NGC6164 - First light

[xa-coupe]

I have had a second hand GSO newt for a while now and have waited to work through some other issues before busting it out. Last night I decided to give it a whirl. So, despite being second hand it is first light for me, it is also first light for NINA for me. I love APT and know my way around it pretty well but there is one bug that drives me nuts and last night was the end of that.


I failed to get a bahtinov mask for it so I am not convinced it is as crisp as it could be but we take what we can get. Today a session with some cardboard and a hobby knife will fix that.



It's only about 1 1/2 hours data for something that's going to need a lot more to bring out the finer detail but it's possible to see some detail is going to emerge later.

[Startrek]

Jeff,
That’s a fine image for a first attempt
Well done !!
I don’t bother with a bat mask as my newts diffraction spikes do the focusing for me with APT , works perfect every time , been doing it for over a year now with and without the L Extreme filter
I just find a mag 2.0 to 3.0 Star near the area of my target or along it’s path , usually between 40 and 60 degrees Alt to get away from any low level dispersion etc...
I take 20 sec exposures and just tweak my EAF handcontroller until the diffraction spikes are like swords or spikes , nice and tight , and I’m done. Usually takes 5 minutes . The thumbnails on the right hand side are zoomed in enough to get a good visual on focus
These software controlled auto focusers are fine but I don’t like being totally reliant on technology when it come to focusing , I like using my eyes as my eyes see the final result , not graphs and waveforms etc... Each to their own
Enjoy your GSO newt ( what aperture and focal length is it )

Cheers
Martin

[xa-coupe]

I never thought of using the diffraction spikes! My only comment is they are quite small on the image but given I wasn't looking at them with an eye for focus, I'll revisit it.... and remember to take out the filter.
Thank you yet again.

[multiweb]

Great first light. Top shot actually. Perfect focus and as good as it gets for a small newt. Plenty of details. You just need to add data now. That's pretty much all there is to it. :thumbsup:

[Startrek]

The thumbnails on the right provides a large enough image of the ( focus ) Star , more than enough detail for my terrible eye sight ( I have myopia , astigmatism, positive virtuous detachment and the early signs of glaucoma )
Just make sure you select a mag 2.0 to mag 3.0 Single bright Star as your test focus Star
Refer my attached photo of the thumbnail in APT whilst imaging M8 last night ( this is not a test focus , its just a regular sub , but you can see how big a mag 5 or mag 6 star in the core of M8 is the window , a mag 2 to mag 3 size star fills half the window of the thumbnail) sorry I don’t have a test focus photo of a Star , maybe next time I’m out I should take one so I can demonstrate how good this focusing system is using a Star and its diffraction spikes
Cheers
Martin

[Startrek]

Jeff
I’m out focusing in my Dome now
Some photos of my focus Star Alnair
A few more tweaks and done
Cheers
Martin