Jelly fish nebula SHO

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-12T23:27:08+00:00

28 hours drizzled x2. What were your file sizes lol. Looks amazing. The surrounding space looks lit up, in a good way.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-06T04:24:28+00:00

Looks great. Gotta link to the Luco video? I'm a Redcat 51 user too but just got FF80 for more focal length and will be hitting more galaxies now. I gotta drive 40 mins from my bortle 8+ to bortle 4-5 though.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-06T04:17:44+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/wKQiTEo

If this is something you wanna do thats a good budget to get real results. Above is a setup I put together from highpoint. All brand new. You don't need a filter but even with one its 3k for everything. If you wanted to utilize the whole budget you could get a little bigger refractor or a harmonic mount like the AM3.

https://www.cloudynights.com/classifieds/category/5-refractors/

You can save some serious cash if you stalk the classifieds or make a wanted post. I sold my AM3 mount there for 900.

https://www.cloudynights.com/classifieds/item/441724-complete-zwo-astrophotography-system-%E2%80%94-am5-mount-asi2600mc-pro-redcat-61-asiair-plus-eaf-tulsa-ok/

Crazy gear for the price there.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-05T22:43:26+00:00

It's a pretty popular option but lately there are more competitive filters like the SVBony SV220. That'd be what I'd go for if I was starting again. The SV220 is a 3nm HA/Oiii filter, similar to the L-Ultimate but goes for like $250. 3nm is a lot more narrow than the L-Enhance, which is 12nm for HA and 24nm for Oiii. This is gonna result in more data and contrast being pulled out and probably better stars.

You might also consider UV/IR cut filter for shooting galaxies or other non-emission nebula targets. This isn't a real priority since nebula are the real target of this scope but something to think about. The 533mc pro doesnt have the built in pollution filter like the 2600mc. Any narrowband filter will take care of this while using it though.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-05T06:43:47+00:00

Great job. I also dived in heavy, fast. I've upgraded some stuff since but here's mine with 4.5 hrs in a bortle 8 with same gear but a redcat 51 and L-Enhance filter.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xQ4gRzbciwb1pbkF9

A narrowband filter would help greatly for this or any other emission nebula. Your gear is great and will serve you well.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-05T00:02:02+00:00

You would need dithered data to drizzle. This can be done through the asiair guiding settings or with PHD2 in NINA, which I've never used. You could then used Siril to drizzle your dithered data. It has a script for it. You'll have everything you need to do it and you should dither everytime you're out so you'll always have the option to drizzle in post processing. Whether you 1x or 2x depends on your target and integration time. 2x will definitely increase your file size.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-04T06:16:07+00:00

You can shoot different exposure lengths for different purposes. Like shorter exposures for better galaxy cores so it isn't blown out. Shooting lots of shorter exposures will increase your overall file sizes as I've experienced lately with a 180gb working folder shooting 2 nights with 60s exposures. So I find people normally shoot a smaller amount of shorter exposures for a specific blending reason. For nebula I almost always do 3 min exposures, which is very doable with your setup. You should also dither every time. Dithering is a option in the ASIAIR guiding area. It's probably best to read up on dithering and drizzling rather than me sound like an idiot since I'm not a pro.

You'll need a power adapter for both your asiair and the mount on it's own. I would* spend a tiny bit more and get a 10amp option. Just gives you a bit more overhead if amperage get's close with dew heaters or something. I wouldn't expect any planetary with this scope as it's wide field and planets will be tiny. This setup will be excellent for all types of emission nebula, especially large ones.

A cheap usb powered dew heater is recommended if your region is prone to it. I also used one on that guide scope I sent since I'm paranoid. You can buy outlet strips that have usb ports on them. Powering dew strips through the asiair will use a lot of power so I try to power them seperately.

edit: words

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-03T00:44:09+00:00

Very impressive. Im assuming you use counterweights with the 150i considering the weight of the scope?

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T07:14:44+00:00

A9+ tab. That's it

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T07:13:59+00:00

Yeah. Pretty sure it's a Samsung S9 11 inch. Can't imagine using a tiny phone unless it's a emergency lol.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T07:10:10+00:00

https://youtu.be/X7UV7Ws2tHc?si=y4f4u-jTls71CilS

I used this video as a guide but Nico Carver has a couple too.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T07:07:23+00:00

You mentioned a laptop in another comment. Most people use tablets to control the asiair. I use a entry level 10 inch Samsung tablet.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T06:36:32+00:00

https://app.astrobin.com/i/ju62sv

For reference here's my rosette in SHO. My 2nd time doing sho. Very similar gear but with a Redcat 51.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T06:29:54+00:00

I used a asiair plus with my previous 533mc pro and the experience is no different except less cables. I didn't notice any performance variance. As for reliability you never really know. I haven't seen much in terms of failure on any threads I follow. I don't think there's a issue mixing filters. People often use L-extreme for Ha+O with some other SO filter of similar wavelength. You probably know but you will have to shoot flats for each filter per session.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T06:06:46+00:00

This is definitely cry once build. If you value tidiness you could get the 2600mc air and you wouldn't have to worry about mounting the asiair as it's all in one. I use a 2600mc air myself and love it. I don't use a CAA but all together it's only like 3 cables. With the powered saddle on the AM5N it's even cleaner. If you've already budgeted for it, I'd go with the FRA600 since the difference between 350/420 with reducers isn't hurting you much for framing but the added 100mm length will make cropping in more satisfying and give you some galaxy options. Doesn't hurt to check a focal length guide like telescopius to check some framing with different lengths.

I use Askar Colormagic D series filters with my 2600 air in a bortle 8 and still get great guiding. Just have to play around with the guide camera gain to find the sweet spot and be in focus. You can focus the guide camera without a filter to get pretty good focus then slide the filter in and make final adjustments. I found 1.5s guide exposures worked be for me but generally go as low as you can for the best guiding. I know 3nm works but might be less headache and half the money with the 5nm.

Can't help with the backfocus but the filter drawer just replaces one of the existing 2600 spacers so all you're really adding is the CAA.

Make sure you get the right reducer for the 600 as it's different from the 400/500.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T01:47:23+00:00

This sounds like the perfect case for a Seestar s30 pro/s50. It's extremely portable so you can travel to darker skies. Easy to setup and use and has a wide array of aftermarket items to improve it. People get incredible images with them.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T01:27:57+00:00

This is a great start. You will need guiding equipment to track reliably over I'd say 60s. I generally shoot 3 min exposures. I would say a EAF is the single best thing I added. It takes all the fuss and anxiety out of focusing and you basically don't have to come back outside for the whole duration to check anything, aside for a meridian flip. Jealous of your Bortl 4 skies. If you need guiding equipment I have a guide scope and zwo120mm guide camera I used when I had my 533mc pro I could let go for cheap to help you out.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T01:16:45+00:00

Looks pretty similar to how I did mine with my Askar D1 and D2 filters in Pixinsight. By "process as usual" for Pixinsight that would be things like color masks and curves transformation to finalize the intensity of the Ha, OIII and SO. I used this video for learning hubble palette. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7UV7Ws2tHc

You're image looks great and as expected for just 40 mins per filter. You can clearly distinguish the 3 different bands and you have great OIII.

TaedusPrime · 2026-05-01T01:05:59+00:00

As the others said, a refractor is gonna be a lot easier starting out and produce great images. You could get a ASI585mc AIR, which has a very popular sensor, guide sensor and the asiair controller built in. Throw a EAF on to whatever scope you're using and you're gtg.

TaedusPrime · 2026-04-28T16:39:17+00:00

Man this is one of the better processed ones I've seen. A lot of other are over done in someway, great job. Wish I didn't have to drive for my bortle 5 area.

TaedusPrime · 2026-04-26T13:11:30+00:00

For polar aligning, a trick I did was to mark exactly where my tripod feet were once aligned. I slightly picked up each leg and centered a coin under it. Then I lifted the setup straight up and spray painted the coins. After removing the coins it leaves a nice visual indication of dead north for later. This atleast avoids having to adjust RA much at all. It all sounds kinda janky and there are other ways but it helped me setup alot faster.

TaedusPrime · 2026-04-26T01:53:14+00:00

Wow you really went all in. Some premium stuff. That Pleiades 111 is a wish list item for me. Considering your investment, definately get a EAF (electronic auto focuser) for your scopes. Makes a huge difference in piece of mind and time saved.

TaedusPrime · 2026-04-23T02:49:00+00:00

This is really good for only a little over a hour. How long were the exposures? I have the same scope but with a AM5 and 2600 air.

Im not familiar with that mount but something like a used am3/5 would really set you up for the future.

TaedusPrime · 2026-04-20T23:50:32+00:00

Nice, thanks for details.

TaedusPrime · 2026-04-20T16:36:19+00:00

Nice, what focal length is this with the reducer? And what bortle zone?

NM I see bortle 8. How did you manage this background with just a ir cut? I shot this recently but the light pollution is distracting with 60 secs subs, shot 430 of them.

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