Nice image! With my recent purchase of the ZWO AM5 mount, I'm strongly considering deforking my 8 inch Meade LX200 GPS. I'd eventually like to go mono, with a very similar setup, as I currently have the Ares-C Pro & love it! I'm sure the Ares-M Pro would be a great fit for the Meade.
I've never used the Meade 8" scope, but I just looked up the specs. It's very similar to the Celestron C8 or Edge 8. It should work out well on an AM5 mount with the Ares-C or Ares-M. The IMX533 is a very forgiving and capable sensor. I can see why it's so popular. The Phoenix EFW will give you the best fit and allow you to mount it very close to the filters, so no vignetting or light leaks.
@SKYST0RY I currently have my Ares-C Pro on the Apertura 75Q and have also used it with my Samyang 135mm EF lens, and I've loved every image! My last several I've even processed without calibration frames and they've turned out quite well. I'm waiting on the Askar C1+C2 filter set, then I'm adding the 5-position Phoenix Wheel to the Ares-C. Can't wait!
This is all a foreign language to me as I am mostly a visual observer. When I do take photos I use the video and stacking method with a DSLR. My mount is an iOptron AZ Pro alt-az and can only use 20 to 30 second exposures for photos anyway, but it can hold two scopes. I don't understand the need for a guiding scope if your mount uses GPS to stay on target. My mount stayed on Jupiter all night to make a time lapsed video of its rotation and kept it centered the whole time. I waited a while for near perfect conditions to be forecast and when they arrived I was ready with a C9.25 SCT which was the best choice I could've made.
These are long and deep topics, covering things I simply have not really had time to address yet. You are probably aware of the weakness of alt-az mounts--as Earth rotates, a turning motion will show up in your exposures, though you can angle an alt-az on a wedge to compensate. However, GPS isn't used for tracking. And certainly not for guiding. It's used to inform a mount of its position in the world, which helps a tracking mount track more accurately and a non-plate solving goto setup find a target more readily. Guiding is locking onto an object (a star, generally) and using that tiny object in its fixed position to allow software to guide the mount very precisely. Time lapse shots like you described, are typically simple and easy for tracking to handle--as your mount does is if it is unguided. If you're shooting bright objects like a planet, often you can film them in video mode with very short exposures, even
I love to see this! I started this hobby with the 8se and imaged for about a year with my celestron OAG and 6.3 reducer, but had nothing but problems. I use the ASI2600 MC Pro and I think the sensor size is a bit bigger than your player one camera, so the prism has to take up a sliver of my main image just to get somewhat round stars. The vignetting was horrible too. I could never figure out if it was a backspace problem, because I couldn't any documentation. I ended up buying an Askar 103 APO and it has been night and day. Watching you get great images has me itching to bring it out of storage to give it another shot. Could you please give me a breakdown of your image train? I had: telescope > reducer > OAG > ZWO Filter drawer > ASI2600 and I think that was something like 110mm.
Making the comment above and researching through the other comments and your videos, I think the difference is that I bought the NexStar 8SE for a great price with no astrophotography in mind. I believe you have the Edge HD 8, and that would make a world of difference. No wonder I had so many problems with a larger sensor camera.
@@krazyguy2312 I don't have an Edge. I am just using the 8SE. The Ares-M camera has a 1" sensor, which leaves a lot more space for the OAG's prism and avoids the vignette issues by staying well within the image circle. Your total back space to the camera sensor with a reducer should be 104.3 mm, or as close to that as possible. Without a reducer, back space should be 133.5 mm. I suspect the full size sensor of your ASI2600 was your worst enemy in this. As you recognized, it doesn't give a lot of extra space for the OAG prism, it will pick up more vignetting issues and the slightest error in alignment will show up on a full sized sensor.
I am seriously looking into astronomy as a hobby. I don't even own a telescope yet, but I looked into the Bortle scale for where I live in the county of Cornwall in the UK and it is rated at 2/3 in the darkest areas, 4 in the worst. I will only invest in a telescope if the skies here are viable. Not sure if this rating is good enough.....
Great video! Boy am I jealous of your Bortle 1-2 skies--I am in a Bortle 8-9! Any advice for getting the proper back focus with that set-up? I am putting together remarkably similar rig. I Celestron C8 and OAG have arrived, I already own a Celestron reducer, and I am awaiting the ASI533 that's similar to your Ares M. I'd be grateful for any tips! Thank you!
If you setup your image train this way, I think you'll be fine: reducer/corrector directly into EFW and mount your camera flush to the other side of the EFW. I don't know if the ZWO ASI533 can flush mount to their EFW, though. At this link, you can find a very good pair of diagrams that portray an image train setup with the back focus calculated for the C8 with and without the reducer. Google ancientphotonsastro[dot]com and back focus for the edge hd8 (I think it's the same back focus).
Fantastic. I have also a C8 but the stars on the corners in the pictures are not round. How did you manage to get such a nice stars all around the image ? Great job.
Are you using a flattener? A flattener can help a lot. Also, have you checked your collimation? That's the other usual culprit. The third thing to look at is cool down time. These big scopes are more sensitive to equalizing temperature with the environment than refractors. Or, so I've been told. My scopes live in the observatory so I've never had a chance to personally test this. But the going opinion is be sure your SCT is setup at least a couple hours before you start imaging. Finally, large sensor cameras are trickier to align and will draw light from the edge of the field of view where warpage is prone to happen. A small sensor has much less trouble with alignment and draws light from inside the field of view. The Player One Ares-M I am using here is a 1" sensor, well within the SCT's field of view. Hope that helps!
@@SKYST0RY No, I do not have a flattener, only the Celestron focal reducor 6.3. I did not know there was a flattener. Some told me about the Astro-Physics CCDT67 reducor which also could be a flattener. What do you have ? Thanks for your quick answer.
@@yvangarcia3535 I have Celestron's 6.3 reducer/corrector. Celestron's own description of the item is confusing. Celestron's site describes the product as a "reducer/corrector". I think the "corrector" descriptor means it partially flattens but is not a true field flattener. (That's the consensus on Cloudy Nights discussions I've read, anyway.) But if you are not using a full sized sensor (APS-C or or bigger), I think it should be adequate as a flattener. I'm not 100% certain, though.
@@SKYST0RY Well, I am using for the moment a Canon 600D not modified. Actually, my goal is to focus on astrometria, folloiwing asteroides, take note of the coordinates and send them to the MPC if once I manage to get an observatory code, fingers crossed. And from to time, take some astro photos. Clear skyes
Have you compared the thermal noise between your uncooled Uranus-C and the cooled Ares-M? Also would be interesting to see how they compare when both running uncooled.
I'd love to try doing this, but calibrating the SCT is a major ordeal so it's going to be the only scope in the observatory for a long time. I hope to build a second observatory this summer, at which time I can run such tests. But, based on experience so far, I think the 585 sensor might handle warm temperatures a little better.
@@ritacastilIt should be fine. Irfanview has been around for decades. It works on pretty much any image, video or audio file. You used to need a plug-in for fits files, but maybe not anymore. It should auto stretch them just fine.
Sort of. It can link to your planetarium (like Carte du Ciel or Stellarium). Then you pick an object in the planetarium close to the planet, comet or what-have-you. There is a button in NINA to copy the coordinates from the planetarium and that will put your target in your field of view. Then NINA will slew to it.
Love to see your observatory finally getting use after following the construction!
Definitely getting lots of use.
Taking notes, it was nice to get a glimpse into your templates for .N.I.N.A. it looks like you have it all dialed in. Great video
Glad you found it useful. Thank you for watching!
What a beautiful setting you have for this amazing hobby. Love your content.
Thank you. It's cold and crazy snowy in the winter, humid and rainy in the summer, but we also seem to get plenty of good nights.
I very much enjoyed your informative narration.
Nice image! With my recent purchase of the ZWO AM5 mount, I'm strongly considering deforking my 8 inch Meade LX200 GPS. I'd eventually like to go mono, with a very similar setup, as I currently have the Ares-C Pro & love it! I'm sure the Ares-M Pro would be a great fit for the Meade.
I've never used the Meade 8" scope, but I just looked up the specs. It's very similar to the Celestron C8 or Edge 8. It should work out well on an AM5 mount with the Ares-C or Ares-M. The IMX533 is a very forgiving and capable sensor. I can see why it's so popular. The Phoenix EFW will give you the best fit and allow you to mount it very close to the filters, so no vignetting or light leaks.
@SKYST0RY I currently have my Ares-C Pro on the Apertura 75Q and have also used it with my Samyang 135mm EF lens, and I've loved every image! My last several I've even processed without calibration frames and they've turned out quite well. I'm waiting on the Askar C1+C2 filter set, then I'm adding the 5-position Phoenix Wheel to the Ares-C. Can't wait!
This is all a foreign language to me as I am mostly a visual observer. When I do take photos I use the video and stacking method with a DSLR. My mount is an iOptron AZ Pro alt-az and can only use 20 to 30 second exposures for photos anyway, but it can hold two scopes. I don't understand the need for a guiding scope if your mount uses GPS to stay on target. My mount stayed on Jupiter all night to make a time lapsed video of its rotation and kept it centered the whole time. I waited a while for near perfect conditions to be forecast and when they arrived I was ready with a C9.25 SCT which was the best choice I could've made.
These are long and deep topics, covering things I simply have not really had time to address yet. You are probably aware of the weakness of alt-az mounts--as Earth rotates, a turning motion will show up in your exposures, though you can angle an alt-az on a wedge to compensate. However, GPS isn't used for tracking. And certainly not for guiding. It's used to inform a mount of its position in the world, which helps a tracking mount track more accurately and a non-plate solving goto setup find a target more readily. Guiding is locking onto an object (a star, generally) and using that tiny object in its fixed position to allow software to guide the mount very precisely. Time lapse shots like you described, are typically simple and easy for tracking to handle--as your mount does is if it is unguided. If you're shooting bright objects like a planet, often you can film them in video mode with very short exposures, even
Mindblowing thanks.
I love to see this! I started this hobby with the 8se and imaged for about a year with my celestron OAG and 6.3 reducer, but had nothing but problems. I use the ASI2600 MC Pro and I think the sensor size is a bit bigger than your player one camera, so the prism has to take up a sliver of my main image just to get somewhat round stars. The vignetting was horrible too. I could never figure out if it was a backspace problem, because I couldn't any documentation. I ended up buying an Askar 103 APO and it has been night and day. Watching you get great images has me itching to bring it out of storage to give it another shot. Could you please give me a breakdown of your image train? I had: telescope > reducer > OAG > ZWO Filter drawer > ASI2600 and I think that was something like 110mm.
Making the comment above and researching through the other comments and your videos, I think the difference is that I bought the NexStar 8SE for a great price with no astrophotography in mind. I believe you have the Edge HD 8, and that would make a world of difference. No wonder I had so many problems with a larger sensor camera.
@@krazyguy2312 I don't have an Edge. I am just using the 8SE. The Ares-M camera has a 1" sensor, which leaves a lot more space for the OAG's prism and avoids the vignette issues by staying well within the image circle. Your total back space to the camera sensor with a reducer should be 104.3 mm, or as close to that as possible. Without a reducer, back space should be 133.5 mm. I suspect the full size sensor of your ASI2600 was your worst enemy in this. As you recognized, it doesn't give a lot of extra space for the OAG prism, it will pick up more vignetting issues and the slightest error in alignment will show up on a full sized sensor.
Bortle 1-2, wow, I can dream….
I am seriously looking into astronomy as a hobby. I don't even own a telescope yet, but I looked into the Bortle scale for where I live in the county of Cornwall in the UK and it is rated at 2/3 in the darkest areas, 4 in the worst. I will only invest in a telescope if the skies here are viable. Not sure if this rating is good enough.....
Great video! Boy am I jealous of your Bortle 1-2 skies--I am in a Bortle 8-9! Any advice for getting the proper back focus with that set-up? I am putting together remarkably similar rig. I Celestron C8 and OAG have arrived, I already own a Celestron reducer, and I am awaiting the ASI533 that's similar to your Ares M. I'd be grateful for any tips! Thank you!
If you setup your image train this way, I think you'll be fine: reducer/corrector directly into EFW and mount your camera flush to the other side of the EFW. I don't know if the ZWO ASI533 can flush mount to their EFW, though.
At this link, you can find a very good pair of diagrams that portray an image train setup with the back focus calculated for the C8 with and without the reducer.
Google ancientphotonsastro[dot]com and back focus for the edge hd8 (I think it's the same back focus).
@@SKYST0RY Thank you very much for the information and the link! Clear skies, Matt
Fantastic. I have also a C8 but the stars on the corners in the pictures are not round. How did you manage to get such a nice stars all around the image ? Great job.
Are you using a flattener? A flattener can help a lot. Also, have you checked your collimation? That's the other usual culprit. The third thing to look at is cool down time. These big scopes are more sensitive to equalizing temperature with the environment than refractors. Or, so I've been told. My scopes live in the observatory so I've never had a chance to personally test this. But the going opinion is be sure your SCT is setup at least a couple hours before you start imaging. Finally, large sensor cameras are trickier to align and will draw light from the edge of the field of view where warpage is prone to happen. A small sensor has much less trouble with alignment and draws light from inside the field of view. The Player One Ares-M I am using here is a 1" sensor, well within the SCT's field of view. Hope that helps!
@@SKYST0RY No, I do not have a flattener, only the Celestron focal reducor 6.3. I did not know there was a flattener. Some told me about the Astro-Physics CCDT67 reducor which also could be a flattener. What do you have ? Thanks for your quick answer.
@@yvangarcia3535 I have Celestron's 6.3 reducer/corrector. Celestron's own description of the item is confusing. Celestron's site describes the product as a "reducer/corrector". I think the "corrector" descriptor means it partially flattens but is not a true field flattener. (That's the consensus on Cloudy Nights discussions I've read, anyway.) But if you are not using a full sized sensor (APS-C or or bigger), I think it should be adequate as a flattener. I'm not 100% certain, though.
@@SKYST0RY Well, I am using for the moment a Canon 600D not modified. Actually, my goal is to focus on astrometria, folloiwing asteroides, take note of the coordinates and send them to the MPC if once I manage to get an observatory code, fingers crossed. And from to time, take some astro photos. Clear skyes
Have you compared the thermal noise between your uncooled Uranus-C and the cooled Ares-M? Also would be interesting to see how they compare when both running uncooled.
I'd love to try doing this, but calibrating the SCT is a major ordeal so it's going to be the only scope in the observatory for a long time. I hope to build a second observatory this summer, at which time I can run such tests. But, based on experience so far, I think the 585 sensor might handle warm temperatures a little better.
Nice.
Hi! Can you provide the name of the fits files sofware that you use instead of blink? Thanks, Rita from Portugal.
Hi Rita. It’s Irfanview.
Thanks a lot. I will give it a try as I do like like blink at all! I suppose it will stretch the images for displaying...@@SKYST0RY
@@ritacastilIt should be fine. Irfanview has been around for decades. It works on pretty much any image, video or audio file. You used to need a plug-in for fits files, but maybe not anymore. It should auto stretch them just fine.
Can nina search planets?
Sort of. It can link to your planetarium (like Carte du Ciel or Stellarium). Then you pick an object in the planetarium close to the planet, comet or what-have-you. There is a button in NINA to copy the coordinates from the planetarium and that will put your target in your field of view. Then NINA will slew to it.