Finally I could try my 130PDS on the Persei Double Cluster. I was concerned about the diffraction spikes. But I’m pleasantly surprised 🙂 Details
Almost exactly one year ago my first image after a 3 years break was the Fireworks Galaxy. Back then I was still using my Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 lens. Yesterday I captured the Fireworks Galaxy again, but this time with my new Sky-Watcher Explorer 130PDS at 650mm focal length. I really like the additional focal […]
For this test I used a T-2 fine adjustment ring (0.5mm) to slightly extend the distance between DSLR sensor and corrector (54mm measured distance without any ring). The stars in the corners look much better than before, but I need to go to 55mm distance. Next time I’ll use the 1mm ring! Additional I encountered […]
So, this is a bad example of an astro image 🙁My DSLR almost slipped out of the focuser during handling on it. Fortunately I holded my 70D in both of my hands as it began to move… a very bad feeling 😉 Maybe I lost the collimation during that action or it was tilted in […]
Even when there was a full moon, I had to check the performance of the primary mirror ring installation. It seems to avoid the bloating of the stars very well now! But I’m not sure if there is to much tension on the primary mirror…. especially the stars in the left corners seems to have […]
It’s like my GEM28 never had any problems… 🙂 Hope it stays like that! This time I used my Kenko 1.4x converter on my Canon EF400mm at f/8 and 560mm focal lenght. I tought a star cluster could be an interesting object for this combination. Details
Yesterday I took the chance to shot the Fly- and Spider Nebula and some cluster neighbors, but had to stop after 1.5 hours due to clouds (in contrary to the weather forecast). Additional I had a forced 15 minutes break: my GEM28 had again a crash/freeze. I had to reset everything: back to zero position […]
After around 90 minutes shooting M 34, the Pleiades came in sight (M 34 slowly disappeared behind the roof anyway). So I decided to switch to the Pleiades at the same settings. This way I can use the same flats and darks for both targets. Lesson learned: take flats directly after every target! Dust or […]
Finally clear sky after a week of bad weather. I tested again a new gear mesh adjustment. After the tests I slewed to M 34 spiral cluster. Details
Even if it’s still almost full moon, I used the last clear night (at least for a week) to test new settings (GEM28 and MGEN). When I was done with the tests, I did a little star cluster session 🙂 I got better results than before with only 2 different settings than before: I tightened […]
