u/TTV_The_Reverend_Dr

Snuck in 46 minutes of exposures this morning. A brief summary of this mornings experience below. Processing details in the last couple paragraphs.

I've been figuring out APT, had some struggles with plate solving but got that worked out. Then I was having issues with APT sending slew commands to my mount, but got that worked out too (was a poorly written ASCOM driver, had to roll it back to the old driver).

Had decently clear skies this morning so figured I would give APT another go. Got set up, rough polar align. Plate solve at Polaris, send goto++ command for M31, mount slews and plate solves, makes 1 more adjustment and bam, M31 within 50 pixels of center FOV.

Set up the capture program, ISO 400, 120 second subs. First two subs have nice tight stars, then the 3rd one looks like my tracking stopped (spoiler... It did). Check some settings, try to slew, no mount response. Check a few more things, then look at the hand controller.... "Meridian protect" oh son ova... 🤦🏼 Duh...

Change hand control setting to auto meridian flip, send goto++ command again, mount flips and slews straight back to M31... we're off to the races again. Was able to get another 21 exposures before the sky started getting too bright. Grabbed my calibration frames and pack it all inside.

Transfer my data to my PC, set up the home folder for SIRIL, get everything stacked, plate solve, graXpert BGE and Denoise, SPCC, Veralux hyper metric stretch, starnet starmask.

Move over to gimp, quick curve adjustment and saturation bump on the starless, add the starmask and set to screen, then export.

I am hopeful, now that I'm pretty sure I have all the kinks worked out, my next imaging session can be (nearly) fully automated, and I can get several hours of exposure. Every imaging session has been a very valuable learning experience so far, and I'm looking forward to continuing to grow my abilities and image quality!

Good evening! The next addition to my AP setup is going to be a guide cam/scope. I'm currently caught between two options, both of which are SVbony guide cam/scope combinations.

My equipment set up is an ES 80mm 480mm FL apo, on an IOptron ZEQ25GT mount. I currently get pretty decent tracking, but I believe a guide scope will help achieve much longer light frames successfully.

Both options have the same camera, so that helps simplify my decision a little bit, but being completely new to guiding, I'm unsure what I should be looking for in a guide scope. The camera is the SV905C.

>"The SV905C features a 1.23-megapixel color camera with a 1/3” CMOS sensor (1280x960), providing high sensitivity for tight tracking of faint guide stars."

Guide scope option 1 (which is the option I am currently leaning towards) is the SV165. (30mm aperture, 120mm FL, F4)

>"The SV165 guide scope uses 30mm achromatic optics and a fully multilayer coated lens, ensuring bright, sharp images without reflections."

Guide scope option 2 is the SV106. (50mm aperture, 190mm FL, F3.8)

>"The 50mm guide scope ensures precise guiding, helping you capture higher-quality astrophotos with sharper details and more accurate tracking."

Looking forward to any and all advice, thanks for your time and input! Clear skies!

UPDATE: A couple of replies talked me into an OAG kit, below are the choices I have made/am considering. Open to suggestions if you have any.

color guide camera, I know mono would be better, but it's way cheaper than anything else I'm finding.

OAG, 8x12 prism

"bonus" filter drawer, is kind of required according to the OAG reviews, but it's a "bonus" because I don't have one yet anyway.

I think this setup should keep me happy and guiding well, for quite a while!

Finally got a copy (at a reasonable price) of The Black Goat of the Woods expansion and it has now been integrated into my lovely storage box, with the rest of the collection. Can't wait to play this weekend!

Absolutely steamrolled this one. Then the next game we got turned to dust by Quachil Uttaus.

Captured 52 minutes of data from my Bortle 7 backyard with an Explore Scientific ED80, on an (unguided) IOptron ZEQ25GT mount, with a Canon Rebel SL2 (unmodified).

Workflow was stacked and stretched in SIRIL, GraXpert for gradient and noise removal, StarNet to remove stars/create star mask and GIMP for final color adjustments.

I'm gonna call this a "slight" improvement between V1 (my first ever attempt) and V2 (reused the same data as V1)

Captured 52 minutes of data from my Bortle 7 backyard with an Explore Scientific ED80, on an (unguided) IOptron ZEQ25GT mount, with a Canon Rebel SL2 (unmodified).

Workflow was stacked and stretched in SIRIL, GraXpert for gradient and noise removal, StarNet to remove stars/create star mask and GIMP for final color adjustments.

Basement was in the Dance floor room, so pretty sure that makes 0 "heights" to fall from on this map. This is definitely the map design of all time.

43 minutes of exposure from my backyard in Washington State, Bortle 7. (86, 30sec. subs, ISO 1600)

Stacked with DSS (86 Lights, 50 flats, 50 darks and 50 Bias frames)

Stretched in GIMP (Obviously, I have a lot of learning to do.)

Explore Scientific ED80, Orion FF, Canon Rebel SL2 (200D unmodified), IOptron ZEQ25GT (unguided)

This was my first time using the (new to me) ZEQ25GT, my second attempt at capturing a DSO with the Canon SL2 (first attempt did not work, but I learned a lot from it). I know I am falling very short on the editing/stretching, but I am extremely pleased with what I was able to accomplish here! I have a few kinks to work out with the whole process, but I would say that this is a very successful first attempt for me!

Happy to accept feedback or suggestions on the process (like how to further edit out the blue glow, without losing a bunch of detail in M31!). Looking forward to many more imaging sessions!!

Most recently acquired piece of gear - IOptron ZEQ25GT ($250)

Explore Scientific 80/480 Triplet Apo ($200)

Not pictured - Canon Rebel SL2 ($150), batteries for camera ($30), new power cord for ZEQ25GT ($20)

Still "need" a guide scope, and probably a few PC programs for processing. Hopefully I can keep it all under $1,000 (for a while)

Good deals are out there, if you're patient. Now I just need the damn smoke to clear out of the sky!

Does anybody else feel guilty, to some degree, for knowingly sleeping through a night of good seeing?

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Yesterday, I got up at 2AM, to drive 35 minutes from a bortle 7 (and my neighbors forever-on back patio lights) to a bortle 4.5. Beautiful clear night, very good seeing conditions. Milky Way clearly visible, Andromeda Galaxy on display, great clarity of Saturn and its rings, etc...

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This morning there were nearly identical conditions, but.... I have to balance losing sleep with Astronomy. Maybe when I retire, I can just become nocturnal.

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The picture is the "beginning of the end" of yesterday's early morning adventure.

A very kind lady sold me this full kit for just $200 today.

Explore Scientific ED80 triplet Apo refractor, Baader Mark IV zoom 8mm-24mm, Orion Field Flattener, ES 2" diagonal and she "threw in" the ES Reflex sight when I showed up to pick it up.

I think my luck for the year is done, sorry for the next couple nights of clouds! Now I just need to get a mount for it...

Wishing you all clear skies!

The Broken Token storage/organizer box is one of the main reasons we play AH 2E as often as we do. The storage trays and card organizers make setup and breakdown take half the time it used to, when we had everything stored in the original boxes.

If you're debating a storage solution like this, or possibly never seen/heard of these, 100% recommend investing in one! It may not stop you from entirely falling into the depths of madness, but it will certainly help you retain a shred of sanity...

At least they're happy with it, I guess...

Turns out I just don't know the source content. Seemed shaky, but I guess it's supposed to be.

Into Darkness and Barren Lands not used. I 100% wouldn't have made it without seeds/dew drops, I don't know how the hell you 9 challengers do it...

Getting the Sandals of Nature early carried the shit out of this run. Warden+Fade leaf in the Sandals saved my bacon so many times.