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Hello all. Over last month I captured 9h of Ha Data with my new ZWO 1600mm Pro Camera and the results are blowing me away! I also included a inverted version which is edited to show the very faint details and I noticed a structure in the lower left i've never seen before, so i'm assuming it's nothing, but it is only just visible in both images... I plan on finishing this on off next year when its darker again because i'm now occupied for the next month doing various things. Skywatcher 200PDS Zwo 1600mm Pro Skywatcher EQ6 with belt mod about .78 arc second resolution Captured over 4 nights 179 x 3 min @ gain 139 and offset 21

Had another go at the collimation tonight. After getting it as close as possible by eye I swung the scope towards the heavens, selected Regulus as a reference star although it was no where near. Hit the confirm button on the ServoCAT to get the guiding running and then slewed round to the moon. After setting Luna tracking I fitted the point Grey camera into the back of the focuser to see what I could get. Bearing in mind at this magnification the surface was really boiling making good focus all but impossible the results were very pleasing. Still need to get on a star to set the collimation up properly. Anyway a couple of shots using the big scope in Cassegrain mode. Point Grey camera. 500 frames Captured in Fire cap Stacked in Registax

Hi again, seems some people have noticed my absence from EMS. I was pleasantly surprised to find that several members had been enquiring about me. Thanks for your concern. 🙂 Having turned 60 in March, and suffering some depression (not due to turning 60), for which I'm on tablets, I decided that I needed a change of focus from astronomy. I'll be back, deep into astro and EMS again, at some stage, but for now, I'm finding great satisfaction in studying and putting my efforts into creating a wildlife friendly garden. I've filled the garden with pollinator attracting plants, a wildlife pond, log piles, bird feeders, a compost heap, and am even considering going on a beekeeping course. The garden has certainly been buzzing today in the sunshine. It now has lots of interesting nooks and crannies, various different places to sit and enjoy, and should look fantastic over the summer when in full bloom. 🦋🦔🐸🐛🌻🦉🐝🐞 Seems to be a useful thing to do with our current predicament with climate change and the worrying loss of biodiversity. Just ordered some night vision tackle, mainly for watching any nocturnal garden wildlife activities, but apparently it should be good on the stars as well. I had a wonderful holiday in Scotland for my 60th. I loved the place, and getting away in the countryside changed my perspective a little, along with a book I read entitled "Rewild Yourself: 23 Spellbinding Ways to Make Nature More Visible". I found it a wonderful and enlightening read. Another thing that has been getting me down is that I have a cataract in my left eye. I'm looking through a dense fog in my left eye, and it is virtually useless. I have a cataract developing in my right eye that will no doubt be a problem in a year or so. Not good for an astronomer! My cataracts are a side effect of twenty odd years of using a daily steroid nasal spray to keep nasal polyps at bay, which have caused me a major problem intermittently. On Tuesday I go to hospital to have cataract surgery and will not be allowed to drive for a fortnight. I'm really looking forward to seeing better. Best regards, Pete. Here's the little wildlife pond I just put in.

tak 102 x2.5 pm ZWO178 cam

was hoping for a better image after 10 hours with the SCT and the RC about 8 with the SCT 60 x 00 secs in total Do the click thing for full res

Had a decent session on the mount today. First job was to fit the plate over the letter box to tidy that all up. Then it was on to fitting the motors. RA. Dec After this it was time for its first test. I decided it would be prudent to leave the drive belts off for the initial test. Switch it all on -- with ever growing excitement I pressed the slew button and ---------------------- nothing. 😕 Not a squeak out of it. With a sinking heart I started checking the connections. Oh how I laughed at myself when I realized I had not even connect the main power supply lead up to the bench power supply. 😂 Wired that part of the puzzle up and tried again. -------------- Success Motors were spinning away. Then came the part I hate -- programming the computer. After many trials and tribulations I managed to get the ServoCAT software to talk to the ServoCAT box of tricks. After setting up my gearing and power demands I went back outside into the obs to test it out. This time I fitted the drive belts. Once again the excitement was building as I pressed the RA slew button. The excitement very quickly turned to slight fear as the mount set off like a scalded cat. It was moving at an alarming rate of knots. 😲 Bloody hell I thought to myself that is a bit dangerous I will have to change that. Back to the computer where I slowed everything down by 50%. This is a quick video I took on my phone. Tomorrow I get to program up the Argo Navis. 😲 😭 I also need to make some guides for the belts as they have a habit of running off the gears. More to follow as it happens.

Hi everyone - I've thrown some more time at the Needle Galaxy for a deeper image. 4hrs integration with the usual kit. Thanks for looking 🙂

Buchaille Etive Mor, 'The Great Herdsman' at the head of Glencoe. Taken on my recent Scottish trip. Such an iconic mountain, never tire of stopping here ...

I’ve had a go at M13 globular cluster it came out better than I thought it would. I’m still struggling to get phd2 to guide. phd2 keeps saying could not detect enough movement with star, it’s done it 2 nights now on the trot, both times I’ve had excellent polar alignment with sharp cap. would that cause the stars not to move enough for phd2 ? SW 100 Ed SW AZEQ5 Sony A6000 Altair 290mm SW evoguide No filters Bortle 6 to 8 sky depending what app I use 10 x 30 sec lights 10 x darks 10 x flats Excellent polar alignment with sharp cap Failed to guide with phd2 (free) Used cartes du ceil to goto. Stacked in deep sky stacker (free) And processed a bit to much on gimp (free) also.

Hi everyone - finally completed this one - getting the star colour and balance across both panes was trick - but I think I've just about pulled it off. 5 hrs integration per pane. Pure RGB with the usual kit. Thanks for looking 🙂

How cute are these. I noticed they rolled their eyes back when they tilted their head.

Lunt 60mm D/S chameleon cam 151 frames stacked in AS3 prodded with imppg and poked with PS do the clicky thing for full res

What a brilliant morning for the art of sun bothering. I must admit it makes a surprising change to see the sun on a day I can image it. Made the most of it as well. Usual kit of the Double stacked 60mm Lunt Point Grey camera. AZ EQ6 Click a couple of times on any image to get to full res. Full disc. False colour added in PS 6 Added a 2.5 times Barlow to get the following. Nice duel features. False colour added in PS 6. Close up of the sun spot. False colour added in PS 6.

These butterflies never stop flying but eventually a couple settled and I managed this photo. Taken at Holme pierrepont by the dragonfly ponds.

This was taken during the last full moon with no LP filters etc. As you can imagine there was a very heavy gradient but Startools dealt with that very well. 10 x 120sec @ ISO800 with calibration frames Processed in Startools and finished with CS6

Interesting read here below. Its a pity is not visible for us Northern Hemisphere folk, and i believe its a faint Magnitude 12. https://earthsky.org/space/double-asteroid-1999-kw4-closest-may-25-2019

Re-discovered this Badger set about three miles from home. Right on a main footpath, but there is seclusion for the badgers across a wall in the field. Such a pleasure to watch these lovely animals in daylight. TWO videos here .. One a bot wobbly 😉 Second Video

Taken last week at Attenborough Nature Reserve, Nottingham. Beautiful day, took the tripod and 2x converter for the 300mm lens Red Crested Pochard -with an itchy nose??????????????? Whitethroat (or is that a Lesser Whitethroat Mick?) Sedge Warbler Singing his or her little heart out,

127mm Sky-Watcher Mak/AZ5 mount and tripod.

This is the moment I have been working up to for nearly a year. The mount and scope on a full test. I still have the slew speed set to 50% and you will see why. As the DEC Pinion wheel is so thin it tends to sing a bit in places. Will have to add a spot of lubrication until it all beds back in again.

20 x 300sec @ ISO800 Dithered with calibration frames Processed in Startools and CS6 [/url]

Just a quick grab with the Recat\Star Adventurer, STC Duo-Narrowband filter and Canon 450d. 54x2min subs processed in Pixinsight and PSCC. Still too low in the East for best seeing so I'll come back to this target later in the year when it's overhead

Don't know if you remember a while back I made a very large ERF holder for a Solar scope. Well it would seem the word has spread across the grapevine and for that matter the globe. I have just completed a request to make another one to fit a Celestron C 11. This one is for a gentleman who is ' an elected fellow of the Institute of Physics Singapore '. This one is now all parceled up and will be winging its way around the world on Friday to his University where it will be fitted to the Astrophysics Solar scope. Funny old hobby this Astronomy 😂

Tak102 ZWO 178 cam do the clicky thing for full res

WO132 ZWO 178 400ish 20 secs so i have this web cam that is colour - so what do I save the ouput from the cam as to keep the colour data?

Taken from the main road across Ranoch Moor. Always a lovely spot, although you do take your life in your hands stopping on the really fast main road!

Lunt 60mm D/S chameleon cam 151 frames stacked in AS3 prodded with imppg and poked with PS Do the clicky thing for full res

OK, where to start! First proper light on the Redcat 51. This time, mounted on a guided Star Adventurer mount with my modded Canon 450D. The Redcat has an in-board 2 inch filter thread so I put my STC Duo-Narrowband filter in for this session and processed this a bi-colour image in Pixinsight. I got 42x2min subs before the clouds rolled in. Not bad for a travel mount & scope 🙂

Finally managed to get a bit of clear sky last night, after weeks it would seem. All the kit seemed to have a mind of it's own, and my guiding is just bonkers, so limited my exposures to 1 minute. So this is M101, 5 x 1 minute exposures in L,R,G,and B. Crikey that's not much eh, so noisier than I'd like, hopefully tonight will be a bit clearer ...

Finally managed to visit Bletchley Park, I would highly recommend we took 5hrs going round so much to read definitely a place to visit, remember to take your reading glasses though , most humbling to walk the huts that the like of Alan Turin and bill tutte worked unlike most museums you visit, the history of the place is all around and not just a collection of artefacts 👍

M92 ,sw200pds ,Eq6 pro,canon 1000D modified , Stacked in Regim ,processed in Startools , approx 20 mins of exposure 14 x120 sec ,regim using about 73% reject 27%, a little bit noisy and not quite sure the colour is quite right especially in the core area but it was only 20 mins of Data hopefully a bit more data will correct this .

Well the sky sort of cleared enough to give me a couple of hours fun. Managed a rough collimation due to the fact I do not have enough inward travel to get to focus. I have already devised a plan to hopefully cure that. Tomorrow I will machine up a 2 inch adapter for the canon, this will remove the 2 inch to 1.25 inch reducer and will gain me another 20 to 30mm of travel which hopefully will give me the extra I require. On the positive side the tracking is absolutely amazing. The star I was using only moved the width of the cross hair line on the live view in BYE in the 2 hours I was playing. I would call that a successful first test. I will go to bed tonight one very happy bunny.

Someone had scattered some food pellets on the footpath and I saw this lovely Wood Mouse having a feast, he/she was pretty focused on eating so didn't take much notice of me.

Set up, balanced and ready for star checking tonight if possible!

Took the plunge after reading numerous reviews on many different forums to buy a SW 150 PDS scope. I've also ordered a bahtinov mask to match. I'll be buying the Baader Mk3 CC in the near future as it also has great reviews. So job done, just got to wait for the delivery man on Monday!! Ron

This popped up on flickr not bad for a OSC camera a asi1294mc pro certainly getting better these osc cameras

Had a great morning at Attenborough nature reserve this morning. Bit grey, but lovely views of Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler. This Sedge Warbler was singing so hard he nearly, but not quite, drowned out the flipping people talking..

WO 132 zwo 178 cam stacked in AS3 stitched and prodded and poked in PS give it a click or 3 for full res

Hi everyone - this is my first go at a cluster. Tricky to process aren't they? C8+Hyperstar+178MC Cool. 126x30sec subs & processed in Pixinsight and PSCC

This little beauty arrived just after 11 o'clock this morning. No idea what it was. Space junk coming home ????

Common Blue Damselfly Large Red Damselflies I think this is a Syrphus ribesii Green Shield Bug Unsure what type of fly this is, does anyone know?

Spent the day getting ready for a first light with the large GEM. Dodging the torrential rain and hail showers was all part of the fun. First thing to do today was adapt and fit my old mount hub. This gives me all the power and USB sockets I will ever need for the scope. The wiring for the hub runs inside the mount along with the motor and encoder cables. Then it was on to wiring in the new power switches and fitting a console I have built for them to sit in. From left to right on the switches. The Green Switch is a two way unit that will eventually allow me to open and close the Obs roof. Next to it is the power switch for the ServoCAT and Argo Navis. Next is the power switch for the Hub. The last switch is a spare that can be used in the future if a need arises. All the switches are individually fused from a fuse box mounted inside the console Then it was time to fit the focus motor and the new ( to me ) Canon 1100 which I got from Allan the Plumber. ( Thanks Allan it is brilliant. ) Once they were all cabled up I did a test run using BYE. After a couple of teething troubles with the software everything fell into place and all is now working as it should be. Tonight was to be the first light for this project so of coarse it is now raining. 😂 I live in hope that it will clear and I get the chance to at least get the scope collimated. We will see. More to follow as it happens.

Hi folks, Here's a couple of HDR bracketed shots I took up at Stanage Edge last weekend. I didn't notice the climbers entered the FOV in the first image, until the PP stage. Wish I'd arrived earlier, as I'd spent not nearly enough time as I'd like there. Regards, Kev

Poor weather spoiled my first light session with the #redcat51 but I was able to salvage 18 mins of data on the Sadr Region of Cygnus to see the potential of this super little scope before the clouds rolled in. Need to sort out the balance, polar alignment and guiding for the Star Adventurer mount I'm using on this portable rig but I have to say I'm happy with 2 minute unguided subs, even at this focal length 🙂

As luck would have it I managed to find an Orange Tip at rest yesterday. At last I got one and I didnt have to chase it for 150 yards

Not quiet the first image I had planned for the new set up but beggars can't be chooser as they say. Did a daylight test. My biggest problem was finding something far enough away. Had to add an extension tube to the focuser to get enough travel. Here it is the moment we have all been waiting for. --------- A bit of a tree from down the road 😂

M51 imaged on two nights poor seeing - stacking in Regim processed in startools

Further to my acquiring a wrecked pair of Celestron Skymaster 25x70 bins I got for £2.01, I started to have a look at if the prisms could be used on my ed80 bins, nah too much vignetting because they are relatively small prisms. Soooo I have one eyepiece, 2 objectives and 2 sets of prisms so here is the 1st scope to be made from the remains a 25x70mm spotter for birding. Its lightweight so can be used on my Mirrorless CSC Benro tripod. Yep it look just like a pair of binos cut in half, because thats what it is 😀 but it works well, OK not a Leica or Swarowski but it gives a reasonable image. Ive tweaked it a tad so it focuses down to 25 yards, anything under that I use my Nikon 10x42s. Now what can I build with teh other 70mm objective? 🙄

Another week has flown past. The count has gone up a fair bit this week with the shower.