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INCLUDING DARK SKY TRAVELS NIGHTSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY -AMATEUR > Acon@eby Cover meaze by at Uriarte -_ ISSUE 104 WWW.AMATEURASTROPHOTOGRAPHY.COM With mounts in ove §0) Countries, our published customer data provides proof that fé-enginéering your mount saves you time, money and improves your images without the expensive transition to a new mount. From EQ3-2 to EQ8, CG5-GT to¥éG-XL, we engineer more precision into a4 existing EQ mpunt. With\true sub-arcsecond and full payload imaging capability and no\dropped frames for hours at a time; It has all the reliability you Need. StellarDrive wel with over 40 models, and we continous develop néw solutions. Our latest StellarDrive ULTRA Q6-R based) canffataya Waijouided at circa 0.2 ArcSec RMS* all , and hefdle a Feo? eyioed. 0 yes, you already own a better mount - we just ee rebuilt it for you yet.. pee our 2 Year Worldwide RTB Warranty. Book your mount in* tellarDrive upgrade today. *Customer PHD2 Data logs available upon request for analysis. Example: StellarDrive 6R with ED127, filter wheel and CMOS camera, averaged over 4-7 hours tested over 5 nights. daria FaMEOPules.com HUD ee ee Eeanpailing United}Ki POS OH Gah 2B OnE fe:Jinfo@darkframercorule . \ ) HIGH POINT SCIEN TIFIC A hoy £ =~ , yy wy e ; rlight Xpressilrius SX-674 K 7 7 lo _ i) “4 Mono Camera with Mini Filter oe Wheel; OAG & — “he He Atik ACIS 2.4 €6l6r Gamera=) Lodestar X2 -'SX-674-COMBO QSI6120WSG Monochrome . “Cooled CCD Camera T-Thread Faceplate [ Guide Port - 6120WSG-T-T a ZWO ASI2600MC Pro USB3 Cooled Color Camera - ASIZ2600MC-P , t) ZWO ASI294MG Pro Color Astronomy ZWO ASI2600 Pro USB3.0°Ga d : Camera - ASI294MC-P Monochrome Camera - ASI2600MM-P ALTAIRSE How to attach M92 Reducer Flattener to Altair Focuser Instructions for attaching M92 Reducer or Flattener to Altair Focuser: Loosen (but do not remove) the 2.0mm Hex Grub Screws from the rear of the focuser. Unscrew the rear 2& push-fit adaptor assembly to reveal the M92 inner thread on the rear of the focuser. The reducer can then be screwed onto the focuser for a stable fit. Most reducers will have a rear adaptor which gives 55mm sensor to flange spacing, so be sure to look up your camera sensor to flange distance to work out what adaptors you need. Step 1: Loosen 3 grub screws with 2.0mm allen key. They do not need to be completely removed. \ ad ALTAIRXE Altair M92 Focuser Instructions Step 1 — loosening the 3x grub screws to enable the push-fit adaptor to be unscrewed from the focuser drawtube. Step 2: Unscrew the rear pushfit adaptor assembly to reveal the inner M92 thread. ALTAIRXE Altair M92 Focuser Instructions Step 2 - removing the push-fit adaptor from the focuser. Step 3: Screw the Planostar M92 flattener onto the focuser. ALTAIR Altair M92 Focuser Instructions Step 3 - how to attach the Planostar Flattener ALTAIR. A 16bit CMOS camera with 65,536 grey levels. Based on the latest APS-C format Sony IMX571 sensor with back side illumination. TEC cooled, with Ultra low noise mode and zero amp glow. @SION peey Front dew heater and zero-frost purged sensor chamber as standard. Astrophotography with | live in the town of Shelton, Nebraska, USA pop. 1100 My backyard skies are about a Bortle 4. | also have neighbors who have done proper light shielding after | took the time to visit with them regarding my astrophotography. The only disadvan- tagge of my location is | do live less than two blocks from dual railroad tracks and they are quite active. | have been involved with astrophotography for the past 20 years, Starting out quite basic but discovered just how addictive it can become. I've enjoyed it as a nice clean hobby and also enjoy sharing with others. I've also done several astro outreach events over the years, have been on all three of our local TV stations, and newspaper publications. Some of my astrophotos have been posted in various astronomical publications and | did make the cover of the "Reflector" Magazine which is published through the Astronomical League. For me, this is like making the cover of the "Rolling Stone”. Someday, | hope to get and APOD but that may be awhile. | have been inspired by looking at all the image results of other astrophotographers and continually like the challenge of trying to get the most out of the equipment | own. | initially was an avid visual observer but over time my eyesignt has worsened and | have found the path from image acquisition to post processing quite intrigueing. Bob Runyan * Orion M42/NGC1977 The Running Man When | was little we lived on a farm and my folks purchsed a 3" Edmund Scientific Reflector for about $39 for my older brother and me. Back in the day this was quite a nice telescope. Observing the Moon, Jupiter, and seeing the rings of Saturn really got me hooked. However, over time interests changed but | came back to my love for astronomy in my later College years and have never turned back. Seeing and reading about all the advancements continues to peak my interest. | have several different options astronomically related so | can always find something to do. For some, Astronomy is a hobby. For me, it turned into a passion and then evolved into a lifesyle. Most of my astrophotography was self taught, reading publications, and now watching various media shows....and a lot of trial and error. I'm still learning and most importantly, I'm still having fun. lam pretty slow to adapt to new equipment but over the years | have made equipment changes. Most of my equipment is considered "older" but it still works for me and it is bought and paid for. C11_G11 setup £120 Setup My main astrophotography gear includes 4 OTA's (Astro-Tech RC6, Expolore Scientific ES ED80 triplett, an EON120 refractor, anda (C11 SCT.! also own a Coronado 60 Solar Scope. | have three main mounts (an iOptron iEQPro 30, an iOptron IEQPro 45,and a Losmandy G11. My main CCD cameras are an SBIG ST2000XM and a QHY9M, using a ZWO filter wheel and Optolong filters. | also have a ZWO120 for planetary imaging. Two Canon DSLR cameras, a standard T2i and a modified T3i. | am able to run my systems from inside my home via Remote Desktop and TeamViewer when | prefer to be inside. RC6_iOptron setup ee wi i SolarMax lla observatory | have two BYO obsevatories. My dome observatory is called my "AstoAsylum" because on a clear night you can lose your mind to the stars. The other is called my "Topper Additon" because the roll off consists of a pick-up topper as its roof. It works well because there are no trusses which allows me to do closed "practice" runs without interference. My advice to new comers is that it is quite a learning curve. If it waa eéasy, everyone would be doing it. Go at it in small baby steps and be prepared for dealing with frustrations so try to keep it fun. When it all comes together, it is so rewarding that the frustations make it all worth it. The main astrophotography software | use is Maxim DL/CCD for image acquisition, Photoshop and Registar for post processing. | have tried SGP (Sequence Generator Pro) and leaning toward trying to work with PI (Pix-Insight) but it's hard for me to make the transition as | am so familiar with my current programs. My favorite location for doing my astrophotography is the con- venience of my backyard and easy access to power. Running Man, f 2-part mosai¢ taken at . recent NSP29 (Nebraska Star Party) @ Canon DSLR 50mm Bortle 1%kies 15070 Pelican Neb. * . Narrow-Band Filters However, | have tried to consistently attend a week under the night skies of the Nebraska Star Party (NSP29) where you are under Bortle 1 skies and when it's good, it is amazing. Last year | made a trip to photograph the night sky in the Grand Tetons of Wyoming and the Arches National Park in Utah using my Omegon LX Mini-Tracker and my DSLR cameras. In 2000, 1 went ona VIM Mission Trip to the mountains of Honduras and had the opportunity to see and photgraph some of the Southern Skies. | lost my wife of 41 years of marriage in 2020 and we lost our daughter to the same hereditary disease eight years ago. When | am out astroimaging, | feel | am just that much closer to them. it gives one time to think about a lot of things which isn't always a bad thing and time for reflective solitude. On the other hand, | am VP of our local astronomy club PVAO (Platte Valley Astronmi- cal Observers) and we enjoy doing outreach events with the public, and/or just meeting to talk all thing astronomical. | also have several people come over to observe and have quite a folowing on Facebook of friends who appreciate viewing my astrophotography endeavors. somm: Bortle 1 skies j | have so many directions | can go with my various telescopes and binoculars. | probably have at least ten different scopes and also binoculars | have acquired over the years.(mostly used). Some get used more than others. Some people collect cars. | collect telescopes. | really do appreciate Steve Astromag asking me if | would have an interest in doing this feature for the Amateur Astropho- tograpy Ezine. | know there are many more advanced in this astrophotography but you gotta start somewhere. | just have to take things at my own pace and enjoy the ride through our Amazing Universe. Thank you, have fun, and keep looking up my firends. Bob Runyan MINI-GUIDER Fete Hei Se ve = > ae Image: Neil Phillips - _ ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION CORRECTOR Image: Gary Palmer =