I have been fiddling with collimation for a while. Very frustrating exercise. Nice symmetric donuts in the middle and "angels" (or are they comets?) on the edges. As of now I think there had been a problem with the mirror lock - I tended to start locking the primary down tighter and tighter while tracking down guide issues. So I tried the opposite, and unlocked the primary and re-collimated. The AO-8, makes "mount" guiding issues less important. I think the stars on the edge look much better, and I am happy with the results so far. This is just the clear filter, 90 minutes total. There was a funny gradient on the new flat I took, so I would like to re-do that and stretch the background some more to see the faint galaxies. Still lots can be seen here though. Image and details are here:
http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=228
Anyone else have issues locking the primary on an SCT?
Charlie
http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory/image_detail.asp?ID=228
Anyone else have issues locking the primary on an SCT?
Charlie
Fort Lewis Observatory: (37.238, -108.052) ~2360m (7744 ft.) elevation.
Darkness - typically 6.5+
Scope - Meade 16" LX200; f6.3 focal reducer
Focus - JMI Smart focus
Camera - SBIG ST-10XE; (~.5"/pixel)
Guiding - AO-8 and/or Meade 5"/DSI/PHD
http://www.fortlewis.edu/observatory
