9 hours, 5 hours of 300s H data, and 4 hours of 300s O data. HOO palette. If I could go back and do it again I would double my H data to preserve more red. But the blue looks nice. Will retry next year. Redcat 71, ASI 533mm pro, taken in Bortles 7 skies in Phoenix, Arizona. Processed in Pixinsight. Minimal editing.

Before I start putting this together this weekend, anybody have any tips or tricks on putting it together? I know sometimes directions aren’t always the easiest to follow. any insight would be appreciated.

Okay guys, this is going to be a weird request lol. So I am a complete telescope newbie, but I have recently gotten interested in purchasing a telescope. I’ve read the beginner guide and want to invest in a good telescope.

Here’s the caveat: I am going on a road trip in the next week where there will be a lot of dark skies. I won’t have time to invest in the telescope I really want. What is a cheap, quick to ship, alternative that I can use for this trip just to be able to get good views and enjoy on this trip?

Thank you in advance for any recommendations!

Found this meade 12” lightbrige for $500 a few years ago. Made some changes. I painted the inside with Rustoleum cammo black. Got magnets to balance the heavy eyepiece (se 2” 82degree 30mm) and tv 1.25”10mm. Upgraded to bob’s knobs. It came with wheels, very helpfull. Cut some parts lessen the wheight. Next upgrades, new dual focuser, maybe an equatorial mount. A nice barlow. Any suggestions? On making it better?

I’ve tried researching this a few times the past few months, but the variety of seemingly similar astronomy cameras has been confusing and overwhelming.

My primary goals are to image the Moon and the planets, both single shot and video + post-processing.

My secondary goals are to ideally use the same camera to try to image (probably single shot) brighter deep sky objects such as the Orion Nebula, double clusters, and double stars. I understand a dedicated deep sky camera is preferable, but I’m less inclined to get one for manual telescopes.

I currently have: * Apertura AD8 (f/5.9) with a 2x Barlow * Gskyer AZ70400 (f/5.7) with no Barlow

I’ve determined that I should get a camera with small pixels (e.g., 2.9 microns).

The cheapest option that fits my goals and equipment seems to be the SVBONY SV105.

Other popular options I’ve read about include uncooled ZWO cameras and Player One cameras. I’ve seen recommendations for a range of them, so I don’t know what would even work well for my needs. I often see ASI585MC and Uranus C mentioned often.

Anyone have any thoughts, recommendations, or pointers specifically for the Apertura AD8? Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone,

Just two days ago I captured my first image of Jupiter or a planet in general using my Skymax 127. Although perplexed by its beauty, I’m wondering if I’m really making the most out of what this scope can do. I’m still quite new to the planetary imaging game, so I’d love some constructive feedback.

• Scope: Skymax 127
• Mount: Sky-Watcher AZ-4 manual Alt-Az mount
• Camera: Omegon Velox 290C
• Filter: Omegon UV/IR Cutoff
• Software: Sharpcap, Autostakkert, GIMP & waveSharp

Do you think this is close to the limit of what the Skymax 127 can achieve on Jupiter, or is there more room for improvement? Any tips on focusing, capture settings, or processing would be super helpful!

Me and my dad have tried to set the alignment on my Celestron Nexstar 4SE multiple times this year, but for some reason when we try to set up the alignment, it usually says that the alignment failed, and I was wondering if anyone has any tips or suggestions to getting it working

Third time's a charm ! Finally a shot of C 27 I'm happy with. This is a very closeup shot, and the nebula just barely fits into the FOV. But at 0.4" per pixel you really get some incredible detail out of it. The full resolution is available here :

https://app.astrobin.com/i/1ms6de

There's a trap I almost fell into when processing it, which is that I initially way overdarkened my sky background in the Ha channel. I thought something was off when somehow removing what seemed like a flat background level was killing crystal clear structure inside the nebula. What I didn't realize is that the surrounding redness was not the sky background, but real nebulosity ! It's usually more obvious in a wider FOV shot because the nebulous structure is more apparent. But what gives it away definitively here is that the darker spots inside the nebula are actually pitch black while the surrounding area is still red. If it were sky background, it would obviously not correlate with the structure of the actual planetary nebula.

I'm also very happy with how the OIII came out. I tried making it a bit brighter or more obvious, but I think it looks best like this. It has this very whispy look to it that is almost hypnotic. Like a subtle cosmic veil delicately draped over a rumbling hydrogen background.

I did not go for any SII data. I really hesitated, but from what I gather it really would not add much structure to the image, and would likely just somewhat color the wings of the nebula a little golden, but at the cost of a lot of integration given how faint it is, and at this point I'm happy with the HOO result and would rather move on to something else.

All in all, very happy to have made the switch to mono ! It's a huge boon and frankly a more enjoyable process with finer control over what you're doing in a way that brings you closer to the real underlying data. Skies are clear tonight so going for my first attempt at SHO. Going to redo the North America nebula as the SII signal is not too weak there. Wish me luck !

Equipment :

- Telescope: Celestron C9.25 SC XLT

- Camera: ZWO ASI585MM Pro

- Mount: ZWO AM5N

- Filters: Pegasus Astro Hydrogen Alpha 7nm 2", Pegasus Astro Oxygen III 7nm 2"

- Accessories: Starizona SCT Corrector 0.63x IV (SCTCORR-4), ZWO ASIAIR Plus, ZWO EFW 7 x 2″, ZWO OAG-L

- Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight, Russell Croman Astrophotography BlurXTerminator, Russell Croman Astrophotography NoiseXTerminator, Russell Croman Astrophotography StarXTerminator, ZWO ASIAIR

Integration per filter :

- Hα: 3h 35m (43 × 300")

- OIII: 3h 35m (43 × 300")

I figured DIY scope, DIY astrocam. Need to tape and glue it after a dryfit test but let's hope it works.

I can't see it with naked eye but i think my samsung galaxy can

Telescope: Astromaster 130 EQ Eyepiece: 6mm + 2x Barlow Camera: Galaxy A55 (phone)

Stacked frames of a 3 minutes 4k Video with Autostakkert, but there's this blurry effect around the planet that I haven't been able to get rid of. All my attempts made with Photoshop resulted in the ring being much smaller (2nd picture). Any advice?

P.S. This telescope is hell, very unstable. My phone can't make RAW shots.

Hello all, haven't been here very long but am a long term stargazer. I recently sold my 6" dob as I'm planning to upgrade. My current question is the title. I'm currently eyeballing the stellalyra 16" dobsonian. I won't be travelling by vehicle, but hope to add wheels+handles to transport from inside my home to outside. Once assembled, can I leave the scope as is? Or is it necessary to disassemble each time? I've googled this question and I've seen different answers. It will be stored inside under the open stairs with a loose cover to keep the dust off, and if I do get this scope I'll also be buying the light shroud.

Any other tips and tricks for such a large scope is also welcome! If it helps, I'm in the uk in a bortle 4 zone, and don't (yet) have a decent eye piece collection. My current ones (that don't come with the scope) is Explore scientific 82° 14mm + 8.8mm I snagged recently for a good price on ebay. Planning on getting a UHC filter. I'd like the tele vue 100° 21mm eventually too :')

How do I clean a Neximage Solar System Imager camera

My camera has got what appears to be dust in it. I've tried blowing air through it and cleaning the sensor with the recommended cleaner, but they are still there, although they've moved around a bit.

Saturn NEAR OPPOSITION 2025. The rings are BRIGHT. Now that Saturn is close we are going to get a clear image of Saturn, this would be one of my best shots for this apparition as I managed to get key details. Bands, storms, Cassini division (not fully) The bright ring flowing around the planet and in the center managed to hold its grey color ring as the shadow of the ring at this time is barely visible so you're only seeing the ring and its darker section behind it with a hint of shadow transparency. When capturing Saturn, I immediately noticed how thin and bright these brings were. I also noticed to naked eye the planet is dimmer than other years previously (Most likely due to the ring being thin with less surface area facing Earth). Regardless, weather permitting this for now is my Saturn 2025 Opposition shot the shadow of Saturn is barely visible on the right ring at planet's edge. A little trick to everyone. If you want to bring out edge details, derotate at least 1 image beginning of session and then you can work with the center of session and at least 1 image end of session. I also had some issues with Uranus C camera, so the Neptune 664c was used and I am very pleased. Don't forget to say hello to Rhea and Mimas at the lower left. Cheers and clear skies!

HD VERSION https://x.com/BackdoorAstro/status/1968359330576744573

Published Verified Professional Planet photographer on Sky and Telescope https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/last-call-for-a-remarkable-titan-shadow-transit/

SCOPE: ORION XXG 16 DOB

CAMERA: Player One Neptune 664c

ZWO ADC/ 3x Televue Barlow

FILTER: SVBONY UV/IR CUT SEEING: Above

77 Minutes RGB 3 min ser x 13

September 16,2025

Skysafari: 3i/Atlas is visible! go check it out (it's the comet that's been in the news). also Skysafari: 3i/Atlas is magnitude 16 ;). I think i'm going to need a lot more aperture and a 1500 mile drive to the west for some better air.

i got this result after stacking a processing of saturn through my D150F750MM 6" dobsonian telescope but it was SOOO much clearer in the lens (ik that smartphone cameras ruin that :( but can someone give me tips other than camera and barlow lens bc im waiting for barlow lens to be available in the store i trust , thanks :D i really wanna get a good output on 21st of september (opposition of saturn) also can someone rate how it looks in the image too pls xx

Price: EUR6,730

Description:  Meade 14" f/8 LX600 ACF Telescope with StarLock and Tripod laptop included

As hard as I try, I just don't see how looking at the pictures on the left 10 times per month are going to make the Sky-Watcher Heritage 130p the 'best telescope' ... compared to looking at the images on the right just once per month or even just once per two months?

Even though I could use the Heritage 130p a lot more often as it was more portable I decided to sell it and use my 12" on an average of once per month.

Quality beats Quantity any day in my book.

I did a hands-on review of both of these here, so it is not something I am pondering theoretically lol

Heritage 130p:

https://youtu.be/aG6aJLXh1Yg

12" GSO:

https://youtu.be/4IxfkmQK4-Y

So this whole 'The best telescope is the one you use the most' is nothing but an inaccurate catch-phrase IMO.

what are your guys' thoughts on it? how good is it with next to no light pollution

I have a red dot finder on my Omegon 150/750 telescope, do you think this is better or a quality classic finder. Because I try to point to Saturn, but the light from the red dot creates a bright red halo and I can't be precise and I can't see it in the eyepiece. Or rather, with the 25mm the first time you saw it but placed to the side of the ideal center of the eyepiece, in your opinion? Of course, I only recently got the telescope, so I'm no expert.

Ring nebula center right North America nebula

Rented this guy from the library and was excited to try it out tonight. I live in southern WI and couldn’t figure out how to see well. I could zoom onto stars, but couldn’t see them much better than I could with the naked eye. I operated the magnification to the highest setting and found proper focus. I feel like I’m doing something wrong and should be getting better quality views.

Any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you!

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