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iceman
08-08-2011, 05:58 AM
I'm trying.. I'm trying to motivate myself to get outside and do some planetary imaging again.

I figured the best way is to do it methodically - having a plan and a goal.

My first goal is to get a nice image of Jupiter in the morning sky. My next goal will be to get some nice images of the Sun, in preparation for the Venus transit.

My plan consists of 5 steps:

1. Get a new, more sensitive planetary imaging camera

DONE. The Imaging Source (http://www.astronomycameras.com) have been kind enough to loan me a DMK21AU618 and a DMK41AU02, for the purposes of testing it out and writing a review of each.
The DMK21AU618 is the 'upgraded' DMK21AU04 with a more sensitive CCD.
I'm hoping it'll be in the same league as the Flea3, which has been the planetary imaging camera of choice for the experienced guys over the last 12-18+ months.

2. Wash the mirror

DONE. I got my scope out yesterday, laid it on the outside table (picture 1) and took the mirror out to wash it. It'd been over 2 years since I last washed it, and there was a layer of dust on it which came off ok, but there's some ingrained stains and marks of some kind that just won't wash off. It's like they're underneath the coating.
I tried to show it in the second image below but it doesn't really show up much in the image. I'm not really sure there's much I can do about it?
Any suggestions?
What does re-coating a 12" mirror cost?

I also washed the outside of my scope for the first time in 4 years. Didn't quite come up shiny as new, but it's as white as it's looked for a long time :)

3. Collimate the scope

DONE. Now that really had been a while. Like I expected, it started out very clunky but using Don Pensack's brilliant article (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-390-0-0-1-0.html) to guide me, it started to come back to me and now my scope is nicely collimated.

4. Prepare the Scope, Mount and Camera for Imaging

This really consists of 5 sub-parts:

Get the scope balanced on the mount. I can't remember the best spot to place the scope in the rings, so need to play around with that again.
Polar align the mount. The marks on the pavers have long since washed away, so I need to (remember how to!) polar align and re-mark the pavers.
Align the finderscope
Re-attach the Telrad. It came off a while ago and the double-sided tape has gone.
Get the filterwheel, filters and camera ready. I probably need to clean the filters, tighten the screws in the filterwheel housing, check the 5x powermate, test getting focus, etc. I'll probably start off on the Moon to make this step easier.


5. Set the alarm and get outside!

This has been the hardest step over the past 2+ years. A continuing run of bad weather and bad seeing made it just too easy to stay in bed. Especially in winter!
So the whole process of setting up the scope the night before, setting the alarm to get up at 3am, going out and checking the seeing, deciding whether it was clear enough and steady enough to stay outside and image, and then pack up again before heading off to work - THIS step is the hardest.
If you come away with a good image, it makes it worthwhile and motivates you for next time. If you keep getting bad seeing, the motivation dies very quickly and you start HOPING for clouds or bad seeing so you can go back to bed straight away. That's what started my down hill slide :)


Anyway, there's my goals and my plan.


I'll worry about cooling the mirror etc later - I just want to get out there and get some data!

Obviously data processing is the next step. It's been so long since I've used Registax, I don't really understand v6 yet. Haven't used Ninox or WinNinox for too long, don't really know if there's any other, better alternatives.

And of course TIME - time to process the data. That's going to be a real struggle for me too. I'd like to think I could use the time on the train, but I know that processing images on battery power will drain it in less than an hour.

I'm going to try and get out with the Moon this week while it's in a favourable night-time position but the forecast isn't great. Will see how I go!

Thanks for reading.

mswhin63
08-08-2011, 06:12 AM
Nice read mike, I too want to get back into more deeper imaging and was hoping to catch Saturn before it gets too low. I hope there is still time. But I think the best motivation will be an observatory.

Lugging the gear outside every-time and getting the alignment set-up etc is the most annoying part, especially when my shoulder is still playing up. With an site set-up then it is so easy to get started with minimal fuss. Still wont stop me getting out whenever but an observatory would be a nice touch.

Good luck with getting things going.

maphilli14
08-08-2011, 07:08 AM
Mike, #5 is hardest for me! I will also offer my encouragement, as you've been out way to long and you're expertise and images are missed much!

Mike P

iceman
08-08-2011, 07:17 AM
Thanks - and you're right about an observatory.

If I had an observatory, the whole process of setting up and packing away would drop from 20-30 minutes to 5 minutes. It would be much easier to justify the whole process.

But I don't have the space or funds for an observatory right now :(


Thanks Mike - nice to hear from you.

I was actually going to contact you and speak about image processing. I know you've been doing lots of experimentation and documenting your process and workflow, so I was going to find out some hints and find out what has changed in the last 2 years! :)

And yeh, #5 is a killer.

Satchmo
08-08-2011, 08:15 AM
Mike - your coating certainly looks on the way out- maybe $300+ for a new one with quartz overcoating ?

Phil Hart
08-08-2011, 08:16 AM
good to hear you're trying to get your imaging mojo back mike!

now you've made it public there's no going back.

if i made a plan like this, my wife (kaz) would ask me 'so what are you giving up'? one thing on the list.. one (or two) other things off the list.. except i'm not usually very good at that part!

Phil

iceman
08-08-2011, 08:20 AM
Thanks Mark. Is Isaac the person to ask about this?


Thanks Phil.

Hmm, Kaz is right but certainly we don't like to admit it. I don't want to give up Karate. My wife will not want me to give up spending time with her when the kids have gone to bed.

So it'll probably be sleep that I have to give up. :)

Allan_L
08-08-2011, 11:33 AM
Good to see someone else has similar issues re motivation. :)
It is good that you post this as I am sure it helps to motivate others too.

Maybe we will see you up at the Pony Club a bit more now? :thumbsup:

PS: Nice to see you wearing the IISAC T-Shirt !
Is that part of the motivation regime. ? :)

rogerg
08-08-2011, 11:55 AM
Good to hear you're trying to get back into it Mike :thumbsup:

We've had reasonably good wet weather over here which hasn't helped me. During a recent fine break last week I felt the urge to get some survey shots, but what do you know... PC is completely dead after it's break. So it's back in the shop and now I have a wait ahead of me. So .. just as I was getting back to it, I got stopped at the starting blocks :( Hope you have more success!

Quark
08-08-2011, 12:29 PM
Sounds like a plan Mike,

The DMK21AU618 sounds interesting, it would be great if they change the IC Capture software to allow for a wider range of frame rates and to automatically match the exposure to the selected frame rate, as currently happens with FireCapture. It might be worth the experiment to see if the new DMK will run on FireCapture.

Having the ability to capture 16 bit data with the Flea3 is a bonus. Well, 12 bit really as the last four digits are all zero's and don't contribute to the image. I have seen some nice images that have been captured with the new DMK, however they have been with C-14"s from the US where Jup is at a higher alt than it is currently for us. As a matter of interest for the last 12 months all of my Saturn captures have been as 16bit FIT files not 8 bit avi although I have been going with 8 bit avi for Jupiter simply because of the bottle neck that occurs with my particular capture setup when trying to dump 16bit data at more than 50 fps onto my 2 Tb external drive. Obviously the higher frame rates with 8 bit data don't cause such problems.

Look forward to seeing what you produce with the new DMK.

Regards
Trevor

Dennis
08-08-2011, 03:57 PM
Hi Mike

You’ve made a terrific start already and kicking off with some (relatively) easy stuff such as semi hi-res lunar imaging, is a great plan. Seeing those big, beautiful craters and the gorgeous, sharp detail will inspire you. It should not require you to be at your peak of capturing and processing competence just yet and you should also have some fun and be able to laugh if things go wrong!:)

In the end, it all depends on good seeing conditions of course!:D

Bon voyage!:thumbsup:

Dennis

iceman
08-08-2011, 04:01 PM
Thanks Allan - i'll definitely be aiming to get to the Pony Club in August. Even if just as an observer :)

The IISAC t-shirt was my gardening shirt yesterday :)


Bummer Roger, that's enough to de-motivate you again :) I hope your computer gets sorted quickly.


Thanks Trevor - I'll have to check out FireCapture. I assume it can capture from USB and not just firewire devices? (unless Fire in the name has nothing to do with firewire ;))

I forgot that the Flea3 is 12 bit. I'm sure that will make a difference too but hopefully the 618 will be a step up from the DMK21AU04.



Thanks Dennis, I'm looking forward to capturing some lunar images. There hasn't been enough hi-res lunar images posted on IIS of late. Time to change that :)

Though the forecast isn't good for tonight.

leon
08-08-2011, 04:22 PM
Step 2 to 5 is probably your most urgent i guess, :shrug: than once that is done you will deserve a new camera. :P :lol:

Leon :thumbsup:

Alchemy
08-08-2011, 05:03 PM
The chance to test a new camera will help.

Haven't done a lot of imaging myself for a long while.... Dabbled, but not done a multi night run. And I have got an observatory.:rolleyes:

Even thought of selling it all . Unbelievable cloud cover has been the main culprit.

A new camera for me would help, I want to get a qhy9 or similar. But given the wifes car exploded and burned 4 weeks ago, funds are required for her first..

Still enjoy looking at the work of others here, so that gives me some hope.

Lester
10-08-2011, 03:41 PM
Looking forward to your results Mike. Does the DMK41 still have a slower FPS capability than the DMK21 ?

All the best.

iceman
10-08-2011, 06:06 PM
Thanks Clive - I hope you find your mojo again soon.

Lester, yes - the DMK41 only does 15fps with a bigger chip (1280x1024 res).