NEQ6 Pro Sky-Watcher & EQM 35 GOTO Sky-Watcher

The mount is out of action as its getting a major upgrade, the internals all cogs and gears full of backlash are removed. This was the reason why I bought the mount in the first place second hand as I knew of the Upgrade. the upgrade is its replaced with toothed belts and spindles and 100% no backlash. I was given the task by Carlos to learn and come to terms with mono filters and how to use them. the following photos are NOT MINE but the processing is after I had learnt the way to process the images.. All these are taken on a B/W camera but with filters Ha S2 O3 its how you then put together gives you the colour. so you are going to see colours you have never seen before these are the ELEMENTS that make up the Object. contrast my colour camera version before each group. I would like to thank Carlos for making his images available to use and learn from I have been lent a filter wheel and a camera so I will try some thing myself to see how the results are on my gear. once the mount comes back. Please respect the photos as not mine but for you to enjoy, do not copy them..

I have been hit by a bug that reduced my weekend to sleep and rest. What was not liked was the vomiting and Diarrhea that went with the bug....... AS my mount want still out of action Carlos asked if I wanted to do a one night only to use his gear to capture a target so I could process it. I had to choose the target, the exposure time, the filters that where used and when the target was high enough to start . AS I had only one night Thursday I chose Ha O3 S2 filters rather than the 4 LRGB used for normal colour shots.. I got the info on Friday morning when the bug hit so as you can imagine it was not even looked at computer did not get a start This is from Saturdays very late afternoon processing and a target I chose because of its wispy nature. this was processed as Ha S2 O3 to get an almost real red like result. once my mount comes back this will be shot with my gear to compare. Hubble pallet S2 Ha O3 green not removed. Carlos Equipment list. Skywatcher 10" Quattro Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro Hypertuned by Astronomy Academy Perth Skywatcher F4 Aplanatic Coma Corrector Primaluce Sesto Senso2 Electronic Focuser ZWO ASI2600MM Pro Cooled Camera ZWO Off-Axis Guider ZWO ASI290MM Mini Guide Camera ZWO Electronic Filter Wheel Antlia Pro NB 36mm unmounted filters Rollon roll off modified shed observatory Bortle 5 Data acquisition software: NINA Astronomy Software

I got my mount back after the belt upgrade and tried the mount out. This was taken with quite a lot of moon light. such a lot of nebula's in this area. Don't even try to count the stars in this shot the number is staggering. This is a two shot vertical panorama taken by the Nikon 300mm F4D lens and also take on Auto focus. I had to rethink the formula to work out focus for a telescope and try and fit it to a lens. the normal step size was suppose to be 125 but I cut the step size to 40 and got auto focus to work. the mount is so much more sensitive I have had to learn how to balance again its so sensitive you have to balance with all heads loose to get perfect balance. also guiding had to be re set all the settings had to be fixed up again a lot of it turned out to be getting balance right. also its more sensitive to very strong winds ZWOASI071MC -10c 105 shots per panel 450 secs, over 4 night just after full moon. ZWOEAF with belt , Optolong LeNhance filter In filter draw, Nikon 300MM F4 D Lens, Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps & Lr.

A very hard target as its not a very strong nebula . As Carlos and myself where doing the same target I suggested we go out into the country away from the city lights to see if it made any difference to the nebulocity. there are red patches inside and just below the head but not at all very strong only way to get more would be filters the only problem this time of year sun goes down late and up very early in winter I was getting 65 shot this time of year only 28 a night. QHY183C -10c 82 shots 15 min each over 4 nights 3 in the city one away from the city. Prima Luce Essato Focus , Optolong LeNhance filter, Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps Lr.

I have 4 walls one side shed(red) , one side fence(green) and two sides shade cloth 2.1m X 2.1m. This is to tackle the winds and cut the effect on the mount. computer is covered by a towel to hide the light from the screen as its seen from the road. It resides in a black plastic box that doubles as the storage box for all the gear. Due to the extreme heat of this month I have in the day a reflective cover as a roof over the whole area so the breeze can move below to cool all the equipment. To the South the City of Perth and a few high clouds. I have a small plastic bag on top covering all the electrical plugs from Dew. Between the Legs a cut plastic bag covering the power board and all the mains electrical, dew is a huge problem so its best to take a bit more care. Cables split in two set one that run the mount left side, in the middle those that run the rest of the equipment also split in to two lots to balance out the top of the mount. Camera has been manually rotated to fit the field of view. This is all made possible because of the Optolong LeNhance filter In filter draw that cut the light pollution. This is where all the photos come from. currently its taking the Horse Head nebula two panel panorama and 3 night shooting each panel. Mount is NEQ6 Pro typertuned Scope is Skywatcher ED80 Camera Is QHY183C

This is a two panel shot of the area the middle being the Horse Head. The right side took three night the left side took two night. the difference was the tree next to the mount got pruned so the shots went to 4 am. This was my first trial of using the rotation marks and getting the cameras square to the shot all 5 night had the very same error 3.3 degrees within the 5 degree limit I had set. I watched each night to see if I had to change rotation. The two shots fitted together perfectly making this method very workable. This was the fav nebula of mine since I was a kid seeing the close up of the Horse on the red background. My only regret my father did not get to see this shot. QHY183C -10c 82 shots Each Panel 10 min each over 5 nights and camera rotated. Prima Luce Essato Focus , Optolong LeNhance filter, Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps Lr.

The name of this one how could I resist. Has been a cloud fight to get the shots over 4 night in very strong winds. this sits just below the Horse head nebula and just off the red ring that goes around Orion. Barnards loop the goes around half of the Orion area, Barnards loop I will wait for moon less night to try and get this target with my 50mm F1.8 lens ZWOASI071. QHY183C -10c 82 shots 10 min each over 4 nights and camera rotated. Prima Luce Essato Focus , Optolong LeNhance filter, Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps Lr.

This is a 4 night Two panel shot join is in the middle of the two shots. As I am able to rotate the Nikon 300mm F4 prime on its lens clamp I marked the degrees so I could rotate to suit camera angle. once done I got an error reading each night 1.4 degrees. the two panels joined perfectly with next to no step between the two panels. I am impressed so much I am almost willing to for go the Auto Focus with the belt to be able to rotate the camera. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Supernova_Remnant for those interested a bit more info in the link. Who can see the face in the shot. ZWOASI071MC -10c 90 shots per panel 600 secs, over 4 night camera rotated. ZWOEAF disconnected , Optolong LeNhance filter In filter draw, Nikon 300MM F4 D Lens, Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps & Lr.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_15 This is a colour photo with B/W camera. For those not sure a normal colour photo is with a normal colour Camera RGB (Red Green Blue). For those old enough to know film photography will know you can colour the B/W photo with filters this is very much the same principal used for Astro photography. For Astro photos there are two set of filters for a B/W camera LRGB equivalent of a normal colour camera. Then there are the filters that high light the Gasses that make up the Nebula's Ha O3 S2 for Hydrogen Oxygen & Sulphur . The filters are in a filter wheel that moves to the correct position of each filter and to focus on the Luminescence filter then back to the right filter. This can be put into the RGB format in a few ways this Photo Is HaS2O3 format in the RGB colour pallet. There is also the well know Hubble pallet as well S2HaO3. This was taken during our heat wave 40c+days and 33c nights, so the camera was run at -5c rather than -10c. The system was set to focus every hour during the photo session. This is my very first photo to this type of photo taking this way so an even bigger learning curve than normal colour camera. ZWOASI183MM -5c 60 shots 10 min each over 5 nights . Prima Luce Essato Focus , Ha O3 S2 Set of filters 60 of each, Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps Lr.

I knew that the was a lot of red wisps around the Seagull nebula. this is my 105mm Nikon prime lens with the very same camera as the shot next to this, there is just so many stars out there you almost loose the faint red wisps. This is a reedit of the old data and replaced the shot in both cases. I had to call it quits as I am now clouded in but the idea of the wisps show very well. the very small white nebula that is in view just below the seagull is Thors Helmet the target that I wanted to do next but as its only 30 shots a night till the tree gets in the way I will leave for next year. the next week or so is clouded in so no point even starting. ZWOASI071MC -7c 39 shots 600 secs, over 2 night camera rotated 104 degrees. ZWOEAF disconnected , Optolong LeNhance filter In filter draw, Nikon 105MM F2.8 Lens, Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps & Lr.

This was my next target but the forecast was clouds for the next few days after I finished the wide field. The good news is have not seen any clouds that worried the mount . The tree next to the mount gets in the way of photos at 3am so getting less and less each day as the star seem to move across the sky( its us moving.) I wanted to do this target as it is a very interesting shape and it is no a big one as you can see by the wide field photo of the Seagull the small white dot middle of frame. I had to rotate to get this orientation or it would have been along the length of the shot. QHY183C -10c 98 shots 10 min each over 3 nights, Rotated 94.4 degrees. Prima Luce Essato Focus , Focus every hour. Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps Lr.

I rotated this so I could get the long bone middle left in but the shot now looks like a tropical fish. tilt you head to the right you can see the skull and cross bones better, one white eye and one red eye. this one of those very small target most would over look as not being interesting Its one I like a lot. this coincided with new moon so the detail in the shot is better even with the filter in line. This is also a much better editing method from when I first started to use PixInsight the last five photos have followed the same process and look a whole lot better. some part of the process you have to just walk away and come back some a very long. The stacking process for this photo is close to an hour. QHY183C -10c 120 shots 10 min each over 3 nights, Rotated 38 degrees. Prima Luce Essato Focus , Focus every hour. Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps Lr.

Over the last three night I chose this target not knowing how it would come out. The processing in Pix and Ps I get this, as we are about to get clouded in I have gone with the 100shots. Camera rotated to get this view. QHY183C -10c 100 shots 10 min each over 3 nights, Rotated 103 degrees. Prima Luce Essato Focus , Focus every hour. Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps Lr.

This was a target I have been waiting to get, I know I took this with my Old star adventurer... But nothing like this. The shot in 2019 is a good measure how far have I come. My first nights worth of shots I had to delete as the framing was not what I was after so had to take another two nights. As its very hot I have to be careful to start the camera @25c or less so took the precaution to run the camera not at -10 but -7 so as not to burn the camera out. This was shot over two nights Nikon 105mm F2.8 Macro lens in total 100 odd shots. Its good to see most of the target I have taken over the last few years with the ED80 in reality to each other. I make no apology for the number of stars in the shot. There is still a few targets that I have yet to take in this area with the current set up. when you look at this shot you see there is much more to this part of the sky that we think. Hope you follow all the notes. ZWOASI071 -7 100 shots 450 sec rotated 7 Degrees Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps Lr.

This was the other project that I was going to work on with the 105mm lens. The Vela Super nova and the Gums. Also in an area not far from the Carina Area, This show you more the relation ship of the parts to each other. This has been worth while using just a Nikon lens to capture there and i quite good detail. The Racoon is showing quite well. This was shot over two nights Nikon 105mm F2.8 Macro lens in total 100 odd shots. Its good to see most of the target I have taken over the last few years with the ED80 in reality to each other. I make no apology for the number of stars in the shot. ZWOASI071 -7 100 shots 450 sec rotated 7 Degrees Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps Lr.

The very first photo I tool Fe6 2019 when I first went into the bush with the star adventurer 30 shots 30 sec each D600 70-200 F4 @ 150mm. A shot I wanted to Do for Ko as he will never see this other than move South of the Equator. The Very LAST Photo from Merriwa as we move back on the South side of town. So you will not see a post for a while but the back yard is a good one for setting up the mount. I see a huge improvement to the first this one Shot with a Nikon lens same as the first but so much better with Guiding, polar Alignment and longer time not to mention the editing that has been learnt over the last three years. Gear is all packed away so I can get into the shed to pack it all up. ZWOASI071 -7 100 shots 450 sec rotated 7 Degrees Nikon 105mm F2.8 Lens Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps Lr.

This is a hand with the fingers pointing down (Follow the bigger stars) and a good imagination or the drawing. May have come just a little tooo close. I thought I would see just where I could set up But in this case its in a sand pit So I have to repave the whole area So it is more use able. I have to be able to see over a very large tree to polar align then my sky is fairly good. the key to good tracking is a very solid base what I have now is very Ify but I have a lot of bricks that at part of this house so they will be used to make a solid floor. The light pollution is so much more on the Southern Older side of town(older style of street lights) so I still have to see what the net result is once I try a nebula. As a first night look see this came out ok and gave me a very good idea that it is still workable this side of town. QHY183C -10c 92 shot 7 1/2 min over two nights. Prima Luce Essato Focus, Focus on the hour , Optolong LeNhance filter, Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Guided PHD2, SGP Pixinsight, Ps.