

The flat below was taken with the 155 draw tube and you can see that the field is excellent, with just a bit of roll-over in the corners and the entire field can be corrected with a good set of flats. I usually crop my images to give a 4:3 aspect ratio, so the left and right edges usually get cropped off anyway.

 

Unitron 510 Tee Flat (7-29-2023)Lum-1.jpg

To illustrate the extent of the field I given a full-frame image of the waxing gibbous moon below. Given that the apparent diameter of the moon was 32.7 arc-min across when this image was taken gives a field of view of 1.0 x 0.7 degrees.

 

Moon (7-29-2023)-2j.jpg

 

 

 


Edited by jgraham, 30 July 2023 - 12:42 PM.

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#96 jgraham

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Posted 30 July 2023 - 12:43 PM

The image below was cropped and processed as I normally would.

 

Moon (7-29-2023)-1j.jpg

 

Waxing Gibbous Moon – 9:20pm 7/29/2023 EDT
Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16
Camera: Canon EOS Ra
Filter: 2” GSO IR Cut Filter
Exposure: 64x1/500sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW
Seeing: Fair, 3/5
White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic
Software: Backyard EOS, Autostakkert, Registax, Nebulosity, Photoshop

 

Next up: imaging near the full moon is always fun, but it is also a good time to experiment. So, if we get lucky and get a couple of clear evenings, I’ll grab a few test shots with the new configuration.


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#97 jgraham

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Posted 30 July 2023 - 12:49 PM

Just for yucks… the business end of the 510 configured for imaging. The finder has been replaced with a guide scope and camera and I’m using the Unibalance rings to add a bit of weight to the lower end of the tube. This lets me move the tube up enough in the rings so that the camera clears the ground by a couple of inches when the scope is point at the zenith. Gotta watch crashing into the tripod though! It’s always something… :)

 

Unitron 510 Camera (7-29-2023)-2.jpg

 

BTW, the indexed focuser is _really_ nice! It provides a nice visual reference when making fine adjustments to the focus and when using the scope visually it makes it easy to preset the focus for different eyepieces.

 


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#98 starman876

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Posted 30 July 2023 - 01:05 PM

The image below was cropped and processed as I normally would.

 

attachicon.gif Moon (7-29-2023)-1j.jpg

 

Waxing Gibbous Moon – 9:20pm 7/29/2023 EDT
Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16
Camera: Canon EOS Ra
Filter: 2” GSO IR Cut Filter
Exposure: 64x1/500sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW
Seeing: Fair, 3/5
White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic
Software: Backyard EOS, Autostakkert, Registax, Nebulosity, Photoshop

 

Next up: imaging near the full moon is always fun, but it is also a good time to experiment. So, if we get lucky and get a couple of clear evenings, I’ll grab a few test shots with the new configuration.

Nice images.  Reminds of what I see in the eyepiece when I use the 6" AP.   Very nice lens in your scope.



#99 jgraham

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Posted 02 August 2023 - 08:54 PM

I have been meaning to post a few comments on the deepsky performance of the 510, bit I have been distracted by my latest tests evaluating its imaging performance. The weather has been teasing us with clear skies, but the smoke, haze, and moonlight made for conditions that were less than ideal. Still, I learned a lot. More on that over the next couple of days. In the meantime, I planned on closing this imaging test last night hoping to get in an all-nighter, but when I stepped outside about 11:30 between targets to check on the sky conditions the smoke and haze were so thick I decided to call it a night. However, the full Sturgeon moon was so pretty I just had to grab at least a basic image set. The smoke and haze dimmed to moon quite a bit and I used exposures that were twice as long as a couple of nights ago and the moon wasn't as high, but I'm pretty happy with the results. This is another fine example of the image quality of the 510 giving a sharp, well corrected field with very little color aberration.

 

Full Sturgeon Moon – 11:45pm 8/1/2023 EDT
Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16, Atlas EQ-G
Camera: Canon EOS Ra
Filter: 2” GSO IR Cut Filter
Exposure: 64x1/250sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW
Seeing: Fair, 3/5
White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic
Software: Backyard EOS, Autostakkert, Registax, Nebulosity, Photoshop

 

Moon (8-1-2023)-2j.jpg

 

This turned out to be a fitting end to this imaging run. Now I'm itching to get an eyepiece back in the scope and finish the deep sky evaluation.

 

So much to do, so few clear nights...

 

Enjoy!

 


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#100 jgraham

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Posted 03 August 2023 - 08:29 PM

Okay, a few more pictures, then it's back to business. Keep in mind that the purpose of this pictures is to first evaluate whether the 510 can be used as an affective imaging platform. Second, cameras can be the Great Equalizer; they provide an unbiased record of the overall field quality and they highlight each and every flaw and foible in a system. For example, I noted earlier that the field on the 510 in its original configuration showed a surprising amount of vignetting. This contrasted with my prior experience with the Unitron 155 which showed an excellent field with just a tiny amount of vignetting in the corners of a full frame camera field. I suspected that the baffles in the 510 might be restricting the field a bit, and when I looked inside the tube the primary baffles looked fine, but I found that there was an additional baffle inside the draw tube. This contrasted with the draw tube of the 155 which did not have this baffle. So, I decided to conduct a series of tests using the draw tube from the 155. I also wanted to evaluate the performance of the Baader Fringe Killer minus violet filter to reduce the small amount of residual violet halo around bright stars. I also happen to have a Baader Semi-Apo filter that does the same thing, but it also removes some additional regions of the color spectrum in an effort to preserve the overall color balance of the field. While this works fairly well for visual, it is not necessary for imaging as you can correct the color balance during processing. Using the Fringe Killer by itself eliminated the unnecessary light loss of the Semi-Apo filter. Also, I would note that neither filter is needed for visual. As I noted above the camera Sees All and the violet halos are really only visible in some images, and not visible (to me) visually with the image is precisely focused.

 

Any who... this is the first of 2 examples, the globular cluster M15. I will give a second example of M57, the Ring Nebula, in a later post. It should be noted that the conditions were pretty bad with thick haze and smoke set aglow by the light of the Sturgeon Moon. Still, the results are pretty impressive.

 

So, image #1...

 

M15 (7-30-2023)-1j.jpg

 

M15 – Globular Cluster in Pegasus
Telescope: Unitron 510 5” f/16 refractor, Atlas EQ-G
Camera: Canon EOS Ra full frame DSLR
Filter: 2” Baader Fringe Killer (Minus Violet)
Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm Guidescope, ASI290MM, PHD
Exposure: 32x60sec, ISO 1600, saved as RAW
Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction)
Flats: 32x1/125s tee shirt flats taken at dusk
Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, very poor transparency, haze, smoke, full moon
Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 17.8 mag/arc-sec^2
Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip
White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic
Software: Backyard EOS, Deepsky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop

 


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