mattssporre

Dear all, I am doing a completely clean install on my PC - from XP and up. One issue that I have been strugeling with previuosly is the "connection" between AS and the Sky6. I usually follow the instructions in the manual, but I always end up in a wierd setup. Everytime I - from within theSky - connects to the mount, I get up the display dialogue window (where you change the display bacground, color scheme, etc innwindows). If I click ok (or cancel) everything continues ok. But there has to be a way to do this without getting the display settings window. I also know there are other ways to setup this connection so my questions to you (anyone out there?) Are: 1. Have you experienced the same wierd behaviour as described above? Have you managed to correct it? 2. Do you connect in any other way? Can you describe how? BR Matts

Nice as always :-) How long subs do you use? We have almost the same optics and camera (I have N10 and you N12) but your diffraction spikes are more prominent than mine. Off course I am doing mostly NB, but still... BR Matts

Nigel, I see no answer to your question yet so I will try - I am no expert in this matter but this is how I would do it (as a matter of fact I am about to make a new install). 1. OS (goes without saying) 2. "Close to system SW". Here I would install GPS, Logitec Handcontroler, Electrical power switch, etc 3. Communication SW. Here I would install e.g. TeamViewer for remote operations 4. ASCOM6 (needed for Autoslew) 5. FlatMan XL (for taking flats - seem to be fairly hardware close) 6. HW control SW (Autoslew, Maxim, OK3, Camera and Filter Wheel), FocusMax) 7. SW control SW (The Sky, Pinpoint, Sequence) 8. CCDAutoPilot (last since it is to control all the others and I like to check and test directly after an install). I am not at all certain this is the best way, but the philosophy I use is that I shall be able to test a sw directly after installing it. Meaning I all other SW to test it need to be installed first. BR Matts

Antonio, Simply lovely and mysterious! It feels like looking into the dark side of the force :-) BR Matts

Adam, That is a very nice picture! You definitely need to share more of your quick shots:-) Best regards Matts

Thank you Gerhard and Antonio! I have no specific plans to add SII, but might if there is a possibility next spring. BR Matts

Thank you Michael - glad you like it. The exposure times are Ha: 21x30min = 10hrs 30min, OIII: 18x30min = 9hrs BR Matts

Dear all, here is the last image for the season (at least with my own equipment). Details and other color combinations can be found at http://istarion.net/index.html BR Matts

George, I do not have the experience from remote operations, but I know that ASA has had two remote setups (in Spain), Geralds 8" hyperbolic and Wolfgangs 20" - so asking ASA might help. Regarding the homefind if the mount is left in the same position as as when finnishing the last section the DDM will remember and no homefind would be necessary. If I would do a remote setup I would leave the PC on (always) and also leave the DDM powered at all times (obviously leaving tracking off). But I do not know how feasable that is? Try to ping Gerald, Wolfgang or Karel offline. They all use (have used) remote setups. There might be others. If you get an answer I would def be interested to know. BR Matts

Excellent image! How did you map the narrowband to RGB? If you used the hubble palette I would expect different colors, but maybe I just know too little about this object. BR Matts

Gerhard, I am usually that fond of star clusters - but this one even I have to admit is magnificent The resolution and color is excellent, but also the composition (including the galaxy in the top) is way above average. Good work! BR Matts

Ralph, Yes, I am working at f3.6. I have not made a comparision of 3nm and 5nm, at least not a "scientific" one. I had a Baader 5nm OIII and had a lot of issues with large halos around bright stars. In addition sky glow was comming thru the filter. Switching to Astrodon 3nm solved both issues and gave better contrast. After I made the change I have understood that the Baader filter is sensitive to which side you point to the sky (they might have chamged that now). Since I already had the 3nm and it worked I never bothered to check. BR Matts

Ralph, I use an N10 with Astrodon filters (5nm for Ha and SII and 3nm for OIII). It was a big improvement in contrast going from 5nm OIII to 3nm OIII. Here are some links to my images. At the bottom you find the stacked Ha, SII, OIII - just stretched to have a similar lightness. I have detected no issues with the OIII 3nm and would go for 3nm for Ha and SII as well sometime in the future. http://istarion.net/Picturepages/Nebulas/NGC281%20The%20Pacman%20Nebula.shtml http://istarion.net/Picturepages/Nebulas/NGC7822.shtml Pavel: Nice write-up:-) BR Matts

Cristina and Antonio - thanks for your comments! Cristina - glad you liked the color mapping I chose for sh2-224. In my eyes it looks better than the traditional Hubble palette since the OIII regions are more separated from the Ha regions. BR Matts

Thank you Michael! I should have mentioned that it is with Sh2-224 that I have the noise issues (ngc281 has a good controled noise level). Also if you look at Sh2-224 you will not see any noise at all. This is because I have processed it all away which gives the image an over processed feeling. I would like to be more subtle in my noise removal, not removing it all - but I do not seem to find the balance. One day I will know enough to redo the image. BR Matts

and here is the image of Sh2-224. Here I chose to use a different palette, but if you click the image there are more palettes (incl the Hubble one).

Still learning this new forum - here are the images attached NGC281 - The Pacman nebula in the color shifted Hubble palette. There are more palettes if you click on the image (I hope I am doing it right)

Dear all, here are two images I have processed April and May. The first one is NGC281 also known as the Pacman nebula. http://istarion.net/Picturepages/Nebulas/NGC281%20The%20Pacman%20Nebula.shtml The second one is the very faint supernova remnant Sh2-224 http://istarion.net/Picturepages/Nebulas/SH2-224.shtml I am not fully happy with Sh2-224. I have over 14hrs of Ha-data, but still the image is very noisy. With my present knowledge of noise reduction I can not take this image further, and besides I can not find the strength for another processing round. Looking at other images (not that many) out there I am not alone in finding this object difficult. Hope you enjoy them and as usual any form of criticism or feedback is most welcome. BR Matts