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Post by fondofchips on Feb 22, 2024 21:11:04 GMT
Woohoo! Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks with the Seestar at last...... Full moon directly overhead. From what I've seen on videos & read about comets with the Seestar it is not suited to moving objects with the Alt/Az, but that picture is OK. I'm just trying to get a better view & colour which you don't get with visual astronomy through an eyepiece.
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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 23, 2024 11:21:56 GMT
That's a great result Harry. I hope you don't mind but I removed the Colour Noise
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Post by fondofchips on Feb 23, 2024 16:14:02 GMT
I don't mind at all, nice improvement to the image. It should be visible with binoculars here but there is too much light pollution (and the full moon). OK so the images are never going to be as good as astrophotography, the Seestar simply isn't big enough for quality images. Roll on bigger versions of the Seestar!
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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 24, 2024 3:25:49 GMT
I don't mind at all, nice improvement to the image. It should be visible with binoculars here but there is too much light pollution (and the full moon). OK so the images are never going to be as good as astrophotography, the Seestar simply isn't big enough for quality images. Roll on bigger versions of the Seestar! "OK so the images are never going to be as good as astrophotography, the Seestar simply isn't big enough for quality images."Harry, I am surprised they are this good. The images you are posting are better than some peoples efforts after years of Astrophotography. The Seestar is proving to be a very capable outfit.
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Post by fondofchips on Feb 24, 2024 21:42:04 GMT
I had about an hour of clear sky tonight, better M42 and M1 Crab nebula not so good as cloud rolled in and cut short the image stacking. Just getting into the routine of setting up and controlling the scope. Did Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks again earlier in the evening when it would be higher up, but no improvement on previous images. I sold off some of my visual stuff to pay for the Seestar, it has been a good investment.
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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 25, 2024 2:43:21 GMT
Something I notice in your M42 Harry: Even though the whole nebula is captured, the core isn't burnt out! You can easily see the Trapezium stars at the core!! That's damn hard to do with normal Astrophotography. The Seestar must have automatic High Dynamic Range.
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Post by fondofchips on Feb 25, 2024 8:57:43 GMT
I get a software update nearly every time I switch the Seestar on. There are people messing around with changing the camera sensor and one who tried to convert it to an equatorial mount, it doesn't need it as it does a very good job of what it does do for the price. If you want to do fainter objects with more detail then a bigger (around 4x the price) smart telescope would be needed. For me it is spot on as it is. Pros Portable Quick set up Works OK at normal settings (10s exposures, stacked). Easy to use app
Cons None at the price
Here is equatorial mod man
You could operate it at an angle like a wedge but it would just increase the set up time and more stuff to carry around if you are going to a dark site. Some of my recent pictures were taken in less than an hour of clear sky.
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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 26, 2024 10:24:23 GMT
He is sort of defeating the purpose of the Seestar.
It's meant to be KISS. - 'Keep It Simple Stupid'. Plop it down, turn it on, ready to use.
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Post by fondofchips on Feb 26, 2024 22:09:19 GMT
Tonights target M51 The faint lines across the picture are from an aircraft, I live near an airport. Not supposed to be clear sky until the early hours of tomorrow. Clear earlier so I'm taking every opportunity to improve my setup routine.
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Post by fondofchips on Mar 3, 2024 20:06:50 GMT
Ok so I appear to finding some limitations of the Seestar with M81 & M82. M81 M82 They would probably be better with longer exposure times, but I'm sticking with the 10 second exposures to get a fair comparison with all my Seestar pictures. Some thin cloud around which has been common on clear nights recently.
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Post by fondofchips on Mar 4, 2024 8:30:35 GMT
Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) passed perihelion in mid February 2024. It is predicted to obtain a maximum brightness of magnitude 9.7 in early March. OK so I’m calling the image the ‘smudge’ (right of centre on the picture) but I have learned quite a bit from the process. It is a morning comet at its highest at 5.00am at the moment. I looked out at 4.00am but it didn’t look particularly clear, I looked again at 5.00am and decided to take the Seestar out and have a go at imaging the comet. I only got one go at getting an image as I misjudged the time and conditions, I should have gone out at 4.00am and given myself more time as sunrise is 06.45 today, reducing the time I had. Then the Seestar stopped imaging, even though I had switched on the anti-dew mode it still dewed up. Probably partly due to taking it out from the warm house, (rookie mistake) will put it in the garage next time. Humidity was 82% and temp 2 degrees C. Not put me off having another go at imaging this comet, it will be at it's highest at 4.00am by the end of the month giving me more dark time.
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Post by Dragon Man on Mar 4, 2024 14:15:27 GMT
Ok so I appear to finding some limitations of the Seestar with M81 & M82. M81 M82 They would probably be better with longer exposure times, but I'm sticking with the 10 second exposures to get a fair comparison with all my Seestar pictures. Some thin cloud around which has been common on clear nights recently. What limitations Harry? They look pretty damn good to me.
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Post by jaybee on Mar 8, 2024 7:21:17 GMT
I took the seestar down to the beach holiday in January but the weather was crap. Great for grab and go. But at home, if the stars line up and I have a clear night and no moon, then I will use my other scopes in preference cheers Paul
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Post by fondofchips on Mar 8, 2024 12:27:54 GMT
So I have had another go at M81, 30secs exposure & with/without the Seestar's filter. No filter - 12 minutes 24 x 30secs With filter 20 mins 40 x 30 secs
The filter is stopping quite a bit of light, so I could be better off at a dark site.
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Post by Dragon Man on Mar 8, 2024 16:51:59 GMT
That's quite a big difference Harry.
Without the filter looks great. With the filter not so much.
What filter is it?
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Post by fondofchips on Mar 8, 2024 20:36:53 GMT
That's quite a big difference Harry. Without the filter looks great. With the filter not so much. What filter is it? It is the built in filter Ken, I just wanted to see the difference it made. It is supposed to be a light pollution filter, which makes sense as most Seestars will be used in built up areas. I thought I had done the same length exposures for both, but the filter one was longer (20 vs 12 minutes) and less bright.
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Post by fondofchips on Mar 25, 2024 8:39:54 GMT
Pictures from last night Only Orion was in a clear patch. Without filter With filter Not as much difference between the two with a brighter object but the total exposure times are different, 30 sec exposures. Didn't turn on the anti-dew so that ended my session. Long cloudy spells = rookie cockups.
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Post by Dragon Man on Mar 25, 2024 17:50:36 GMT
Without the filter looks great Harry, especially considering it was 100% full Moon last night!
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Post by fondofchips on Mar 30, 2024 7:39:47 GMT
Nice and clear last night & before the Moon came up - M51. Total 42 mins of 10 second exposures, and no aircraft light streaks this time.
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Post by Dragon Man on Mar 30, 2024 8:39:05 GMT
Niiiice! Well done Harry.
It's a good looking Galaxy.
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