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Looks to me like that 5" mak is going to max out that little EQ Nano. Equatorial mounts aren't the most newbie friendly thing, and that one will quiver and shake under the OTA every time you touch the focus knob, someone walks by, or there's a light breeze. Kind of a recipe for frustration, especially when you're trying to settle into a sharp, steady view at high magnification. Might be better to go with an alt/az (with slow mo knobs/controls) 4" mak, improve the stock diagonal, and get a decent eyepiece. Then even when you upgrade to a big scope, the 4" mak is a good one-handed grab and go for the moon, sunspots, planets and such when you don't feel like setting up the beast. Or troll craigslist for a 6" (or 8") dob! Thats always the best answer. I wish I would have never sold my 6" dob. That thing was awesome.
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Aug 9, 2022 15:45
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| # ? May 17, 2024 23:14 |
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I don't know if you guys have noticed but I habitually troll the used departments of various telescope vendors online. In almost every case, the Celestron Starsense Explorer series is all over the place. Especially the 102mm refractors and the 130mm reflectors. I've heard that each Starsense telescope purchase comes with 3 activations of the app that allows the scope to communicate with your phone, and I suspect people are buying them to get the codes and then using a 3D printed Starsense bracket on their own telescope at home. Do you guys have any experience with this? If it's true, buyer beware. Speaking of used telescopes, as with anything, check the optics and the general workability of the thing when you get it. B&H has a good return policy if you're timely about it. 9.25" SCT and mount, even if they mean mount head only and no tripod, it's still a great deal. OTA almost too much for the mount, still great.  ^^ If I had the money for this I'd probably buy it right now. The SE is almost not enough mount for the 8" SCT, but this is still a good deal on a very popular scope type/size for decades now.  This mount connects to a Celestron version of SkySafari on your phone and allows you to click on objects, slew to and track them with a touch screen. 4" mak is comfortably mounted on the GT/SLT mount here. Great for light polluted back yards. 
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Aug 10, 2022 19:00
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I finally have clear skies, and every night has been a technical mess. My ASI120MM keeps losing functionality or plain old just gives me a white screen. Unplugging it doesn't work, and it usually takes a reboot followed by some port hopping. Then last night after about an hour the mount lost connection. So now I'm thinking I've got general USB issues. The 120MM is plugged into my main camera, while the mount is plugged into the Mini-PC itself. The mini-PC has been flaky since day 1 with a slew of weird errors that seem to be related to it being a counterfeit motherboard or some poo poo. I can't dump $800 on an Intel Nuc, so hopefully the MeLE Quieter3 won't be a piece of poo poo. Cuiv did an unsponsored video and really liked that brand so I'm going to give it a go. Anyone have any experience with them? Photo tax : 
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Aug 11, 2022 13:02
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Maybe start with a powered USB hub from Anker or somebody halfway reputable. If it's a power supply issue in the mini PC that would help. If it's actually the USB controller, not sure if the PC has PCIe slots but there are some half-height USB controller cards.
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Aug 13, 2022 13:09
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Rescue Toaster posted:Maybe start with a powered USB hub from Anker or somebody halfway reputable. If it's a power supply issue in the mini PC that would help. I've got a Pegasus powered astro hub, the issue seemed to happen if it was in the hub, camera, or direct. I ended up powering down the works and upon restart it all worked for the night. The mini-pc has been really flaky since day 1 so I ordered a different one. My current ACEPC runs about 50% CPU trying to verify that the motherboard isn't counterfeit until you force close the process. I'm fairly certain ACEPC is using a counterfeit mobo as when I reached out to Tech Support about it the response was to force close the program.
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Aug 13, 2022 13:44
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Aug 19, 2022 12:55
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So I quickly found I needed a mount, getting 5-10sec exposures was too much of a pain. No way to afford a mount with shipping to kiwi-land. Ended up stumbling across https://openastrotech.com/ and ended up printing out at OAT. Quickly found I was annoyed with 50mm so go an old Pentax 200mm f/4 lens today. 1st light, ~5min exposure of Antares https://astrob.in/juaoyj/0/
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Aug 23, 2022 09:42
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I do like that area of the sky, I was imaging the same part a few weeks ago. I was just using my canon 50mm and 100mm macro. I did try with my fra300 but I was getting some weird halo around Antares, it's a bit of a mystery, don't get it with anything else. gst to NZ is annoying now they look out for it 
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Aug 24, 2022 05:17
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Hello fellow kiwis!! The weather has been my fault as I just bought a mount off one of the local astro pages https://www.ioptron.com/product-p/7100.htm I liked the payload and the price was right. Just need a clear night so i can actually use the drat thing
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Aug 24, 2022 05:39
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Is there any good local places to get new/used gear? Don't get much of a range of gear available here. I've just been looking at facebook for NZ Astro classified as well. Mainly use the aussie shops though. My last couple of purchases were overnight from syd to hastings, faster than buying locally.
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Aug 24, 2022 06:15
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I got lucky with a listing on Aotearoa Astro. Beyond that I don't really know sorry.
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Aug 24, 2022 06:21
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My attempt from last weekend of the Eagle nebula
Raikyn fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Aug 24, 2022 |
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Aug 24, 2022 06:47
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Why am I looking at ZWO cooled camera.........
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Aug 25, 2022 04:59
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Last night was the first night in a while it's been clear enough and I've been awake and motivated enough to stay out in the backyard, and I'm glad I did. I'm pretty happy with this, although I'd like to make it a bit less monochromatic.  North America Nebula by Phanatic, on FlickrAside: anyone using the new ZWO 5V focuser?
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Sep 2, 2022 18:37
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What sort of gear/process yielded that? I'm just getting started but coincidentally took some shots of the same object a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still trying to figure out what's a gear limitation, what I hosed up taking the shots, and what I hosed up processing the images.  (I just used a stock Canon full frame DSLR with a 180mm f/3.5L macro lens (just because it was the longest prime I happen to have laying around from other sorts of things I do, the only astro-specific hardware I have so far is a Star Adventurer mount. But I'm pretty sure I have a lot more issues process-wise than just not using astro-specific gear.)
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Sep 3, 2022 00:49
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Base Emitter posted:What sort of gear/process yielded that? ASI2600MC Pro camera ZWO Mini Guide Scope, I forget which camera is on it, it's like the cheapest one I could find Orion EQ-G mount Optolong L-Enhance filter (I'm in a Bortle 6, if it's a broadband target instead of an emission nebula I'll use the L-Pro instead) Laptop running NINA, which is wonderful. The fact that you don't even need to see the pole in order to polar align is just great. Process is set everything up in NINA, align, focus, start tracking, set up the sequencer to take a bunch of 3-minute exposures (in this case, 50), and then go inside to play Slay the Spire for a while and periodically go check on things. One thing NINA does not do with my mount for some reason is meridian flip, so when that becomes an issue I basically need to stop the sequence and do that and then start it again. I use DeepSkyStacker to stack lights, darks, flats, and bias frames, and then use Photoshop for a bunch of curves adjustments and Lightroom to finish things. It's mainly in Photoshop where I feel like I'm flailing a bit, there's just a huge amount of power there and I know I'm barely touching it at this point.
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Sep 3, 2022 19:58
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Thanks. I don't mean to pick on you particularly, but you've got a recent shot of the same critter I do, so I'm trying to figure out what to attribute all the differences I see. This is a detail of what I've got, rotated and cropped to approximately what your image shows: Obviously your image has a lot more detail, contrast, and clarity than mine, and I'm trying to understand what next steps will have the most impact. This was taken in a Bortle 5 to 6 (if I understand the map rightly) though it was relatively near the full moon. It was with a standard DSLR/telephoto lens with no additional filtering, which I'm guessing makes a big difference if you were using a narrowband filter? 60x 1 minute exposures stacked with SiriL (I'm on a Mac), curved somewhat, photometric color calibration, then exported to a 16-bit TIFF that was further curved in Photoshop (and rotated, cropped, and exported for poasting purposes). I did take flats and darks, although probably too few darks because I was impatient. Did not do any starnet shenanigans, I'm just trying to get basic results here. I also have some disappointing M31 and M51 images from a Bortle 3 site but I think the issue there is I just hosed up the focus. Its both good enough and bad enough to make me want to go back... Base Emitter fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Sep 4, 2022 |
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Sep 4, 2022 22:37
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At a guess, the biggest difference would be that your using a standard dslr vs using either a modified dslr/astro camera. I would have thought you would get a bit more colour though? Although I'm not familiar with the target being in NZ. It might be more a processing issue to get a bit more out of the data.
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Sep 5, 2022 06:42
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When I was using my unmodded camera I had the same issue. Was very hard to get reds. I think I posted about it here. Unfortunately, I haven't had much of a chance to use it since I got it modded.
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Sep 5, 2022 06:54
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Internet Explorer posted:When I was using my unmodded camera I had the same issue. Was very hard to get reds. I think I posted about it here. Unfortunately, I haven't had much of a chance to use it since I got it modded. Ahh, I didn't realize it made *that* much of a difference. Scrolling back through your posts you did in fact post something a year ago that bears a striking resemblance to what I got. This is for Ha emission, right? Does this problem affect other kinds of objects like galaxies? I kinda want to take "baby steps" here and not invest a ton of money all at once, so I'm sort of looking at what will get me the furthest with what I've got. If I can go shoot M31 and practice processing with that first, I'll start there (I did try, but like I said the focus kind of came out bad). I have no doubt I also have a lot to learn with processing, which is sort of what I think I'd prefer to be doing better before I drop a bunch of money on new gear.
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Sep 5, 2022 07:46
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I went from DSLR on 1 May this year of carina nebula , single shot  to asi294mc a couple of weeks ago of carina, stacked 1hr  But if I had to guess it was probably 40% camera, 60% everything else (technique/processing) Raikyn fucked around with this message at 09:12 on Sep 5, 2022 |
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Sep 5, 2022 08:39
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Base Emitter posted:Ahh, I didn't realize it made *that* much of a difference. Scrolling back through your posts you did in fact post something a year ago that bears a striking resemblance to what I got. The problem is that DSLRs are so sensitive to infrared light that there's a very aggressive IR filter sitting there over the sensor, and this filter blocks a considerable majority of Ha light. quote:Does this problem affect other kinds of objects like galaxies? No. Ha comes from emission nebula, something where there's a nearby source of UV light energetic enough to ionize the hydrogen in the nebula. A galaxy is just a big broadband source.
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Sep 6, 2022 17:07
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I, well. I took these last night. My gear isn't much cop and I'm still learning, but please - feedback welcomed. Celestron Astromaster 130eq on iOptron ZEQ25, using my S22 Ultra.   There was unfortunately a little wispy cloud that left my Saturn image less crisp than I'd like, but I was very pleased with the moon.
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Sep 6, 2022 22:28
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Phanatic posted:No. Ha comes from emission nebula, something where there's a nearby source of UV light energetic enough to ionize the hydrogen in the nebula. A galaxy is just a big broadband source. Star forming galaxies (i.e. most spiral galaxies) do have emission lines like Halpha superimposed on their stellar (broadband) spectra. That’s what all those red nebulae are in images of galaxies like M33- individual emission nebulae just like the ones we have in the Milky Way, they’re just further away. It’s fairly common with monochrome cameras to take images of star-forming galaxies in R, G (or V), and B filters plus an Halpha filter, then combine R and Halpha so the nebulae show up more strongly than they would in just the R filter alone. Elliptical galaxies don’t generally have emission lines, though. Luneshot fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Sep 7, 2022 |
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Sep 6, 2022 23:48
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Clouds are the mortal enemy of all astronomers from newbie to pro level
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Sep 7, 2022 02:48
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Got the Bubble and Lobster Claw last night. This is about 2 hours of exposure, I really need to get more because this stuff is pretty faint. 
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Sep 17, 2022 03:58
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I thought that was my next target which was a little strange, but then I looked it up and it is the lobster nebula which may be next. While scouting targets I found 2 lobster nebulas , but I'm going to try the one next to the cats paw. If I've setup my FOV right I should be able to get both the cats paw and lobster in the same frame comfortably, so I'll try that and see if I've all the right settings
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Sep 17, 2022 23:51
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I'm still waiting on some gear so I can maybe suck a little less at astrophotography, but I took this recently and I thought it was pretty cool. Wanted to share.
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Sep 26, 2022 06:12
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Jupiter is creeping on earth tonight, if anyone missed the memo.
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Sep 27, 2022 02:52
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PerniciousKnid posted:Jupiter is creeping on earth tonight, if anyone missed the memo. From Hastings, NZ  Jupiter by Marc, on Flickr
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Sep 27, 2022 11:54
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Very nice! What's your gear? Too much bloody cloud in Auckland tonight
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Sep 27, 2022 11:57
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I used an Orion cc6 , 2x Barlow , zwo asi294mc camera. It was cloudy here as well, but I had a look outside as I was going to bed and it had cleared up.
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Sep 27, 2022 12:05
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I managed to see it with the kids last night, albeit much smaller than that picture, as well as Saturn. The kids had fun anyway, but "don't bump the telescope" is still beyond them for now. Finally got to use my AT 6mm eyepiece too.
PerniciousKnid fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Oct 3, 2022 |
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Sep 28, 2022 15:26
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Saturn still looks alright Between the clouds the conditions were alright for viewing the planets, but I haven't been able to look at any DSO since early August due to weather
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Oct 1, 2022 04:31
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i bought a telescope and let me tell you, i'm really glad svbony exists
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Oct 6, 2022 23:35
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Achmed Jones posted:i bought a telescope and let me tell you, i'm really glad svbony exists Which telescope? I've only bought a few of SvBony's UFF eyepieces (same as the APM ones) and a few of their other odd and ends accessories. They have a solar finderscope that's cheap and easy to use.
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Oct 7, 2022 13:59
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celestron starsense explorer dx 130az the finderscope is so out of alignment that it's impossible to align, but they're sending me another one. i hope it works better!
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Oct 7, 2022 16:27
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The Lucy spacecraft is using Earth for a gravity assist on October 16th (periapse at a lower altitude than the ISS orbits, which is pretty nuts). If you're in Australia you will be able to see it with the naked eye; in the western US, you'll be able to see it with binoculars; elsewhere you'll need a telescope. All the info you need to observe it is here: http://lucy.swri.edu/SpotTheSpacecraft-EGA1.html
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Oct 14, 2022 16:58
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First time I've put more than a hour into a target. It looks like it turned out decent enough Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud Still adding bits and pieces to the process, last couple of nights it was trying to get the dither to work, and last night just more time on a single target About 2 1/2 hours  tarantula nebula by Marc, on Flickr
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Oct 17, 2022 07:16
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| # ? May 17, 2024 23:14 |
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Theres a chance we will have have powercuts in the UK for a number of days this Winter - here's me hoping its at night and no clouds ! The idea of a darksky from my urban home, if only for a few hours, sounds kinda great.
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Oct 23, 2022 19:50
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