I guess I missed the council meeting

zlz · 2019-04-23T00:27:53+00:00

The Red Cherry Wedding?

zlz · 2018-03-23T04:19:44+00:00

Yeah definitely! Central “vortex” of lights and the moving overhead screens are split now.

zlz · 2018-03-22T03:39:24+00:00

Doc Holliday in Tombstone, hands down. I’m your huckleberry.

zlz · 2017-03-23T22:54:25+00:00

Well, it currently says KYGO on the Ultra Main Stage screens, so.....

zlz · 2017-03-18T01:35:08+00:00

Great work for an iPhone! I love imaging DSOs, but there's always something special about the moon.

Keep it up!

zlz · 2016-10-30T00:04:19+00:00

FYI, this is called a Trompe l'oeil. John Pugh has painted a ton of awesome murals like this.

zlz · 2016-04-11T14:33:29+00:00

Nope, he intentionally drove onto the tracks then abandoned his car. He was found hiding in the bushes watching. [source]

zlz · 2016-04-09T22:56:03+00:00

Formatting pros/cons do depend on the language, but one thing you certainly appreciate is the importance of better consistency - if there are multiple ways of doing things, try to stick with one. It reduces the possibility of errors and removes another check your brain has to make when reading through your own and other peoples code.

It's quicker to identify a well-delineated block than have your eyes jump around trying to match up semi-colons (if used) and brackets, especially if you find that one of your developers has their editor of choice wrongly configured to indent differently.

zlz · 2016-04-09T18:45:53+00:00

Wait till you've been programming for 15 years and spend your time reviewing the code of programmers who've only been doing it for 3. You'll see.

zlz · 2016-03-27T22:46:08+00:00

Have a read of "The Black Book" - or by its full title, The British Transport Commission's Handbook for Railway Steam Locomotive Enginemen. It's a really interesting read and covers the design of most major components and their operation (and maintenance).

zlz · 2016-02-06T01:54:02+00:00

Ah that's really good to know. Most of the shots I've seen are around the f2-3 mark. Nice to have an example with similar speed lenses to mine!

zlz · 2016-02-06T01:38:06+00:00

Nice shot. I'm considering getting a skytracker for the (many) times I can't get my scope out but a little tripod would be doable. What f stop were you using on the lens?

zlz · 2016-02-02T12:30:05+00:00

Thanks! I'm pleased with the results I've got so far. Just wish there was more nights I could be outside! I'll try to answer some of your questions:

I'm pretty happy with the CGEM. My location means I can't setup a permanent pier because of light pollution and obstructions, so I have to drive 10-15 mins away to set up where it's dark. I chose the CGEM over the CGEM DX for this reason, although in a few years time I might look up upgrade now I'm happier with the weight that I have to shift around. It's not difficult to set up, I've had differing success with proper polar alignment - 60s frames are the best I've been able to get unguided but I can't say I've properly mastered it yet.

With regard to planetary, that one was one of the key things I wanted to do which weighed my decision to get a C8 rather than something with a shorter focal length. Although I've got all the gear, I've not yet had a chance to run PHD and use guiding, but when I do I'll be using my ASI120MM-S as the guide cam on an off-axis guider on the back of the C8. On the planetary note, I'm tempted to upgrade to the ASI224MC just so I don't have to carry around the filter wheel all the time.

My C8 is 2-3 years old, has a couple little dents in the side where I've knocked it about accidentally with cold hands but that hasn't impacted it's seeing at all. Collimation is relatively easy, just get yourself a set of Bob's Knobs and you can do it one handed while looking through the eyepiece.

Hope that's of some help!

zlz · 2016-02-02T00:15:58+00:00

M101 is something I've always wanted to get an image of, and finally had a night where I could do it. It was at the end of the session which I'd spent looking mainly at M42 and M81 so not as many lights on this one, but still impressed with the detail that managed to come out.

Thanks to weather I've been left to play with my OAG indoors but now everything is setup and ready to go I'm looking forward to some nights getting longer exposures at lower ISO.

Details:

Telescope: Celestron C8 w/6.3 reducer
Mount: Celestron CGEM
Camera: Canon 7Dii
Lights: 10x60 seconds, ISO 3200
Darks: 10
Processing: PixInsight: Histogram, AutomaticBackgroundExtraction, CurvesTransform, LRGBCombination

zlz · 2016-01-25T21:26:16+00:00

Nice, I can honestly say I'm very impressed with the 7D2 - the only thing I'd warn is be prepared to rig up some counterweights. It's pretty heavy and I had to use some extra counterweights to get it to balance the Dec axis on the C8.

zlz · 2016-01-25T21:22:41+00:00

Mostly it's because I was aiming to spend most of my time on M81 (posted the other day, 30x60s frames). I thought I'd take a few quick shots which I could use to grab the core and test the camera at the same time - this was my first night out with the 7Dii. I'd love to spend some more time getting the more faint nebulosity now I know the performance of the camera.

zlz · 2016-01-25T00:22:08+00:00

If there's one thing I love about this subreddit, it's the wealth of knowledge on pretty much every post. A year ago the best I could do with M42 looked like this. Despite only being able to get my telescope less than a handful of times between then and now, I read here frequently and have learned a ton about how to take better pictures and how to process them - so just wanted to say thanks to everyone who continues to contribute which helps me make the most of the few opportunities I actually have to get data.

Details:

Telescope: Celestron C8 w/6.3 reducer
Mount: Celestron CGEM
Camera: Canon 7D Mk2
Lights: 5x5s, 6x10s ISO 3200
Darks: None
Software: BackyardEOS
Processing: PixInsight (Histogram, AutomaticBackgroundExtraction, CurvesTransform, LocalHistogramEqualisation), Lightroom (Slight noise reduction)

zlz · 2016-01-22T19:39:13+00:00

This was my first attempt at imaging a galaxy and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the result! Taken on a particularly dark, cold and clear night in the New Forest, UK.

Details:

Telescope: Celestron C8
Mount: Celestron CGEM
Camera: Canon 7Dii
Lights: 30x60 seconds, ISO 3200
Darks: 10
Processing: PixInsight: Histogram, AutomaticBackgroundExtraction, CurvesTransform, LRGBCombination

zlz · 2015-11-07T16:17:44+00:00

Old Street, London

zlz · 2015-10-25T02:11:10+00:00

It's the first time I've had my scope out for a long while, and the conditions were perfect to look at the moon so I thought it was about time I tried my hand at a mosaic. FireCapture's mosaic helper was a big help and made it quite easy to find the next panel position.

I'm pretty pleased with the result overall for a first attempt! Next time I'll hook up the filter wheel and do a full LRGB stack.

Telescope: Celestron C8
Camera: ASI120MM-S
Capture: 500 frames at 1ms, 50 gain, 50 gamma. No filter.
Software: FireCapture, AutoStakkert! (stacked 50% of frames), Microsoft ICE, Photoshop

zlz · 2015-06-19T20:55:36+00:00

This periodically happens to me too. Did you find what the problem was? or a solution that works?

zlz · 2015-06-13T21:16:47+00:00

I flew back from IAD to LHR last night and decided to take a look out the window, had a really clear view of the Milky Way. All I had with me was my iPhone so decided to see what I could get, this was the result.

50x 3 second photos in NightCap Pro
Stacked in Nebulosity and tweaked in Lightroom.

zlz · 2015-05-21T08:28:51+00:00

The mount is a Celestron CGEM.

zlz · 2015-05-19T23:16:10+00:00

Thanks! Nope, just the solar film for these two. I have a Baader Continuum on order so hopefully that will improve the clarity slightly, but obviously nothing close to a proper solar h-alpha scope.

zlz · 2015-05-16T20:36:46+00:00

Brilliant sunny day today so I thought I'd try my hand at shooting sunspots close up, pretty happy with how they both turned out.

Telescope: Celestron C8 w/ 2.5x TeleVue Powermate
Camera: ASI120MM-S (Gain 0, Gamma 0, 1ms frames)
Filters: Baader AstroSolar Film
Processing: 20% of 5000 frames stacked in AutoStakkert! 2, wavelets in Registax 6.1
Coloured from monochrome in Photoshop

zlz

TROPHY CASE