That sinking feeling of watching the clouds roll in over a winter night...we've all been there! Nice image for that little integration time. Thanks for another banger, Trevor!
Hi Trevor, I just wanted to say you’ve seriously inspired me over the past year and have really helped me get into astrophotography properly. Last night I managed to take my first ever detailed photo of a DSO, stacked and all, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you. Ironically, it’s of the Pleiades too. Thanks for everything you do, and as always, clear skies! 🌌❤ (Ps. I’ve uploaded the image on my shorts for anyone interested)
Congrats on getting a December image, ive not had clear skies where I am in the UK since early November although tonight is supposed to be the first clear night of 2025 🤞
Just wanted to wish you and Ashley the best for the new year. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thanks for all the great videos and information to help the art of astrophotography become main stream.
Very nice image considering the short integration time. Good thing this hobby is getting more automated all the time. You wouldn’t want to miss those clouds! After 50 cloudy nights I finally got a break in the clouds for 5 hours and managed to image the Crab Nebula with my C8. Nice to be outside at night again, and it was warm (-4oC) too!! Looking forward to more content from you in 2025. Best wishes to you, Ash and Rudy! Dr B from Manitoba, Canada 🇨🇦
I just started getting into astrophotography, I got some pictures of the moon, Jupiter, Betelgeuse, Serius, etc but the only reason I got into it was because of you videos. So thank you so for your videos and helping me get into this amazing hobby!
Looks like a great scope and nice image! And I am totally with you on the northern weather. I am in Michigan and the only clear night I have had since October was a couple weeks ago at 0 degrees F. My focus motor couldn't move the frozen grease in the focuser and failed a focus routine, my battery pack froze up (despite being plugged in to the garage) and my dew heater couldn't keep up against the frost. So I only got about 2.5 hours of Orion. Now it looks like cloudy weather for a couple weeks. Gotta love this hobby!
Just bought my first refractor. Nothing as fancy as a Redcat 91 but I got the Zenithstar 61. Excited to give it a try but being in the Pacific Northwest of the US, I too have very few clear nights in Winter.
"I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee." - Every Guard in Skyrim haha Amazing video! Can't wait to eventually get my hands on that bad boy! Thank you Trevor for your amazing videos, your knowledge of astrophotography and the smiles that you place on peoples faces. Have a wonderful New Years to you and your wife Ashley and can't wait to see what you'll bring in 2025! 🎉
im going to get a dobsonian for my birthday its already on the way and i cant wait to use it because its a huge improvement from my celestron astromaster 90, also keep up the absolutely amazing images!
The other December challenge is shooting from home when surrounded by houses with Christmas lights on the front AND BACK of the houses. Literally no place to set up that doesn't have a light beam pointed at it. Come on January! That looks like a great scope though.
Trevor, the Primalucelab dual saddle clamp works perfectly when attached to the asiair with only one screw as a secure asiair mount for a Losmandy or vixen rail
Great image Trevor for just over 1 hour!. Amazing. Regarding the remote control issue. Try the standard Windows remote desktop, Its been working flawlessly for me! . Happy New Year to you all.!
@4:05 why yes, yes it does ... sipping a stiff Bourbon coffee while sitting in a camp chair wrapped in a blanket and armed with an EOS Rebel SL1, a nifty fifty, and an 18-55 kit lens. No intervalometer, no tracker. Me, Orion's belt (specifically focusing on M42 at the moment), and a quick (20 min) drive outta the Central Valley into the Sierra foothills to an obscure Bortle 3/4 location. Weather's been iffy in terms of clouds and it's probably 40 degrees warmer here than where you are. Wishing you, and each and every one of all y'alls a prosperous, safe, and healthy 2025, with many, many, many clear sky nights! Happy NYE; time to start packing up the gear and brewing that coffee!
This may be expensive telescope, but only a few years ago the Takahashi FSQ-85 used to be the only option for a Petzval in this class and it’s over $4k USD.
I get where you're coming from. It's been cloudy over here in The Netherlands ever since November pretty much. In all those weeks I've had maaaaaybe 60 minutes of clear skies. You constantly think about what a shame it is. Long dark nights and no option to image whatsoever. Yesterday I went to bed seeing loads of clouds and the occasional rain shower. I woke up this morning, opened the shutters and the skies were clear... but again, no option to image since it was beginning to dawn. Hopefully it clears up this weekend. But that's what the forecasters have been saying for weeks right now so I guess it's just wait and see.
For an all sky solution I have use indi-all sky on my raspberry pi with an HD RPi camera. Every 15 seconds a pic is taken and I run it through an AI model I built to give me the current conditions: Clear, Partly Cloudy, Cloudy, Rain. If cloudy or rainy I ping my phone with the pic using the iOS Pushover app. It all works well. I’d be happy to share my AI model file.
Hi I am using also the indi-allsky software. Would be great to see how your AI model works as I am searching a way to get notified via phone when the sky is clear enough to start imaging / or cloudy enough to stop it 🙂.
I'd use chrome remote instead of anydesk, you have to be logged in on the same google account with both devices, then there is no usage time limit and it works really stable for me.
Nice video! We also tested WO RedCat 91 and will drop video of comparison with WO MiniCat 51 today! For all-sky, you can try running allskeye. But if you wanted a more permanent setup, like heated enclosure with acrylic dome, raspberry pi with indigo is also an option. For more details, you can drop me a message :)
Hi Trevor. Thank you for all your great videos. I have fallen in love with the hobby over the past few months. I am still quite a novice. I would appreciate it if someone would answer a question which may be a stupid question. I notice that you left your equipment out while you went out. My question is why are so many experienced astrophotographers comfortable to leave their gear exposed to the weather and unattended? Why do you seem not too concerned that thousands of dollars of equipment may get damaged by rain? Sorry if these are stupid questions.
Hey astrobackyard, love your video and results are excellent, i got into this field after watching your videos and having a telescope for 2 years, i am currently doing astrophotography with my meade polaris 127eq and s23 phone in a city ( fully manual even without ra motor ) and i think i have taken a fairly good result of orion, andromeda and pleiades (single shoot) with 4 second and 2 second exposure ( but can't stack as not centered images ) I am thinking to upgrade my telescope to explore scientific 150/750mm telescope with ra motor so i can take long exposure with centered object so i can do stacking ( but photography with phone ), as for now i can't spend so much into this but i really want to take long exposure and stack and process them to make better results. I will be glad for any tips, Thank you.
Hi Trevor, I used Chrome Remote Desktop to access the PC in my Obs from in the house. It work really well and handles my multi-monitor setup in the obs. Letting me view either monitor independently or both on the one screen, even through they are two different resolutions.
Dude! I highly recommend the Wyzecam v4 for an all sky monitor. High quality, endless feed, you can magnetically attach it to whatever you want (tripod leg), and it’s $35 US.
That’s not disappointing at all! Although I’m coming from a simple Seestar 50 user’s viewpoint. Not sure I have the required ‘grey matter’ upstairs to handle a setup and software like you use.
Nice image, though at that focal length it would be interesting to see it really put through it's paces on a smaller, lower mag apparent target, like a Galaxy, with 90 mins of exposures...
Question for the community: Wouldn’t it be cool if you could use the rotator and an ASI Air software mod to take long exposure photos on an Alt-Az mount? (Meade LX200).
Between Askar and Redcat's high-end and Askar/Sharpstar and Svbony's mid-range options, I'm mostly curious to see how Skywatcher responds as they're really getting left behind when it comes to optics, build quality, and price.
for the all sku camera, I went stick mini pc, a derivation box for electrical connection, basically a plastic box with a lid, and a plastic dome form aliexpress, it took me all of 5 m inutes to drill a hole and glue the dome on the box with silicon, plus I forewent Anydesk for the same time out issue and chose google remote desktop
(Suggestions for remote viewing) Well security cameras for pointing at the stars reveals the "seeing". Mine is pointed (centered) at the North Star, and has a wide field of view. I use Wyze Cam v3 4k outdoor CMOS starlight 2.5 video $25 US
I think you are ready to rent out the rig as remote observatory :). Some serious rig there. I am doing a trying to do a simple startup version, my all sky camera is a Xiaomi Security camera with a wide angle, gives me all time sky data easily on mobile and alternates in case of movements in sky (clouds). My simple Celestron Alt-Az mount (with wedge for EQ) with Starsense autoalign, skyportal wifi module, SV48P and canon EOS R, controlling everything from inside the warmth of the house :)
You attach your Asiair to your home Wi-Fi so you aren't limited to the bad range of the built-in Wi-Fi. You can do that with the Seestar as well so you can be anywhere in your home Wi-Fi range, still control it, and watch images appear. I could walk across the street and still have access to my gear in my backyard.
Hi, for remote control with a PI I have very good experience with XRDP on the PI. Maybe possible on the ASIAir and then use windows remotecontrol. If you have good WIFI in the Backyard. Happy new Year 2025 and CS.
I’m not Trev, but because I experienced it before : pinched optic happens when a telescope’s lens (or mirror) is held too tightly in place, causing it to deform slightly. This distortion affects the image quality and makes stars look triangular or blurry instead of round.
I am very happy with free RustDesk Remote Desktop software (created with Rust programming language) Thank you for your great channel content, and a Happy New Year is wished to you and your family!
Clear skies for 2025.And have fun with Skyrim. We need something to do while the clouds have their say.I have skyrim downloaded but i cant get over CP2077 yet.
lol heavily modded skyrim. im usually on Overwatch 2 while my laptop to the side is showing NINA from my miniPC outside. i can also access it anywhere in the world :)
An AstroBackyard vídeo on new years eve???? What a way to end the year 😮💨 Also stunning image and clear skies for 2025!
That sinking feeling of watching the clouds roll in over a winter night...we've all been there! Nice image for that little integration time. Thanks for another banger, Trevor!
Hi Trevor, I just wanted to say you’ve seriously inspired me over the past year and have really helped me get into astrophotography properly. Last night I managed to take my first ever detailed photo of a DSO, stacked and all, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you. Ironically, it’s of the Pleiades too. Thanks for everything you do, and as always, clear skies! 🌌❤
(Ps. I’ve uploaded the image on my shorts for anyone interested)
Just checked out your short, really cool image, congrats!
Keep it going 🎉
Great review. Can't wait to see the images when you get to play with the 91 further, after the skies clear.
Recently bought a spacecat 61 and I’m very pleased with its performance with a full-frame sensor. Acceptable stars and very nice color.
Glad to see you back on after a somewhat seemingly long hiatus....
I've been using the Cat91 for a couple weeks. Very impressed with the performance.
Congrats on getting a December image, ive not had clear skies where I am in the UK since early November although tonight is supposed to be the first clear night of 2025 🤞
Brings back memories of the 80’s and my 8” Meade and yashica film camera! Cold nights in Virginia!
That’s a beautiful image for only 1.5 hrs integration time! Happy New Year!
Just wanted to wish you and Ashley the best for the new year. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thanks for all the great videos and information to help the art of astrophotography become main stream.
Thank you! Happy New Year!
Playing ultra mod Skyrim, while capturing astro images. That sounds like a great evening :)
Very nice image considering the short integration time. Good thing this hobby is getting more automated all the time. You wouldn’t want to miss those clouds! After 50 cloudy nights I finally got a break in the clouds for 5 hours and managed to image the Crab Nebula with my C8. Nice to be outside at night again, and it was warm (-4oC) too!! Looking forward to more content from you in 2025. Best wishes to you, Ash and Rudy! Dr B from Manitoba, Canada 🇨🇦
I just started getting into astrophotography, I got some pictures of the moon, Jupiter, Betelgeuse, Serius, etc but the only reason I got into it was because of you videos. So thank you so for your videos and helping me get into this amazing hobby!
Run ! You still have some time, but soon you’ll cross the event horizon and you’ll be stuck in forever! 😂
Looks like a great scope and nice image!
And I am totally with you on the northern weather. I am in Michigan and the only clear night I have had since October was a couple weeks ago at 0 degrees F. My focus motor couldn't move the frozen grease in the focuser and failed a focus routine, my battery pack froze up (despite being plugged in to the garage) and my dew heater couldn't keep up against the frost. So I only got about 2.5 hours of Orion. Now it looks like cloudy weather for a couple weeks.
Gotta love this hobby!
Ashley and Rudy were the smart ones! Happy New Year from Mel in Sydney
Wonderful image! Nice scope for sure, but will beyond my budget... Happy New Year to you, Ash, Rudy the astro dog and to everyone else to! 🎉🎶🎶🎊🎆🎇
Just bought my first refractor. Nothing as fancy as a Redcat 91 but I got the Zenithstar 61. Excited to give it a try but being in the Pacific Northwest of the US, I too have very few clear nights in Winter.
"I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee." - Every Guard in Skyrim haha
Amazing video! Can't wait to eventually get my hands on that bad boy! Thank you Trevor for your amazing videos, your knowledge of astrophotography and the smiles that you place on peoples faces. Have a wonderful New Years to you and your wife Ashley and can't wait to see what you'll bring in 2025! 🎉
Minus 20c..I have no words.. thats nuts. Great image for the short time you got.
Thank you!!
Nice shot of the Subaru cluster.
im going to get a dobsonian for my birthday its already on the way and i cant wait to use it because its a huge improvement from my celestron astromaster 90, also keep up the absolutely amazing images!
Nice Trevor!
Happy New Year to you both!
I picked one of these up as well, my first refractor. I haven’t had a long session with it yet but I’m planning on pointing it at Orion very soon.
The other December challenge is shooting from home when surrounded by houses with Christmas lights on the front AND BACK of the houses. Literally no place to set up that doesn't have a light beam pointed at it. Come on January! That looks like a great scope though.
I just upgraded from my DSLR to an ASI294MC Color Pro. Very much looking forward to the first clear night to start using it.
My best takeaway from this video is the hair dryer tip. This is my first winter with my full setup so thats good to know.
Finally a new video😊
That turned out kinda amaaazzing🎉
Trevor, the Primalucelab dual saddle clamp works perfectly when attached to the asiair with only one screw as a secure asiair mount for a Losmandy or vixen rail
Wow! Look at all that white stuff on the ground. Nice looking rig.
William seems to make some really good telescopes. Awesome marketing, too. Cool name, Redcat, look cool… win-win…
Great image Trevor for just over 1 hour!. Amazing. Regarding the remote control issue. Try the standard Windows remote desktop, Its been working flawlessly for me! . Happy New Year to you all.!
Not bad for over an hour! About to look at my M45 data from the other night!
Many thanks for the audio french translation !!!
Skyrim for the win !!! Best regards from a Venezuelan follower in Panama !!!
@4:05 why yes, yes it does ... sipping a stiff Bourbon coffee while sitting in a camp chair wrapped in a blanket and armed with an EOS Rebel SL1, a nifty fifty, and an 18-55 kit lens. No intervalometer, no tracker. Me, Orion's belt (specifically focusing on M42 at the moment), and a quick (20 min) drive outta the Central Valley into the Sierra foothills to an obscure Bortle 3/4 location. Weather's been iffy in terms of clouds and it's probably 40 degrees warmer here than where you are. Wishing you, and each and every one of all y'alls a prosperous, safe, and healthy 2025, with many, many, many clear sky nights! Happy NYE; time to start packing up the gear and brewing that coffee!
This may be expensive telescope, but only a few years ago the Takahashi FSQ-85 used to be the only option for a Petzval in this class and it’s over $4k USD.
Owning all those telescopes is wild
Could you test this out with a medium format camera just to see what you can capture. 🤩
I get where you're coming from. It's been cloudy over here in The Netherlands ever since November pretty much. In all those weeks I've had maaaaaybe 60 minutes of clear skies. You constantly think about what a shame it is. Long dark nights and no option to image whatsoever. Yesterday I went to bed seeing loads of clouds and the occasional rain shower. I woke up this morning, opened the shutters and the skies were clear... but again, no option to image since it was beginning to dawn. Hopefully it clears up this weekend. But that's what the forecasters have been saying for weeks right now so I guess it's just wait and see.
I've been waiting for reviews on this scope thinking about getting it.
Definitely gonna try station mode! Sounds divine.
Sounds like your home network could use an upgrade with a dedicated remote PoE access point out in the garage for the telescopes.
Exelente pléyades Trev y doblado al español saludos de ARGENTINA y happy new year!!!!!
You need to send that thing to Starfront! Great video as usual..
Happy New Year!
Great Video thinking of grabbing one of these
Trevor, just wondering how you like the WIFD focusing system. Seems like a good idea and should help with any flexing on the imaging system.
For an all sky solution I have use indi-all sky on my raspberry pi with an HD RPi camera. Every 15 seconds a pic is taken and I run it through an AI model I built to give me the current conditions: Clear, Partly Cloudy, Cloudy, Rain. If cloudy or rainy I ping my phone with the pic using the iOS Pushover app. It all works well. I’d be happy to share my AI model file.
Hi I am using also the indi-allsky software. Would be great to see how your AI model works as I am searching a way to get notified via phone when the sky is clear enough to start imaging / or cloudy enough to stop it 🙂.
Nice video ! What is a méridien flip ?
Awesome video!
I'd use chrome remote instead of anydesk, you have to be logged in on the same google account with both devices, then there is no usage time limit and it works really stable for me.
Keen to get my dwarf 3 in the coming days to take my first steps (sides a random orion pic) into this world.
My guy said "Ultra modded" Skyrim, I knew you was official! 👍🤣
Nice video! We also tested WO RedCat 91 and will drop video of comparison with WO MiniCat 51 today! For all-sky, you can try running allskeye. But if you wanted a more permanent setup, like heated enclosure with acrylic dome, raspberry pi with indigo is also an option. For more details, you can drop me a message :)
Hi Trevor. Thank you for all your great videos. I have fallen in love with the hobby over the past few months. I am still quite a novice. I would appreciate it if someone would answer a question which may be a stupid question. I notice that you left your equipment out while you went out. My question is why are so many experienced astrophotographers comfortable to leave their gear exposed to the weather and unattended? Why do you seem not too concerned that thousands of dollars of equipment may get damaged by rain? Sorry if these are stupid questions.
Hey astrobackyard, love your video and results are excellent, i got into this field after watching your videos and having a telescope for 2 years, i am currently doing astrophotography with my meade polaris 127eq and s23 phone in a city ( fully manual even without ra motor ) and i think i have taken a fairly good result of orion, andromeda and pleiades (single shoot) with 4 second and 2 second exposure ( but can't stack as not centered images )
I am thinking to upgrade my telescope to explore scientific 150/750mm telescope with ra motor so i can take long exposure with centered object so i can do stacking ( but photography with phone ), as for now i can't spend so much into this but i really want to take long exposure and stack and process them to make better results.
I will be glad for any tips,
Thank you.
Hi Trevor, I used Chrome Remote Desktop to access the PC in my Obs from in the house. It work really well and handles my multi-monitor setup in the obs. Letting me view either monitor independently or both on the one screen, even through they are two different resolutions.
Thabks for the tip! I'll check it out :)
あけましておめでとうございます🎍
素晴らしい望遠鏡ですが、お値段が高いかなあ😅Pleiades111はRedCatのレデューサー版と考えるといいのかなあ🤔
GREAT!!! Thanks!
Can you let me know what I would need to mount my AM5n to that exact mount from Starfield.
Dude! I highly recommend the Wyzecam v4 for an all sky monitor. High quality, endless feed, you can magnetically attach it to whatever you want (tripod leg), and it’s $35 US.
…and the app is great!
Nice im debating on buying red cat 71 bundle rn but idk 😂 kinda nervous going from seestar s50 to the big boys toys lol
The manufacturer doesn't include the attachment that filters out the clouds? I'm kidding of course! :) It looks awesome!
That’s not disappointing at all! Although I’m coming from a simple Seestar 50 user’s viewpoint. Not sure I have the required ‘grey matter’ upstairs to handle a setup and software like you use.
Id love to go mono, but with poor viewing in the UK ill stick with the OSC for the time being.
-20...jesus...done moscow at -20 ...grim.... happy new year bud
Nice image, though at that focal length it would be interesting to see it really put through it's paces on a smaller, lower mag apparent target, like a Galaxy, with 90 mins of exposures...
what bortle skies do you have where you live?
Question for the community:
Wouldn’t it be cool if you could use the rotator and an ASI Air software mod to take long exposure photos on an Alt-Az mount? (Meade LX200).
I used to be an astrophotographer like you but I took an arrow to the knee.
That hairdryer transition 😂
Between Askar and Redcat's high-end and Askar/Sharpstar and Svbony's mid-range options, I'm mostly curious to see how Skywatcher responds as they're really getting left behind when it comes to optics, build quality, and price.
3:57 Sounds ideal. :D
You left your scope running in the backyard while you were gone ?? I don't trust my neighbors when I go in the house to use the bathroom !! 😅
for the all sku camera, I went stick mini pc, a derivation box for electrical connection, basically a plastic box with a lid, and a plastic dome form aliexpress, it took me all of 5 m inutes to drill a hole and glue the dome on the box with silicon, plus I forewent Anydesk for the same time out issue and chose google remote desktop
Thanks for the tips :)
Am ready to see
(Suggestions for remote viewing) Well security cameras for pointing at the stars reveals the "seeing". Mine is pointed (centered) at the North Star, and has a wide field of view. I use Wyze Cam v3 4k outdoor CMOS starlight 2.5 video $25 US
I think you are ready to rent out the rig as remote observatory :). Some serious rig there. I am doing a trying to do a simple startup version, my all sky camera is a Xiaomi Security camera with a wide angle, gives me all time sky data easily on mobile and alternates in case of movements in sky (clouds). My simple Celestron Alt-Az mount (with wedge for EQ) with Starsense autoalign, skyportal wifi module, SV48P and canon EOS R, controlling everything from inside the warmth of the house :)
Happy New year to you, what is ASI station mode please?
You attach your Asiair to your home Wi-Fi so you aren't limited to the bad range of the built-in Wi-Fi. You can do that with the Seestar as well so you can be anywhere in your home Wi-Fi range, still control it, and watch images appear. I could walk across the street and still have access to my gear in my backyard.
@@bartholomule Thats for that Bart.
Does it really test your love for the game when your sitting inside having a pint? =D Great vid!!!
great pint.. I mean point 😄
I think I would watch your videos purely for the music cuts alone.
Song name at the end?
Gracias el video esta en español.
Hi, for remote control with a PI I have very good experience with XRDP on the PI. Maybe possible on the ASIAir and then use windows remotecontrol. If you have good WIFI in the Backyard. Happy new Year 2025 and CS.
Clear skies for 2025!
I see large, inflated stars, why? A problem (reflexions or whatever) with your LRGB Filters?
I’m currently at 3 months with no clear skies, in the middle of my mosaic project that you’re aware of. Sigh
Was it Pinched Optics Trev?
I’m not Trev, but because I experienced it before : pinched optic happens when a telescope’s lens (or mirror) is held too tightly in place, causing it to deform slightly. This distortion affects the image quality and makes stars look triangular or blurry instead of round.
I am very happy with free RustDesk Remote Desktop software (created with Rust programming language) Thank you for your great channel content, and a Happy New Year is wished to you and your family!
Beautiful piece of equipment but those cables really put me off, sorry to say. Nice video!
Randomly i found u! U don't see drones or orbs? Ok u have seen the orbs, i would like to see then too! Its time!
Clear skies for 2025.And have fun with Skyrim. We need something to do while the clouds have their say.I have skyrim downloaded but i cant get over CP2077 yet.
lol heavily modded skyrim. im usually on Overwatch 2 while my laptop to the side is showing NINA from my miniPC outside. i can also access it anywhere in the world :)
Really jealous bro, all the rigs are produced in china where here i am, but i still cannot afford such rigs😢
I'm ashamed to say I was unaware of ASIAir's station mode.
Woah :)
My wallet went crying to a corner after seeing the price tag of the scope alone... 😢
They give your a free slide base a value of 100 bucks!! 😂
-20 .. wow man, guess you didn't need to put too much effort into cooling the camera!