Comments for Very Amateur Astronomy

Comment on CGEM PEC Training Part 2 by Tim Powell

Tim Powell — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:07:11 +0000

I’ve not used an EQ6 myself, so I’m probably not in an ideal position to give advice. However they are built on the same basic platform, the CGEM being a rehoused and modified EQ6. The primary differences being servo motors instead of stepper, differences to the bearings and of course the Celestron nexstar controller and all star alignment.

One of the primary selling points for me was the ability to track up to 20 degrees past the meridian, which allows for longer imaging sessions without having to deal with the meridian flip. Of course you may be able to do this with the EQMod software, I don’t know.

Comment on CGEM PEC Training Part 2 by Knez

Knez — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:26:53 +0000

Those are really nice results. Would you recomend CGEM over Skywatcher NEQ6 for astrophotography?.

Thank you

Comment on New Pier by Tim Powell

Tim Powell — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:23:26 +0000

Hi David,

It looks like the guy I bough my 1m section of 6″ stainless tube from still has whats left on ebay if you are interested :

http://tiny.cc/lrzhj

It’s stainless so welding it to mild will need some thought, my Dad’s the welder so I left that down to him, he had to buy some special flux to do the job.

Also it’s only 2mm thick, which I’ve not found to cause any issues, but some people insist on having really thick wall tubing.

Hope that helps!

Tim.

Comment on New Pier by david whale

david whale — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:38:29 +0000

hi
followed your project with great interest, well done young man.
have just finished my rool off and am upgrading for the 4th time
yet another scope(wife will kill me)am having the same problem of getting hold of a tube,any surgestions would be greatfully recieved,
again well done
dave

Comment on The Crescent Nebula – NGC 6888 by Part 1, Astrophotography Processing in Photoshop – Stretching

Part 1, Astrophotography Processing in Photoshop – Stretching — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:55 +0000

[...] The Crescent Nebula – NGC 6888 « Very Amateur Astronomy [...]

Comment on Cygnus Loop Widefield by Mil. Dave

Mil. Dave — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:39:51 +0000

Thanks for your analysis, I see what you mean now that I’ve looked much closer. As I said in my 1st post, this is a wonderful image that you should be proud of. Well done, and I’m looking forward to your next!

Comment on Cygnus Loop Widefield by Tim Powell

Tim Powell — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:16:22 +0000

Had another play with this last night, the issue is not so much gradient as it is the unflattened field area. The left side of the image if you look at it resolution is not flattened, so that stars are bloated and misshapen. That means that when I do the star size reduction is doesn’t work as well on that area of the image, mostly the bottom left corner and right edge. Which leaves us with a gradient of larger, brighter stars to one side of the image, but the background behind them not that bad, which is to say there is definitely some gradient there but not as much as the bloated stars make it look like..

Comment on Cygnus Loop Widefield by Tim Powell

Tim Powell — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:20:10 +0000

Thanks Dave, definitely some gradient there, I’m still playing around with the dynamic background extraction tool in pixinsight trying to find the right combination of settings to properly remove it. Unfortunately with my light pollution it’s never going to be easy.

Comment on Cygnus Loop Widefield by Mil. Dave

Mil. Dave — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:15:42 +0000

Very nice image once again Tim.

Is there a slight gradient left to right or is that a function of stellar density/nebulousity? Either way, it’s a really well framed shot, well done.

Comment on M106 and Friends by admin

admin — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:09:57 +0000

Thanks for the comments, sorry I missed you all on Thursday, a long day at Legoland with the kids wiped me out for doing anything else that day!