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Thanks Don. Yep the beauty of a collab for getting mega hours of data. CS

It's actually been a while since I imaged with both scopes at the same time. I think having a dual setup with both scopes imaging at once is more ideal when you have very similar scopes and equipment. In practice I found there was a lot of 'down time' with one scope waiting for the other, largely because I have quite different electronic focusers on each scope which carry out the focus routine at quite different speeds so they tended to get out of sync with each other frequently. However, this setup has been very useful from the fact that I don't have to physically take off one heavy telescope setup to put the other on. Instead I can just tell NINA to use one setup for a particular target (say a galaxy with the Meade) and then quickly switch to another target suitable for the Skywatcher without having to move the telescopes. So to be honest, I can't quite remember what happened at meridian flip. However, there maybe instructions in NINA now to help cover that issue but if not, I'd imagine that you'd really only lose one exposure on one of the rigs and then they should sync up again after meridian flip.

@LogansAstro that makes sense! Thanks a lot!

Thanks Ollie. It does go to show that the data is there - it just needs to be squeezed out 😄.

Thanks Simon. I got that T-shirt about 16 yrs ago for a road-trip the family was doing as it was the first little console game I ever had. And it still fits! (just😅). I was impressed by what the Seestar could achieve and my brother is the perfect market for these types of scopes - interested in the wonders of the night sky without necessarily spending hours processing (which we all know can drive us nuts some times). Clear skies.

Thanks for sharing that story. Your friend is an example of someone who wants to explore the night sky without necessarily spending hours processing and I think that is exactly who these types of telescopes are for (and for outreach of course) and your suggestion for them to get a Seestar was perfect. I know some people are critical of these types of scopes but I don't think the intention was ever to replace the rigs that we all use in our hobby - they are designed to make it easy for people to have access to the wonders of the night sky and inspire people to look up and so they definitely have a place in the broad area of astrophotography. I know my brother is really enjoying the ease of use of this device as it your friend. Clear skies.

@LogansAstro at some point, there always be people complaining (specially in the Web, nowadays), so you have to ignore them and choose what is best for you, enjoy the process more than the result. I think these automated solutions close the gap between the 'casuals' and the 'experts', who take the time and effort to learn and acquire the skills. Same with BlurXT, doing (a good) convolution was a quite complex process but now it is a matter of few clicks. Having learned that skill doesn't pay off in most cases and you carefully edited pics are similar than those of the newcomers, so I understand why some people is angry (yes, I do know I'm making a harsh simplification). But you cannot stop progress, so you need to embrace it and push forward for new frontiers. But I can be wrong 😅

@@aleixandrus yep totally agree.

Yeah I don't think I'll be getting one anytime soon unless I decide to try and convince the folks up at Langs Beach to turn off their goddamn spotlights at night 😅. Hope you are doing well. Clear skies.

Thanks Nik. It's actually quite a fun device to use. I would love to see what it can do in less light polluted skies. CS

Thanks Stewart. We did pick some reasonable bright targets. I wished the Tarantula nebula and Carina were within out viewing region as those are very bright targets. CS

Thanks very much. I probably won't ever be setting up the mount in alt-Az and use it for visual however, there are some excellent videos on this topic already out there that you could check out including this one from JPAstroGuy ruclips.net/video/ITUMc8ALyMA/видео.html. Clear skies.

@@LogansAstro Hey thank you so much for your response, I will check out that video now! Cheers mate! keep up the great work!

@@Si-fp2ij thanks Simon. Was great to get to do a collab with James. I guess you could say I was South masquerading as North 😂

@ Yes that’s true, also good to finally see James, only ever heard his voice. The American Banksy as someone commented

Thank you

Really enjoyed getting to chat with you face to face (electronically) and collaborate on this cool target. I think my method of incorporating the Ha needs a little work as I think it overran some of the dust which was much more clearly seen in your version. CS.

@@LogansAstro I have been experimenting with different ways to mix NB with BB. I think it's the next frontier in amateur astrophotography.. for me at least, lol. Hoping we can do it again :)

Thanks Tich. I was particularly lucky with the run of clear nights in Spain as its been pretty much cloudy every night for the last month or so which, for me is, clearly a first world problem when Spain has suffered such a lot of damage and loss of life with the recent weather events. CS

Yeah I think James must be hogging all the clear nights 🤣.

Unfortunately.. that my comments on clear nights was out of date.. we ended up getting something like 8 weeks of straight clear nights!

Thanks Pete. We were both lucky to get a great run of clear nights so we were able to collect that data relatively quickly. CS

Thanks Simon. Haha yes James is no longer that mystery person behind all those fantastic processing videos he does. I did suggest if he wanted to do a 'Tool Time' type scenario where I talk to him over a fence 🤣. I'm still working on the technique of adding that amount of Ha into the background without it overtaking other features which I think it has done a bit in my version when you compare the extra amount of that lovely dust showing up in James's version. CS

lol

Thanks Nik. Certainly helps with the data collection when there is more than one person collecting data. CS

Thanks very much Stewart. Collaborations are a lot of fun and they also help with the data collection volume, that's for sure. CS

Thanks Steve. I'm not sure I've entirely got the technique of combining large amounts of background Ha into the image but it's a work in progress 😄. It was great to be able to chat with James face to face as well. CS

Thanks, I’m glad to hear that the video has bern helpful. Clear skies.

Haha thanks very much.

Thanks so much

Hey Hi Alexis 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

@@brucenunn3268 thanks, I’m glad you found it useful

Thanks Pat

Thanks very much Steve. The Astropanel was a bonus I wasn’t aware of when I entered so it was a great surprise. Clear skies.

Thanks Tich. Even if someone somewhere buys one, I’ll be happy 😅

Thank you very much Jim. And clear skies down south to you too.😃

Thanks Frank, much appreciated. Clear skies.

Thanks very much James. I didn't realise the print was part of the prize until later so that was a nice surprise.

Thanks very much Stuart ((by the way, am I using the correct spelling version for your name?). I'll be stoked even if one person purchases one of my images but I guess time will tell 🤞. Clear skies.

@@LogansAstro it’s Stewart But everyone spells it the other way as it’s the most common spelling, so no worries 👍 You will be surprised I think you will sell a lot, well done again.

@@Astro_Shed Ah damn! I think my very first comments on your channel were spelt the correct way but then I saw others spelling it the other way so changed, doh. I will make sure I get it correct from now on. 😄

@@LogansAstro don’t worry Logan, a few people have asked and still spell it wrong..😂😂 mine is just not spelt the way people know…

Thanks Jason. I hope the temps are starting to drop out your way and we will get to watch you guys out at Alpha Scorpii soon.

Thanks Rob. I've never had a metal print of one of my images so this was a really nice surprise. Clear skies.

Thanks Don, that's very kind of you. It was good that this competition includes a remote imaging category. Clear skies

Thanks very much David. CS

Thanks Mike. This video was quite specific for the Spain rig but the most recent video is pretty similar with a few changes specific to my home setup. These Cloudwatchers definitely work very well. Clear skies.

Thanks Ollie. Yes that was with the reducer on the Meade. As for the robotic arm and BBQ cover, now there's something you could patent. Clear skies.

Thanks Tich. Oh no, that's the last thing you need at a star party. We are rain and cloud watching here as well. I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed that it clears for you there.

Thanks Stuart. Yes it adds that extra peace of mind when trying to get some shut-eye in the night. CS

Thanks Simon. The weather here has been absolute trash...mostly from the astro point of view. There have been some clear days but they always cloud over right on sunset. Definitely thank goodness for Spain for sure. CS

I do still have the setup. My intention when I set this up was to image the same target with both scopes at the same time but found that having the two vastly different focal lengths meant that the framing for one scope wasn't often that optimal for the other. So I've tended to image with one scope at a time but I can quite easily switch between scopes on different targets without having to offload one scope and load up the other (the Meade 10" setup is quite heavy). Even in the same night I can start on one scope and when that target gets too low, switch to the other scope on a different target. If wanting to more commonly image with two scopes at the same time, I think having two of similar focal length is more ideal as the framing would be similar for both. Also, try and get the scopes as close together as possible - because the losmandy plate I used to slot into the CEM120 saddle is quite slim, I couldn't put the two scopes close together because the tightening knobs on the saddle would get in the way of the plates of the two scopes. The Optec saddle seems to be very sturdy but it is their beefier version because the Skywatcher setup with all it's attachments is quite heavy.

@@LogansAstro thanks very much for the reply. We’re doing everything you’ve suggested, but worried about the FOV alignment for both scopes. Are you reliably getting round stars on the Esprit? Our main concern is the introduction of flexure if we stick one of our heavy scopes on the Optec saddle.

@@backyardspacedude4238 Yes the stars are nice and round on the Esprit and I can do 15 and 20min exposures with it no problems. They are a little elongated on the Meade 10" but I think that's the reducer doing that.

@@LogansAstroexcellent, thanks very much! Are you still guiding through the OAG on the Meade when you image through the Esprit?

Yeah good point. Setting up NINA from scratch again isn't too bad as I recently had to do that with the rig in Spain that was running on SgPro. But working through the roof automation stuff and Arduino setup etc - now that would definitely give me a headache.