Happy holidays.
I want to follow up on what turned out to be a controversial post I wrote on Facebook last night on my attempt to eliminate field rotation noise from the Seestar output, and I am repeating it here.
Before I begin, let me profess that the Seestar is a fantastic smart telescope that enables anyone to enjoy the fun and beauty of astrophotography. If you like its simplicity as I do, and want to keep it that way, then read no further. Among the many AP rigs that I own, I seem to return to the S50 time and time again because it is so simple and the result is so satisfying.
I like to explore what is possible with such a portable and inexpensive system, in which it is becoming a gateway to the more involved world of astrophotography and astrophysics. This is for my own enjoyment, and is not meant to force others to do the same.
I also enjoy tremendously what I thought was the most collaborative, generous and supportive group. People who do astrophotography are not in it for fame or money, for there is none in neither account.
I also am the type of person who likes challenges, where the exploration and discovery journey is more fun than the destination. So if I seem to leave you hanging and not itemize every step of my processes, it is because I thought there will be some of you who like to dig into this a little more and figure it out him/herself.
To summarize what I figured out last night, I found out the Seestar S50 is capable of running in the equatorial mode, with the existing software and hardware, with no hacking that violates in any manner. I imaged the Horsehead Nebula for 140 minutes, collected a total of 546 frames. There is no field rotation in sequence, as evidenced by the video clip I produced via PixInsight:
https://photos.app.g...qdtF5PAFUY2HgY6
The result image, with simple background subtraction and stretching ( the edge noise is due to my quick and dirty polar alignment)
https://photos.app.g...5k2r5XEQ9gB3ULA
I used an old wedge that I had before, and verified its general use over 2 regions of the night sky (Capella and Horsehead).
There are some limitations imposed by the existing ZWO software, but they are trivial to fix.
There are some strain to the body of S50, as it need to be tilted the way any equatorially mounted system demands. However, I believe the integrity of the unit is sound and I won't hesitate to run the rig overnight.
I can give more details in a later post, but I want to let those who want to figure it out to try their hands on it first.
Again,
Happy Holidays.
Kai
Edited by kaicyung, 24 December 2023 - 09:24 AM.