New season, new start

[wolfman_55]

Hi All,

At last, a couple of clear nights on the trot. Gives me a chance to try a new set up for this year. I didn't have too much success with LRGB imaging last year, so this year I'm back to the QHY8L together with the C8 and 0.7 focal reducer. I'm thinking at the moment that I just don't have enough clear nights for LRGB imaging and the extra time that takes.
So I've done a couple of nights on M33 and hope to process the images over the next couple of days. M33 seems to perfectly fit the larger field of view I now have.
Be interested in other peoples thoughts on LRGB.

[red dwalf]

it can be time consuming that`s for sure, but the real advantage for for a mono camera of course is narrowband imaging, with the crap skies round here it`s great.

the C8 should be a good galaxy imaging scope and with a reducer shouldn`t give you too many problems with guiding, a lot has been made about "fast" imaging scopes as opposed to "slower" but i was reading some information on the myth of fast scopes and the faster the better for imaging and all that but quite frankly it`s never made any sense to me either, why all of a sudden do the photons speed up and your imaging time quicken ? they are already going at the speed of light, all the real benefit is a wider field of view as opposed to a scope with a longer focal length with the same camera attached, makes sense to me,

will sit back and wait for a debate L.O.L. 

[Guest]

There's never a close season for me as I do solar and lunar. I've thought about RGB and LRGB and various narrowband filters but never got round to it.

[wolfman_55]

For what it's worth, guiding is much easier and I can get 4-6 hours of imaging in one night so I'm going to continue with the set up and see how I get on.

 

Dave

[stash]

On 02/09/2016 at 20:12, red dwalf said:

it can be time consuming that`s for sure, but the real advantage for for a mono camera of course is narrowband imaging, with the crap skies round here it`s great.

the C8 should be a good galaxy imaging scope and with a reducer shouldn`t give you too many problems with guiding, a lot has been made about "fast" imaging scopes as opposed to "slower" but i was reading some information on the myth of fast scopes and the faster the better for imaging and all that but quite frankly it`s never made any sense to me either, why all of a sudden do the photons speed up and your imaging time quicken ? they are already going at the speed of light, all the real benefit is a wider field of view as opposed to a scope with a longer focal length with the same camera attached, makes sense to me,

will sit back and wait for a debate L.O.L. 

Sorry Rob I will have to disagree with you some what - Very Fast scopes AKA f2 (Hyperstars addon) give you more brightness and therefore need less time to acquire the same amount of light(Photons). quote - "Normally an SCT operates at f/10. Converting it to f/2 makes the telescope 25x faster for capturing images! Exposures that might normally take hours now take mere minutes!".

 

You cannot doubt the images shown in EAA, on SGL and Cloudynights, where "near real time" processing exists using "fast SCT scopes" - yes it can still be done with "slower scopes". The photons don't travel at  different speeds you just require less exposure time,with fast scopes, to get the of same amount photons. This enables less stress,IMO,on guiding and even the mount accuracy - some dont even use EQ mounts.

 

Like all things you don't get "something for nowt" - problems do exist ,as you know, with faster scopes in the form of Chromatic Aberration and Spherical Aberation unless they are removed by very very expensive set ups.

 

So wont argue with the Mono/narrow band comments but I think that  fast scopes do "as they say on the tin".

 

So let the debate continue!!!

 

P.S. Rob found a better option than AstroTortilla - its in APT and called plate solve. Still use both (thanks for pointing me in the direction of "plate solving") but Plate Solve in APT seems faster and more accurate. I rarely miss a target now days so thanks Rob life is so much easier if lazier!!!!!

[Guest]

A lot of it is down to time and money. I just don't have the dosh for a guided set-up and, probably, if I did, I'd probably get a better solar 'scope than my PST instead. It's down to personal choice.

 

I do a lot of stuff with a DSLR and exposures from 1 second to one minute. Chances are I won't snap everything that is within range of my equipment before I kick the bucket in 15-20 years' time.

[Tweedledee]

11 minutes ago, Sunny Phil said:

Chances are I won't snap everything that is within range of my equipment before I kick the bucket in 15-20 years' time.

Phil, just keep well away from buckets for the next 40 years then. 

[Guest]

Just now, Tweedledee said:

Phil, just keep well away from buckets for the next 40 years then. 

If I manage another 40 years I'll get some sort of message from William V.