I have a Celestron C6 SCT on the Advanced VX mount. I have a f6.3
reducer/corrector for it. I have a ZWO ASI1600MM-Cooled with the 8 position
EFW. It has a set of LRGB and narrowband filters in it. I have a virgin
PoleMaster to help improve my polar alignments when I’m out of the backyard. I
have an Orion StarShoot Autoguider on a Orion 80mm finder scope for auto
guiding.
I have a Gigabyte Briq small form factor PC (runs off 12V like the rest of my
equipment) running Windows 7 Pro for my telescope computer. (I’ll bring my
Windows 8.1 laptop as a backup.) I have PHD2, APT, PixInsight, and the
PoleMaster SW installed on both. I also have BackyardEOS installed from when I
was trying to use my Canon SL1 for imaging. (The Canon doesn’t work well when
it’s sensor temperature is 45C! All noise, no signal.) Oh! And Stellarium so I
can compare what I’m seeing with what I should be seeing.
I’ve attempted stacking with both DeepSkyStacker and PixInsight a varying
success, mostly depending on the quality of the subs. Which generally sucked
from the Canon during this summer. I like PixInsight better. I’ve done some
simple processing of both stacked and single frame images in PixInsight. I’ve
taken dark frames for the Canon. I’ll take a set for the ZWO tonight so I have
my “standard” exposure times covered. (30, 60 90, and 180 seconds.) I’ve never
taken flats or bias frames yet. (Hmm, do I even own a plain white T-shirt?)
At times I’ve had good success at auto guiding at times. The last time out, it
sucked. PHD2 kept complaining about my max steps not being larger enough for it
to track successfully. I think my polar alignment must have been centered on
Jupiter instead of Polaris that night! :-) The street light right behind my
backyard is located right in the sight line of Polaris! Grumble, grumble.
So I have enough equipment to keep me busy for a while learning how to use it
effectively and repeatably. (I also have a Star Adventurer that I’m bringing
along with my Canon and its lenses so I can try Andromeda or the Heart and Soul
while the C6 is taking its multi hour long image sequences.)
I’m hoping to get at least one set of usable image data from the C6/ZWO setup.
If the Canon on the Star Adventurer does a better job, I’m going to be doing
some explaining to my wife when I get back. :-)
Mike McDonald
mikemac@xxxxxxxxxxx
On Oct 3, 2018, at 5:07 PM, David Douglass <dmdouglass@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Mike....
You say that you "understand" all that is being told... but "how to actually
do all..."...
So. Some basic guidance.
I am going to "assume" (gets me every time)... that you are Very New to
astro-imaging.
Do you understand about taking "darks, flats, and bias" frames ?? Not a
problem, if not. But it will have to be done before you can "process" the
images.
A nice thing about that is that you can "pre-do" these, or, in most cases
(not all), you can do them after that fact. Flats are the tricky part there.
You mentioned earlier which camera you purchased, but I can't seem to find
it. Which one.
And you mentioned LRGB. So I am assuming you do NOT have a OSC (One Shot
Color) model. Do you have a filter wheel, and filters ??
As a general rule, I use 5 min exposures for DSO objects, and 1-3 min for OC
and Globs. The brighter they are, the less time is needed.
Nebulae is another story. Again 5-min is a good "rule of thumb".
But then.... a 5-min exposure can be a tricky thing. Do you have a guider,
and know how to use it? If not (to either).... then you will probably be
limited to doing 30-45 sec exposures (or you will have "trailing" stars...).
The best way to learn here is to practice. Consider your next several
"outtings" as just that. Learning experiences, and experiment.
Then try and get together with an experienced imager for guidance.
Yup.... lots going on here. And we have NOT even mentioned processing......
David Douglass
David@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (main)
Dmdouglass@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Alternate)
Cell (602) 908-9092
