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Jupiter 07.03.2014


catman161

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Mount: NEQ6 Pro      Scope:200P     Camera: ZWO ASI120MC      Accessories: Televue 4x Powermate

 

Last night I first lighted my new televue 4x 2 inch powermate properly. I had tried to on a previous night but got frustrated with trying to find the right combination of extension tubes to get the planet to focus and packed up that night out of frustration! Last night I took a calmer approach and was more systematic and found that a 2.5 inch extension allowed my room either side of focus through my 200P.

 

So I slotted the powermate in to the extension and then my flip mirror (which I guess actually adds more extension but not sure how much) and used a bog standard skywatcher 25mm EP in the flip mirror for centering purposes. I got jupiter on the live view screen of sharpcap 2 and the first thing  thought was "wow thats the scale I've been wanting!" It looked massive :) I think back a year ago when I was using just a philips SPC900 webcam and it makes me chuckle :D

 

So the conditions were actually quite poor last night with a turbulent seeing 1/5 and a clearly visible halo around what would have been a nice crescent moon if it was properly visible. So the resultant image is not focused well, hence the "soft" look and lack of clearly definable detail. I am hoping for much better from this setup when better conditions allow, but it is all good practice.

 

So the below is the best image from 5 runs and is the best 75% of 6000 frames captured in Sharpcap 2, stacked in AS!2 and further processing (levels/curves/sharpening) in Photoshop CS2.

 

Advice/comments welcomed as always :)

 

13009196123_22a888ecc4_o.png
Jupiter 07_03_2014 19_43_46 by Gattouomo161, on Flickr

Edited by catman161
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Well it's a big image! Well done. Can see the seeing wasn't great as it's much less sharp than previous images you've posted, but I think there is more detail underneath, which would have been much sharper had the seeing been better.


 


I think the 4x powermate is going to take you up a level clearly.


 


Could you get the camera above 40 fps with the 4x powermate or was that about the max considering the image area needed and the exposure settings? Can you remember what your settings were?


 


Very tidy first image with the 4x powermate, and I look forward to seeing the results from night with better seeing.


 


:)


 


JD

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Well it's a big image! Well done. Can see the seeing wasn't great as it's much less sharp than previous images you've posted, but I think there is more detail underneath, which would have been much sharper had the seeing been better.

 

I think the 4x powermate is going to take you up a level clearly.

 

Could you get the camera above 40 fps with the 4x powermate or was that about the max considering the image area needed and the exposure settings? Can you remember what your settings were?

 

Very tidy first image with the 4x powermate, and I look forward to seeing the results from night with better seeing.

 

:)

 

JD

Thanks dude, clearly got potential with the 4x to get some good details when conditions allow. The max frame rate I got was 29fps due to settngs required.However it was my first time using it and I may be able to tweak it to get it higher once I find the correct combo of exposure/gain to get the image adequately bright on screen.

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Yes, the detail is now MUCH sharper, but I think at the expense of making the image more grainy....


 


Looking at the "apps", the jet stream was at its thickest and most turbulent over England last night, so I'm not surprised the seeing was bad. I think these images have proved that the kit will result in cracking images when the seeing allows.


 


Peachy really does need to worry now :)


 


JD

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That's great, especially given the conditions. Are you giing for another tonight? I think the jet stream is a bit further north now.

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Cheers guys :) @leigh I am most certainly setting up again tonight :)

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  • 9 months later...
Guest AcapulcoRolf

Mount: NEQ6 Pro Scope:200P Camera: ZWO ASI120MC Accessories: Televue 4x Powermate

Last night I first lighted my new televue 4x 2 inch powermate properly. I had tried to on a previous night but got frustrated with trying to find the right combination of extension tubes to get the planet to focus and packed up that night out of frustration! Last night I took a calmer approach and was more systematic and found that a 2.5 inch extension allowed my room either side of focus through my 200P.

So I slotted the powermate in to the extension and then my flip mirror (which I guess actually adds more extension but not sure how much) and used a bog standard skywatcher 25mm EP in the flip mirror for centering purposes. I got jupiter on the live view screen of sharpcap 2 and the first thing thought was "wow thats the scale I've been wanting!" It looked massive :) I think back a year ago when I was using just a philips SPC900 webcam and it makes me chuckle :D

So the conditions were actually quite poor last night with a turbulent seeing 1/5 and a clearly visible halo around what would have been a nice crescent moon if it was properly visible. So the resultant image is not focused well, hence the "soft" look and lack of clearly definable detail. I am hoping for much better from this setup when better conditions allow, but it is all good practice.

So the below is the best image from 5 runs and is the best 75% of 6000 frames captured in Sharpcap 2, stacked in AS!2 and further processing (levels/curves/sharpening) in Photoshop CS2.

Advice/comments welcomed as always :)

13009196123_22a888ecc4_o.png

Jupiter 07_03_2014 19_43_46 by Gattouomo161, on Flickr

Hi catman161

You wrote:

'Last night I first lighted my new televue 4x 2 inch powermate properly. I had tried to on a previous night but got frustrated with trying to find the right combination of extension tubes to get the planet to focus and packed up that night out of frustration! Last night I took a calmer approach and was more systematic and found that a 2.5 inch extension allowed my room either side of focus through my 200P.'

I'm new to the hobby and reading up on advice and guidance daily

So far, after enquiring at one telescope equipment outlet I understand that a flip mirror will not focus with a Skywatcher 200p reflector telescope because of the additional focus travel required

I got this advice from one telescope equipment outlet today:

'I'm afraid you cannot use any type of diagonal with a reflectror type telescope, the focuser does not have enough travel to be able to reach focus with a diagonal fitted '

Can you share which flip mirror you used and how you got your flip mirror setup with your Skywatcher 200p.

Which extension did you use and did you customise your telescope in anyway to get the flip mirror to work?

Thanks in advance

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Hi, the confusion here is one of terminology. A flip mirror is not a diagonal. It does add length to the image train in your setup but this is easily combated at least when I did it by the fact that the two inch barrel version of the Televue Powermate screws in half this shortening its overall length. Also as all of the attachments (including my Focuser draw tube) were two inches in diameter I was able to utilise a low profile two inch to 1.25 inch adapter which are available from modern astronomy (have a chat with Bern at modern astronomy he is really knowledgable and will help you out if you give him a call and discuss your setup) and the actual model of flip mirror was a star guider flip mirror. The flip mirror had a 1.25 inch nose which fitted directly into the powermate and then my camera had a thread size that fitted directly onto the flip mirror.

It is also worth mentioning that I used a moonlite CR2 focuser on my 200P with a 50mm draw tube. I just messed about unscrewing things, adding in various extensions, then taking them out until I was able to achieve focus.

Sorry if I haven't been too helpful but this is one of those things that are difficult to explain in text and much easier to demonstrate in person. I hope you get it sorted. Just have a go with various extensions and powermates/Barlows until you find a combination that works for your setup :)

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