Posts Made By: Joe Bruessow

I am back from Japan and had a chance to shoot M31 )

My AT66 with ST2000xm... 60 min Lum, 20 min. each RGB, all unbinned.

Haven't been able to post lately... Here is an M31 from my backyard in August... ST2000xm on my AT66ed. 70 min luminance, 30 minutes each rgb... all unbinned. Clear skies!

Here is my M31 reworked a bit to take care of some gradients.

Thanks for looking.

I am pondering the move to a more sensitive camera... I own an ST2000xm and really enjoy it... but I always look around wondering what else might be out there to "improve" the acquisition of pretty pics of the universe.

So, for those of you who have owned an ST10xme... I know the sensitivity is awesome, but how bad are those blooms to work with? Are they easily taken out with software... or do you lose a lot of options in trying to avoid blooms that can "ruin" an image. What is the typical work flow for imaging (especially brighter targets)?

I think the narrowband sensitivity would be nice.... and I am sure that those faint galaxies would be easier to capture details in... but are the blooms on brighter targets worth the hassle?

Opinions/ experiences please...

Do you think the iOptron Minitower can handle a C9.25 or is it going to suffer from major shakes?

Thanks for your insights...

Opinions/ Therapy please...

First off, please let me preface this post with a confession that I may simply be suffering from cabin fever, but I am still considering a major change in my imaging equipment... for "better" images and perhaps to put a few extra $$$ in my pocket to pay off some bills.

The equipment that I have had for some time includes the following:

Camera - ST2000xm with CFW10 and full selection of filters.

Mounts -

Losmandy G11 Gemini
Tak NJP (no real images with the mount... I miss my Titan that I traded for it)

Imaging Scopes:
10" f/5 Newt. optimized for imaging (excellent scope).
W.O./ AT66 with 0.8x reducer flattener.
TMB80ss

Recently acquired -

Orion 120ed
Aries 127 Fluorite triplet with huge field flattener (an impulsive buy on a great scope) in a William Optics tube.

This is where your advice would be appreciated.



Here are a couple of my thoughts:

1) Mount options:

I bought the G11 as a travel mount a couple of years ago, but have only taken it to a dark site about once a year (I am thinking of parting with it first)... I figure that for the once a year that I haul a scope to a dark site I could take my NJP off the permanent pier and use the portable pier that came with it. The polar scope is incredibly accurate and fast to polar align.

The other option is to sell the NJP and keep my G11. The G11 has guided very well when I have used it. This option puts alot more $$$ in my pocket, but I lose the fast polar align feature of the NJP, some weight capacity,... and well... a tak mount. It would probably take me years to save up for another mount in its class... Then again the G11 does track well and I think it would handle all of my otas except the 10" f/5, but I do have an 8" f/6 dob that could replace it as an astrograph.

2) ST2000 vs. STL11000

The 127mm Triplet that I just received has the ability to provide tack sharp images across a fov much larger than even an STL11000... so the STL11000/ 127 triplet package is an intriguing package. Large swaths of the sky... pretty close to an ultimate imaging system (at least on my budget).
The $$$ saved from selling either of the mounts could fund the difference in prices of the two cameras.

The conflict in my mind is whether I will see a dramatic improvement in my images... Perhaps I should bail on the entire 5" apo / STL11000 idea and just use my other scopes including the 120ed that I have yet to use (bought for visual)...

Decisions, decisions. Please understand that I feel priviledged to own all of this fine equipment... I am just in a mood for change (too many scopes, and ideas)...

Clear skies and thanks for the tips/ advice,

Joe

Hi Dave...

I have used my 31 t% on a 16" f/ 3.9 with a 4" or larger secondary and saw no problems.... the secondary was not visible. I am 38... so we should be close to the same. I think you'll love the 31. Hang on to it.

Can you better describe the size and depth of the scratches... that mighte help us advise. Also, I would agree that blackening out the scratches would do the trick if they are relatively small. Flaws should become essentially undetectable to the eye and camera I would think.

My old Naglers (older type II's and I's from the late 80's and early 90's) were etched with "Japan" on the side whereas my newer ones, at least those that I have looked at, have "Taiwan" etched on them. Although I have not looked at my latest acquisitions (31 T5, and type 4's)...

I ordered a 15" mirror and an 8" dob from them a few years ago... several friends have too. The wait was far longer on the mirror than I was initially led to believe. This seems to be trademark for Discovery... waaaayyyy behind on delivery schedules, but if your willing to wait they usually deliver a great product for the $$$ spent. They had similar returns of my e-mails to them at that time as well. I just kept hounding them with phone calls... but finally gave up on waiting when what they told me would be three weeks was still not delivered 5 months later. I do think it is worth the wait though... just understand that this is how they work.