alis80b Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 50 minutes ago, Glafnazur said: Hi and welcome Alison Thanks šĀ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ibbo Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 (edited) Welcome . My advice leave the x5 PM in the box for the time being. Edited January 27, 2021 by Ibbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 1 hour ago, alis80b said: Ahh that's good to know! I literally had no clue and got advice from YouTube video reviews and the shop I bought it from š Ā They have good quality glass (lens elements) which lets them punch above their weight a bit. Ā Ā So yeah, you made a pretty good choice. I believe they're quite popular with the AP mob lol. alis80b 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis80b Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 1 hour ago, Ibbo said: Welcome . My advice leave the x5 PM in the box for the time being. Ah ok, thanks.Ā I'm not even sure what it is? I was told I would need it to get photos of the planets? Would I be able to get close up moon shots with it? I can't even work out how it connects to the telescope/camera yet so it is still in the box š I'm having a zoom lesson with an astrophotographer soon so he can talk me through all the bits and how to use them. Fingers crossed that will set me off on the right track š Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 I have the 5x Powermate. Ā Ā It's like a Barlow lens, but better corrected. In visual astronomy the Barlow/Powermate is placed into the focuser (or diagonal) and an eyepiece is then placed into the Powermate. The Powermate/Barlow increases the magnification basically by increasing the telescope focal length. So the 600mm of the 80ED becomes 3000x.Ā Ā https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barlow_lens Ā https://www.televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?id=53&Tab=_backĀ Ā Ā My 72ED DS Pro (above) only has a focal length of 420mm. Although this is perfect for low magnification, wide-field views, it isn't too hot for observing planets and the Moon at high magnifications. By using the 5x Powermate with it I can get higher magnifications more easily.Ā Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Ā 5x Powermate and 5x GSO Barlow.Ā Ā Ā Above: My 80ED (with original stock focuser) and a zoom eyepiece in a 3xĀ Celestron Barlow. The Barlow can be seen between the eyepiece and the prism diagonal. This was for a twilight lunar observing session.Ā Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis80b Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 16 minutes ago, Nightspore said: Ā 5x Powermate and 5x GSO Barlow.Ā Ā Ā Above: My 80ED (with original stock focuser) and a zoom eyepiece in a 3xĀ Celestron Barlow. The Barlow can be seen between the eyepiece and the prism diagonal. This was for a twilight lunar observing session.Ā Thanks so much for the explanation. I understand how it works now. The thing I have struggled with most is how to fit all the parts together and attach my camera as well. I managed to attach the reducer/flattener to the telescope and my camera onto that with the t ring but all the other parts are like an impossible jigsaw at the moment! š« I know I sound like a complete idiot and it's so annoying because I am normally pretty 'tech savvy'.Ā Ā I just thought there would be more instructions available! I have booked a Zoom lesson with an astrophotographer so he canĀ show me how it all fits together. It really helps to know how the powermate works though! Thanks again! š Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Hi Alison, I use the Powermates for imaging, and very occasionally for visual in mono vision. So if i image the moon with my 105mm refractor (650mm focal length) and pop the 2x Powermate in the diagonal (or without the diagonal, but usually with) the focal length becomes 1300mm giving a more magnified image on the cameras screen. Ā If i'm observing visually it works the same way.Ā My magnification with a 24mm eyepiece will be 650 / 24 = 27x magnification power. With the 2x Powermate it doubles the power : 1300 / 24 =54x. Ā In effect the 24mm eyepiece becomes a 12mm eyepiece. If i were to use a 4x Powermate it would become a 6mm eyepiece. Ā Here it is in action. In this image i'm using a special solar filter called a Herschel wedge to safely view the sun. (*Ā I perhaps should warn you as a beginner, never to observe the sun through a telescope or binocs, without the correct filtration*) Ā The Powermate inserts into the wedge, and the eyepiece inserts in to the Powermate. I'm using the 2x Powermate, with the 24mm eyepiece to give 54x magnification. Ā Ā Ā Ā Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 4 minutes ago, alis80b said: Thanks so much for the explanation. I understand how it works now. The thing I have struggled with most is how to fit all the parts together and attach my camera as well. I managed to attach the reducer/flattener to the telescope and my camera onto that with the t ring but all the other parts are like an impossible jigsaw at the moment! š« I know I sound like a complete idiot and it's so annoying because I am normally pretty 'tech savvy'.Ā Ā I just thought there would be more instructions available! I have booked a Zoom lesson with an astrophotographer so he canĀ show me how it all fits together. It really helps to know how the powermate works though! Thanks again! š Ā You're welcome. Don't worry about the geeky anorak stuff, you'll be fluent in no time. lol alis80b 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ibbo Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 I also have x5 as well as the 2.5. I have sucessfully imaged with the x 5 less than a dozen times as the seeing conditions are not normally up to using it. As you are just starting out try to keep the number of bits in the imaging train to a minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis80b Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 9 minutes ago, Bino-viewer said: Hi Alison, I use the Powermates for imaging, and very occasionally for visual in mono vision. So if i image the moon with my 105mm refractor (650mm focal length) and pop the 2x Powermate in the diagonal (or without the diagonal, but usually with) the focal length becomes 1300mm giving a more magnified image on the cameras screen. Ā If i'm observing visually it works the same way.Ā My magnification with a 24mm eyepiece will be 650 / 24 = 27x magnification power. With the 2x Powermate it doubles the power : 1300 / 24 =54x. Ā In effect the 24mm eyepiece becomes a 12mm eyepiece. If i were to use a 4x Powermate it would become a 6mm eyepiece. Ā Here it is in action. In this image i'm using a special solar filter called a Herschel wedge to safely view the sun. (*Ā I perhaps should warn you as a beginner, never to observe the sun through a telescope or binocs, without the correct filtration*) Ā The Powermate inserts into the wedge, and the eyepiece inserts in to the Powermate. I'm using the 2x Powermate, with the 24mm eyepiece to give 54x magnification. Ā Ā Ā Ā Thank you for your reply š Do you use a DSLR/mirrorless camera for your imaging or one of those other astroĀ cameras? (that I don't know the name of) š¤¦š¼āāļø I have bought a Canon Ra (and the t ring) and also have the t ring for the powermate. The only way I can connect anything together is by attaching the reducer to the telescope and then the canon t ring attaches my camera to the reducer. That's how I got my first photo of the Moon on Monday.Ā I should probably say that I might go through this whole journey never actually looking through the telescope as I really want to just image everything!! š I would upload a picture of how far I've got (with everything laid out on the floor) but I can't work out how to upload a photo to this site without a URL?! š« Ā Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis80b Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 5 minutes ago, Ibbo said: I also have x5 as well as the 2.5. I have sucessfully imaged with the x 5 less than a dozen times as the seeing conditions are not normally up to using it. As you are just starting out try to keep the number of bits in the imaging train to a minimum. Ok. So if the seeing conditions are not good the x5 makes it worse. I didn't know that. Thank you.Ā I don't even know what good seeing conditions are as I literally only went out on Monday night for the first time. It's so frustrating asĀ I want to run before I can walk!! I am so interested in it all but starting to think that I should have taken up knitting as a hobby! š Ā Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ibbo Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 3 minutes ago, alis80b said: Ok. So if the seeing conditions are not good the x5 makes it worse. I didn't know that. Thank you.Ā I don't even know what good seeing conditions are as I literally only went out on Monday night for the first time. It's so frustrating asĀ I want to run before I can walk!! I am so interested in it all but starting to think that I should have taken up knitting as a hobby! š Ā Nah stick to Astro - knitting akes my missus swear. Having said that I make her swear as well. Ā Basically and if the stars are twinkling like mad the seeing is poor but if twinkling a bit transparency is good -good time for deep sky objects steady stars tend to also mean poor transparency but good for planetary viewing/imaging Ā Ā You might want to consider opening a new thread for imaging or kit questions . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis80b Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 (edited) 20 minutes ago, Ibbo said: Nah stick to Astro - knitting akes my missus swear. Having said that I make her swear as well. Ā Basically and if the stars are twinkling like mad the seeing is poor but if twinkling a bit transparency is good -good time for deep sky objects steady stars tend to also mean poor transparency but good for planetary viewing/imaging Ā Ā You might want to consider opening a new thread for imaging or kit questions . Ha ha! I guess any hobby will make you swear if you want to perfect it! I am a classical music teacher/musicianĀ and seriously have 'musical Tourettes'Ā š Ā Thanks!Ā That's really helpful about the stars twinkling.Ā Ā I've got a zoom 'lesson' this week but will start a thread if I'm stuck!Ā Ā I really appreciate the help and know it must be annoying when beginners ask stupid questions! I'll get it... eventually!!!Ā Ā Ā Edited January 28, 2021 by alis80b +Ibbo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 'Seeing' and 'transparency' are very important factors in astronomy. Ā https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_seeing Ā https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/what-is-astronomical-seeing/ Ā It will limit what detail you can see or photograph. CertainĀ targets will have differing levels of observing at varying magnifications. Also altitude is a factor. Observing Saturn and Jupiter at high magnifications at the moment is difficult as they are so low in the sky. So you are effectively looking through a lot of atmosphere. I was lucky enough to see a shadow of Callisto transiting Jupiter with my 80ED last year. I got 160x magnification. A few years ago, when Jupiter was higher, I could often get over 200x especially with larger scopes. My 235mm SCT can theoretically get over 500x magnification. But this is unlikely in northern Europe. I can often get over 300x with my 150mm Newtonian on the Moon if it is high though. The Moon is an easier target to get high magnifications with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis80b Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 5 minutes ago, Nightspore said: 'Seeing' and 'transparency' are very important factors in astronomy. Ā https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_seeing Ā https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/what-is-astronomical-seeing/ Ā It will limit what detail you can see or photograph. CertainĀ targets will have differing levels of observing at varying magnifications. Also altitude is a factor. Observing Saturn and Jupiter at high magnifications at the moment is difficult as they are so low in the sky. So you are effectively looking through a lot of atmosphere. I was lucky enough to see a shadow of Callisto transiting Jupiter with my 80ED last year. I got 160x magnification. A few years ago, when Jupiter was higher, I could often get over 200x especially with larger scopes. My 235mm SCT can theoretically get over 500x magnification. But this is unlikely in northern Europe. I can often get over 300x with my 150mm Newtonian on the Moon if it is high though. The Moon is an easier target to get high magnifications with. Thank you so much! I will read those articles you sent. It's all so over whelming at the moment. I think I need to accept that I'm not going to get amazing images straight away (even if I had spent double the amount of money on equipment). I would love to get an image of the Orion Nebula as a start. I've even bought a new laptop,Ā as my MacBook won't support a lot of the software I've read about (EOS backyard/APT/DSS).Ā I'm so pleased I've found a group to help but I'll try not to annoy you all too much with my questions!! š Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post alis80b Posted January 28, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 28, 2021 13 hours ago, Clive said: Welcome Alison, have posted your image on this site? Edit... I have created a Flickr account and worked out how to upload images. Here is my first go at putting my telescope/cameraĀ together and photographing the moon on Monday night.Ā Hope the link worked... I'm going to post it in the 'imaging' forum to hopefullyĀ get some constructive criticism as I have no idea what makes a good 'astro' image. I'm just really happy that I got a photo of the moon š Ā Ā Ā Nightspore, +RonC, Clive and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Hi Alison and welcome to EMS š Ā An important thing to consider when using barlows to magnify an image, is learning to judge the seeing conditions. The "seeing" is the amount of imperfections in the atmosphere due to many things, dust, moisture, moonlight, heat rising from the Earth, high level cloud, etc,.. When you magnify too much the image gets grainy typically cos the atmosphere is the nearest and first thing to be magnified. So the fine detail of everything behind it out in space, gets obscured. Unfortunately the best seeing for imaging tends to occur mostly in the middle of winter on very cold nights when the atmosphere is at it's clearest and most stable. Then you have to deal with keeping your gear and glass from freezing up. š Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 (edited) 7 hours ago, alis80b said: Thank you so much! I will read those articles you sent. It's all so over whelming at the moment. I think I need to accept that I'm not going to get amazing images straight away (even if I had spent double the amount of money on equipment). I would love to get an image of the Orion Nebula as a start. I've even bought a new laptop,Ā as my MacBook won't support a lot of the software I've read about (EOS backyard/APT/DSS).Ā I'm so pleased I've found a group to help but I'll try not to annoy you all too much with my questions!! š Ā There are a lot of equivalents for Unix operating systems. I'm not into AP though. I can't run Stellarium on macOS (Gatekeeper won't allow unsigned software) but I can on Ubuntu as it's in the repo. I don't run Windows. I spoke to Alex, one of the Stellarium developers, recently. He reckons that Stellarium should be able to run on macOS soon. I haven't tried to download it onto Big Sur yet.Ā Ā http://stellarium.org/ Ā Ā Stellarium running on Ubuntu Ā Ā SkySafari, Celestia,Ā inter aliaĀ are all inĀ the Apple Store.Ā Starry Nights 8 willĀ run on macOS.Ā Ā https://starrynight.com/starry-night-8-professional-astronomy-telescope-control-software.html Ā Ā 'Moon Atlas' is also in the Apple Store. Edited January 28, 2021 by Nightspore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 6 hours ago, alis80b said: Edit... I have created a Flickr account and worked out how to upload images. Here is my first go at putting my telescope/cameraĀ together and photographing the moon on Monday night.Ā Hope the link worked... I'm going to post it in the 'imaging' forum to hopefullyĀ get some constructive criticism as I have no idea what makes a good 'astro' image. I'm just really happy that I got a photo of the moon š Ā Ā Ā Ā Looks great! Nice view of Schroter's Valley near the terminator, which is one of my favourite lunar features. Ā https://the-moon.us/wiki/Schrƶter's_Valley alis80b 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Hi a warm welcome to the EMS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottletopburly Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 May be worth getting a copy of this bookĀ https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html Ā did the shop recommend Ā theyĀ 5x Barlow Ā if so which shop did you use . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis80b Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 4 hours ago, Brantuk said: Hi Alison and welcome to EMS š Ā An important thing to consider when using barlows to magnify an image, is learning to judge the seeing conditions. The "seeing" is the amount of imperfections in the atmosphere due to many things, dust, moisture, moonlight, heat rising from the Earth, high level cloud, etc,.. When you magnify too much the image gets grainy typically cos the atmosphere is the nearest and first thing to be magnified. So the fine detail of everything behind it out in space, gets obscured. Unfortunately the best seeing for imaging tends to occur mostly in the middle of winter on very cold nights when the atmosphere is at it's clearest and most stable. Then you have to deal with keeping your gear and glass from freezing up. š Thank you for the info, thatās really helpful š Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis80b Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 2 hours ago, Nightspore said: Ā There are a lot of equivalents for Unix operating systems. I'm not into AP though. I can't run Stellarium on macOS (Gatekeeper won't allow unsigned software) but I can on Ubuntu as it's in the repo. I don't run Windows. I spoke to Alex, one of the Stellarium developers, recently. He reckons that Stellarium should be able to run on macOS soon. I haven't tried to download it onto Big Sur yet.Ā Ā http://stellarium.org/ Ā Ā Stellarium running on Ubuntu Ā Ā SkySafari, Celestia,Ā inter aliaĀ are all inĀ the Apple Store.Ā Starry Nights 8 willĀ run on macOS.Ā Ā https://starrynight.com/starry-night-8-professional-astronomy-telescope-control-software.html Ā Ā 'Moon Atlas' is also in the Apple Store. Thanks. That moon atlas looks good. Iāll get that. I was looking at puttingĀ āparallelsā on my MacBook so I could run some of the software only available for Windows but in the end thought Iād invest in a new laptop which I will just use for this purpose. It also means I donāt have to take my MacBook Pro outside in the cold (with a risk of damaging it). I am a complete Apple fan though so not enjoying the windows experience!! š Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis80b Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Stephen said: Hi a warm welcome to the EMS Thanks šĀ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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