Posts Made By: Jay Martin

Hi,
I have a quick question. About how long of an exposure can one take without a wedge??? I wanted to try some imaging of deep sky using stacking and was wondering if I will be ok taking several short exposures say 30 seconds or so with a digital camera without a wedge using my Celestron CPC. Will I have decent results?

Sorry for the ignorance here. I am new to deepsky imaging but not astronomy in general. Any ideas will be great.Thanks.
Jay

Hi,
I know it has been asked in various forms before,but before I buy again with my hard won $money I was hoping someone who is familiar with both scopes can give me sound advice.
Fortunately, advice is free on this forum of great folks!!
I am moving up from a Celestron CPC 800 which I really liked.

Should I now buy the Meade LX 90 ACF ten inch or the Celestron CPC 1100 eleven inch ???

They are very close in price. The Meade is $100 cheaper but is throwing in some extra stuff with a new purchase which I might be able to resale for a $100 or so. The CPC 1100 is large in aperature but look like it is around 14 pounds or more in weight. Thanks for any freely given opinions.
Jay

Hi,
I was thinking about building a simple inexpensive wooden wedge for a Celestron CPC 9.25 for a fix lat. I want to take some deepsky digital photos. Has anyone done this? Any hints on doing this and or problems encountered would be great. Any design suggests also welcomed. I did some research and came across a few designs,but I was hoping to get some feedback from someone else that has done this. I was hoping simple and inexpensive, but one that works.
Thanks.
Jay

Hi:
I just got a Coronado PST used off of this forum. I am new to solar viewing so not sure what I should see exactly.(I have never looked through a PST before or any other solar scope) I tried the PST out a few times last week, and I am not seeing much. Basically, I am seeing a big reddish looking smooth ball. (No detail or activity on the edge) I am not seeing anything like some of the pictures I have seen using posted on the internet using the PST. I have tried tuning it. I just wonder if the scope is working ok. I came across a web page that talks about the tuning being out on some of the PSTs and how to fix this. I was wondering if maybe I have a problem with the scope-- or maybe not, and nothing is going on with sun right now. Does anyone have a post link to what I should be seeing with this PST?? I am looking for a true picture --not something enhanced or taken with a webcam etc . Any advice on how to tell if I have a tuning problem will be appreciated.
Thanks.
Jay

Hello,
Rather than go the webcam route for solar system imaging, I am thinking about using a digital camcorder. I do not want to spend money on a laptop computer. Can anyone give me advice on which one might work well with out spending a fortune? Can I stack pictures and get the equivalent of webcams? I am guessing I will be ok if the camcorder is in an avi photo format. Anyone with any experience here please advise. I have been taking fairly decent pictures using a simple digital camera and stacking, but I want to move up to webcam quality without getting a new computer. I have not found a whole lot on this in my google searchs. Thanks.
Jay

Hi:
Has anyone used the Meade Deep Sky Imager and its software on a Celestron cpc scope? I realized the software is made for a Meade autostar scope as far as guiding, but I was wondering if the drizzle software could be used to stop field rotation with a Meade Deep Sky II CCD and a Celestron scope (and provide some basic functions.) If not, does anyone know of any imaging software that will stop field rotation for a fork mounted telescope that I could use for imaging? Thanks.
Jay

Hi:
Can anyone tell me if there are any good webcams for planetary imaging - such as philips 900 etc- that will run on windows 7? I just got a new laptop computer and I can't seem to find the answer to this. It seems other folks who have tried the philips webcams with windows 7 have had trouble. The windows 7 website implied it was working on this. Thanks for the input.
Jay

Hi:
I posted this in another forum also. I am having trouble connecting my Canon Rebel XT to a Coronado PST for solar pictures. I have used a t-ring and a 1.25 inch adapter for prime focusing. I have also tried a projection body adapter with a mead 15 mm eyepiece for eyepiece projection. I can't get it to focus. The focal point is to close to the scope. Has anyone done this and can provide me with how? Should I try a different eyepiece for the eyepiece projection? Thanks.
Jay

Hi Everyone:
Here is picture of Jupiter taken on November 11th with my celestron neximage and my celestron cpc. This was my 3rd night out using this camera. I am happy with it. I bought the neximage used for $45. This was taken using a 2x barlow and stacking about 600 pictures. I had a frame rate of 10 per second, with no gamma, gain and saturation set so that Jupiter appeared just a little darker than normal through an eyepiece(a little less than halfway). Seeing was average.
My question is does a UV/IR filter help?

Any other suggestions/feedback welcomed. I plan on pushing this camera to the limit! Who says astrophotography has to be expensive.
Thanks for the feedback.
Jay

Hi:

Mars Friday night with an imaging source DBK. Better than average seeing. Still showing some hard won detail. I got the camera a month ago and I swear Friday was one of the few nights of any good seeing. Mars is shrinking fast on me, and I thought I would never even get a chance at a half-way decent picture. Weather has not cooperated here in Virginia.
Jay