Posts Made By: Paul Hyndman

Alright... another digi-camer getting hooked on astro-imaging! (it's a real hoot, huh?)

Looks promising, but you might want to try processing a single moon shot rather than stacking them, as (in my admittedly limited experience) stacking is primarily beneficial in reinforcing a weak signal (which the moon is not) or to boost the signal to noise ratio (which again is usually not a problem with the moon).

Atmospheric disturbances usually cause small changes to constantly occur, and when imaging the moon, two images of the same area may each look crisp, but because there are subtle differences between them, stacking causes those differences to appear less focused (than in the individual shots). You end up blending two (or more) individually good shots to get one mediocre shot.

Save the Astrostack for the dim (deep space) or noisy (planets) targets... the moon can shine without it!

Here's a (ahem!) "little" digi-cam moon shot with no stacking:

http://www.astro-nut.com/gibbousmoon.jpg

I look forward to seeing your outcome!

Just my 2¢!

Paul

PS: Uhhh... so as to keep "on topic" in the equipment forum: Nice equipment, Ron!

--- http://www.astro-nut.com/ ---

Very promissing stuff Paul!

I'll be joining you shortly... my D60 is being sent out this next Monday (I'm just not ready for "Big Boy" CCD toys yet, and love the digicam's comparative simplicity! )

Now I just need a T-Ring, some lenses, a battery grip, a right angle viewfinder, a remote, a.... Ehhhh, what the hey... After salivating over the shots Johannes S and Mike U (among others now) are gathering, I needed in on the fun too!

(yet another) Paul


--- http://www-astro-nut.com ---

...or if you don't want to order it on-line or via mail-order, go to your local WalGreens (or drug store). I got one there a few years back for a couple of bucks.

Paul

The newer, lighter, smaller, metal cased, does all that the CoolPix 995 did and then some, CP4500 is shown at Pricegrabber.com at a price of $437 and the next highest price at $489:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?T2F615822

If you can at all swing it, you will be patting yourself on the back for getting one. I've had and used the CP995 for over a year, and am impressed with the strides made on this newer model... GREAT 4 megapixel images and a superb lens and readily available (inexpensive) direct-coupler mounts etc to get you into astro-imaging on a budget!

The swiveling function is super, and one of many facets I miss after moving over to a Canon D60 (I wanted a CMOS SLR for prime focus, longer exposures etc).

Here's an M42 image done last year with the lesser CP995 and a little weiner-dog 8" scope. Visit my site to see more CoolPix 995 images:

http://www.astro-nut.com/

Oh yeah, I almost forgot... these Nikons are great for "normal" use too!

Paul

They're big, heavy, and not too pretty to look at, but the views are usually superb! The below shot was taken with a run-of-the-mill CoolPix digital camera through one of the MN76's cousins, my MN86.

For more shots and my own (uhh) "reflections" on these scopes, visit my site at:

http://www.astro-nut.com/

Cheers,

Paul

Hi John,

There was no information when I got my MN86 several years ago, which prompted me to chronicle some of the things I encountered along the way, one of which was collimating the scope.

It's been a few years since I've visited this topic so some of the links may now be inactive, and some of the scopes's hardware may be somewhat different, but FWIW:

http://members.tripod.com/milton10/id25.htm

or

http://www.cloudynights.com/howto/maknewt.htm

Basically:

A combination Cheshire/sight-tube helps to assure the initial alignment is correct.

Though not absolutely necessary, a properly collimated laser (yes... they too need to be checked for collimation!) can help in isolating potential dynamic problems (ie: when the focuser position is changed) as well as in fine-tuning the alignment (or as quick check).

In my own view (YMMV!), the auto-collimator is worthless on these scopes, as you must be very close to being on the money before you can tell which way to adjust the primary (and as a double-pass test instrument, it is subject to erroneaous indications that a defocused star isn't).

The final alignment should always be done using a point source (a medium bright star centered in the FOV using medium power is ideal)... see my notes for a quck/easy/accurate one-man collimation procedure using a defocused star.

Once set up, these scopes seldom need more than a minor tweaking.... like if they come crashing off roof-rack while negotiating a bumpy road or if its too heavy to carry out back so you simply tumble it end-over-end to get it to the mount! )

Paul

Paul

Ahhhh... congratulations on your new "arrival"!

Replacing the Coronado case was one of the first things on my agenda as well, using one of the Lowes aluminum cases. I installed the pre-cut Coronado foam on one side, and some of the cube-foam on the other, with a partition between the two (the foam and partitions come with the Lowes cases). It works great and looks like a million bucks (if not quite a Zero-Halliburton).

The left hand side (the Coronado foam) has three round cutouts I'm going to remove to hold the Coronado CE eyepieces (due any week now) and the Coronado barlow will go in the front right section.

If I remember, I'll post a picture of it when I get home tonight....

Night time now... here it is:

Paul

One of the "Mister K" commercials for Nissan/Datsun ("Life is a journey... enjoy the ride!") had a profound impact on me.

I had long known this philosophy but always strove for a balance that assured I would not be "wanting" in my later years. Having been re-awakened to the concept that one could enjoy life along the way, and with proper discipline still have a comfortable retirement, I heeded the venerable Mr K's advice! Uhhh... I got lost on the way to the Datsun showroom though! )

Paul

Nice shot, Tony!

Paul

Actually, I prefer divider boards in most of my equipment cases, but do use foam for some of the specialized cases. Here's a Lowes Case that I use for my H-a filter and a ZH case for some of my EPs etc.

The bolt style plastic cases are available from several Astromart sponsors, but I got these from Absolute
Astronomy, which is just up the road from me:

http://www.optiguy.com/


Paul