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u/MiscoJones33

r/dwarflabofficial
PELICAN NEBULA
▲ 5 r/dwarflabofficial

PELICAN NEBULA

4H21M, BORTLE 9, MADRID (SHITTY SKY, WITH HAZE AND SMOKE FROM FIRES), EQ MODE, DUAL-BAND FILTER, 60S EXP, 100 GAIN

u/MiscoJones33 — 5 hours ago
▲ 1 r/dwarflabofficial

Connection problem after a 4-hour session

Hello everyone from Madrid!

I've been frustrated for the past couple of days... unfortunately, several fires are ravaging regions near the Spanish capital, and the sky is being battered by the smoke from these fires and, on top of that, by the dreaded Saharan dust. As you can imagine, under these conditions, astrophotography is impossible.

However, three nights ago, even in those conditions, I was able to try a feature I hadn't yet experienced: EQ mode.

Although visibility was poor, I successfully aligned the Mini, and since the zenith was clear, and with the swan in that position, I went ahead and photographed the pelican. I'll post the results in another post.

However, I'm here to report an error I encountered for the first time with this device. After 4 hours of capturing images (255 60-second exposures), I returned to the rooftop and, after 10 minutes of trying, couldn't connect the Dwarf app to the Mini.

I asked the built-in AI, and it told me that this was "normal" for such long sessions without a connection from beginning to end. Obviously, there was nothing to worry about; the images were safely stored in the Mini's ROM. I reiterate that the Mini was still capturing images... but it was impossible to connect. The only option was to manually turn off the device.

Sure enough, after pressing the Mini's power button for 8 seconds, it turned off.

When it turned back on, I was able to connect without any further problems.

However, although the raw footage appeared in the gallery, it didn't appear in Stellar Studio (and still hasn't).

Luckily, it was available in MegaStack, and after an hour of processing, I was able to obtain the final image of the pelican.

I submitted the error report, and support replied with the solution I'd already implemented myself: using Megastack.

But the problem that started it all was the inability to connect the Mini to my phone when I was about to end the session, which is why I'm posting this.

Has anyone else experienced this error?

I've also noticed there are currently problems with Stellar Studio.

I'd also like to ask if this is common... I've had the Mini for 10 days, and this is the second time a similar problem has occurred...

I would appreciate any input from users that might shed some light on these issues. Thanks!

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u/MiscoJones33 — 5 hours ago
▲ 9 r/dwarflabofficial

m13

2h28m; Madrid/Spain; Bortle 9; Auto (15sg/60gain), astro filter, alt/az

The fifth deep-sky object I've tested.

As a curiosity, these are two stacked images from two different shots. The first one ended because my mini ran out of battery.

I plugged in a power bank and continued.

For a Bortle 9 with clouds... I think it's spectacular.

I had previously posted an image of M13, but I discovered that for some strange reason, I clicked on the "stars only" option in Stellar Studio. I think it's worth mentioning because, while the sky is darker (it seems to correct Madrid's awful brightness a bit), interesting features that allow us to evaluate the Mini's power, such as NGC 6207, have been removed. Normally, I only correct and reduce noise with the standard option, maybe adding a simple crosshair... And I want to share both results so you can see the difference. NGC 6207 has a magnitude of approximately 11.7, and on a Bortle 9, that's no small matter. My Mini surprises me more every day.

By comparing the image with WikiSky, I can confidently identify stars down to roughly magnitude 14.2–14.5. IC 4617 does not appear; despite its integrated magnitude of about 15.2, it is a very small extended galaxy with low surface brightness. This is not a universal limiting magnitude for the Mini, but an approximate stellar limit for this particular 2h28m integration, sky conditions and processing.

Parameter NGC 6207 (Base Unit) IC 4617 (Deep Sky Galaxy) Ratio / Scale (IC 4617 vs NGC 6207)
Object Type Spiral Galaxy (SAs)c Spiral Galaxy (Sbc) -
Apparent Magnitude (V) ~11.4 - 11.6 ~15.2 - 15.5 Delta m approx 3.8
Distance to Earth ~46 Mly ~500 - 550 Mly ~11.3x further away
Apparent Size 3.0' x 1.2' 0.8' x 0.25' ~0.25x visual length
Photometric Flux 1.000 (100%) ~0.036 (3.6%) ~3.6% light flux
u/MiscoJones33 — 4 days ago
▲ 2 r/dwarflabofficial

m13

2h28m; Madrid/Spain; Bortle 9; Auto (15sg/60gain), astro filter, alt/az

The fifth deep-sky object I've tested.

As a curiosity, these are two stacked images from two different shots. The first one ended because my mini ran out of battery.

I plugged in a power bank and continued.

For a Bortle 9 with clouds... I think it's spectacular.

u/MiscoJones33 — 4 days ago
▲ 43 r/dwarflabofficial

First object with Mini

Hello everyone:

I've owned a Dwarf Mini since it arrived on July 16th.

I have to say that, as an astronomy enthusiast since I was 10 years old (I'm 43 now), when my brother told me about these smart telescopes, I reacted with irony: Nonsense.

In 2007, I was able to fulfill my dream and acquired a 200mm aperture refractor, along with a Canon E400D and a motorized EQ5 mount, spending around €3500, and I started in conventional astrophotography. I spent many months photographing deep-sky objects, stacking images with PixIn, and although I enjoyed it, I had to stop due to financial needs and because it was becoming too small for me and causing me a lot of frustration.

What I mean by this is that I'm not a novice or a mere amateur. I've dedicated many hours and my limited resources to this wonderful science. That's why I burst out laughing when my brother suggested you could do something serious with a Dwarf Mini 3.

Months later, after seeing and understanding these new technologies a bit, I decided to buy not one, but two: the Dwarf Mini and another one that cost four times as much. I won't mention the brand, but so far I've only been able to try the Mini, since the other one arrived in terrible condition (most likely used), and 20 days later I'm still waiting for a replacement.

And after three days of using the Mini, I have to eat my words: What a surprise!

I went straight for one of my favorite galaxies: M51.

In Madrid... Bortle 9 sky.

You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that under these conditions, after just a few shots, I started to see the swirl on the screen.

I endured 600 exposures in automatic mode, and the result was incredible... much better than what I obtained in 2007 with the ordeal of astrophotography of each object separately. With my EQ5, I couldn't go beyond 30 seconds of exposure. Although, being the first object, it seems the centering wasn't quite right, and it ended up in a corner.

The following night, I went to a Bortle 4 and continued with M51. This time, 30 seconds, in altazimuth mode, and a gain of 120, not 60 like in automatic mode.

Later, I discovered I could do a Megastack with the two sessions.

And the result is what I'm sharing with you. Honestly, I'm still amazed. In fact, I'm sharing the best image I managed to take in 2007.

I repeat: speechless. 3h11m total.

I apologize for the long post, but I think that if anyone has a similar experience to mine, it would be interesting for them to know this.

u/MiscoJones33 — 5 days ago