View allAll Photos Tagged skywatcher
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-|Band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 19 x 5 minute exposures (1 hour 35 minutes ) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in Pixinsight Topaz denoise and Photoshop.
Collected between 1:05 and 2:40 on the 17th of March, 2022.
Lots of thin cloud illuminated by a bright moon.
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-|Band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 28 x 5 minute exposures (2 hour 20 minutes ) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in Pixinsight Topaz denoise and Photoshop.
Collected between 20:03 and 22:21 on the 22nd of March, 2022.
Passing thin clouds.
Optics: Skywatcher ED80, 0.85 FF/FR
Camera: ASI1600mm pro @ -20°C
Mount: SW EQ6 Pro
Guiding: finderguider with QHY5L-IIc
Exposure: Baader Ha 51x180 sec, Gain 200, Offset 50, Dark, Flat, Flat dark
Baader SII 39x180 sec, Gain 200, Offset 50, Dark, Flat, Flat dark
Baader OIII 31x180 sec, Gain 200, Offset 50, Dark, Flat, Flat dark
Total integration time 6 hrs
Software: Sequence Generator Pro, PHD2, PixInsight, PS CC 2017
Location and date: Samoborsko gorje, 28.12.2018., Zagreb 07.02.2019.
Total of 10 hours.
M: Skywatcher EQ-5 Pro GoTO
S: Lacerta 72/432 F6
R: Skywatcher 0,85x
C: Pentax K-1
F: Optolong L-eXtreme 2"
G: Orion 50mm mini
GC: ZWO ASI 120mm Mini
Exposures:
Light: 10x300s, ISO12800
110x300s, ISO3200
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Tri-band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C.
NINA Observatory Software.
36 x 300 second (3 hours) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat frames, 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP, Pixinsight, Topaz de-noise and Photoshop.
19th September 2021
SkyWatcher Star Adventurer mechanika
SkyWatcher StarAdventurer háromláb
Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di LD Macro
Canon EOS 250D
10x120sec light 1600 ISO
5x dark
5x offset/bias
Taken with Skywatcher Esprit 120 with a modded Canon t3i on top of a Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro mount.
87 x 4min subs
20 x darks
total integration time of 5hrs 48min
bortle class 4 skies
Skywatcher 250pds with Coma corrector
Canon 1100D prime focus CLS Click filter
SW80 Guide scope using Synguider
91 lights 40 seconds ISO3200, Darks and Bias x12
DSS and PS4
My 4th and best attempt at M51 although not happy that I had to go to ISO3200. My guide scope was causing me problems which I couldn't seem to sort out quickly. So rather than waste time I decided to go with the higher ISO ( yeah desperate !) to at least acheive something. Of the 91 subs I discarded about 10%
Skywatcher 190MN, Ioptron CEM70NUC mount, Altair Tri-band filter, ASI2600MC Pro at -20C.
61 x 2 minute exposures (2 hour and 2 minutes),
Gain 100, Offset 50, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in Pixinsight, Photoshop and Topaz.
Imaged between 22:31 and 001:30, on 5/6th of November 2022.
40% of images were unusable due to wind effects. Image needs more data...
The Eagle Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611, and also known as the Star Queen Nebula and The Spire) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745–46. Both the "Eagle" and the "Star Queen" refer to visual impressions of the dark silhouette near the center of the nebula,[3][4] an area made famous as the "Pillars of Creation" imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula contains several active star-forming gas and dust regions, including the aforementioned Pillars of Creation. The Eagle Nebula lies in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way.
Canon 5DSr and SW Quattro 250/F4 on a SW NEQ6 Pro. 12 x 55 sec subs , no calibration frames.
OTA: Newtonian Celestron 130 mm/f5 modified
Mount: Skywatcher Heq 5
Imaging Camera: Canon 700D astro modified
Telescope Guide: Gso 50mm
Camera Guide: QHY5L II Mono
Baader Mk III Coma Corrector
Polemaster Eletronic Polar Scope
Total Exposure: 2:00 hours (subs 300 sec)
Deep Sky Stacker: Calibration and stacking
Adobe Photoshop Cs2 : Data Processing
Pulg-in: Hasta la vista, green, astroflat pro
PHD Guiding 2: Guide
Darks, Dark Flats, Flats and Bias apply
Serra Negra ( Bortle 4) /São Paulo/Brasil . 05/2022
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 29 x 5 minute exposures (2 hour 25 minutes) at Gain 275, Offset 30 , 50 dark frames and 50 flat fields, 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP, Pixinsight, Topaz de-noise and Photoshop.
27th September 2021, a bit windy.
Image reprocessed in Pixinsight & Photoshop 18/10/21
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-|Band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 120 x 5 minute exposures (10 hours) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in Pixinsight, Topaz denoise and Photoshop.
Collected between approximately 20-30 and 23-59 on the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th of March, 2022.
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-|Band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 45 x 5 minute exposures (3 hour 45 minutes ) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in Pixinsight Topaz denoise and Photoshop.
Collected between 0:38 to 2:07 on the 21st and between 22:35 and 1:08 on the 22nd/23rd of March, 2022.
Passing thin clouds.
Telescope: TSAPO100Q 580mm f5,8
Camera: Moravian G2-8300 (black/white)
mount: Skywatcher NEQ-6 Pro
guider: Lodestar 2 as Off-axis guider
exposures:
luminance: 1x30 + 10x10 mins
red: 1x30 + 4x15 mins
green: 1x30 + 4x15 mins
blue: 1x30 + 5x15 mins
Postprocessed in Pixinsight and Lightroom 5
Teleskop: TSAPO100Q 580mm f5,8
Kamera: Moravian G2-8300 (Schwarz/Weiß)
Montierung: Skywatcher NEQ-6 Pro
Autoguider: Lodestar 2 als Off-axis guider
Belichtungszeiten:
Luminanz: 1x30 + 10x10 min
Rot: 1x30 + 4x15 min
Grün: 1x30 + 4x15 min
Blau: 1x30 + 5x15 min
Bearbeitet mit Pixinsight und Adobe Lightroom 5
Skywatcher 130/900
QHY 5L-II mono
Barlow Televue 3x
RGB filters Astronomik
UT 21:56
Fire capture, Auto stakkert, Registax, Photoshop
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 24 x 5 minute exposures (2 hours) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP, Pixinsight Topaz denoise and Photoshop.
Collected on the evenings of 28th of December 2021 and 3rd of January, 2022.
More commonly known as the Crescent Nebula but sometimes called the Euro Nebula because of its resemblance to the currency.
This is the latest series of data captured and processed over 5 nights from GrandMesaObservatory.com in Purdy Mesa Western Colorado using the Sky-Watcher Esprit 150mm ED F7.0 Triplet APO Refractor courtesy of Sky-Watcher USA.
The data is from “System 2” and available through Grand Mesa Observatory’s Subscription services which you can read more about here: grandmesaobservatory.com/equipment-rentals
The 2 renderings in Hubble Palette (SHO) and the more natural LRGB with H-Alpha and OIII were assembled and processed in Photoshop CC, we acquired the data using the QHY163M Monochrome CMOS and all 7 filters LRGB and Narrowband Ha, OIII and SII Filters by Optolong
In the Hubble Palette version the H-Alpha is mapped to Green, SII is mapped to Red and OIII is mapped to Blue and I used the natural stars from LRGB. With the LRGB version H-Alpha is mapped to red and OIII mapped to blue.
57 individual frames make up these images having a total Integration time of 12.8 hours
Image technical and capture details
By: Terry Hancock
Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Purdy Mesa, Colorado
Dates: captured over 5 nights May 24, 25th, 29th, June 3rd and 8th 2019
H Alpha 19x900
OIII 12x900
SII 13x900
LUM 4x600
RGB 3x600
Camera: QHY163M Monochrome CMOS with 4/3-Inch sensor
Gain 85, Offset 77, Calibrated with Flat, Dark & Bias
Optics: Sky-Watcher Esprit 150mm ED Triplet APO Refractor
Filters by Optolong
Image Acquisition software Maxim DL6.0
Pre Processed in Pixinsight
Post Processed in Photoshop
The Crescent Nebula, located near the middle star that marks the heart of the constellation Cygnus, is a complex arc of gas that’s powered by the machinations of a massive dying star. Called WR 136, this star is just 4-5 million years old, but it’s big enough to have quickly burned through its store of fuel in its core and has now entered a stage where it sheds mass from its outer layer at a prodigious rate, nearly one full solar mass every 10,000 years. This fast-moving hot gas, which moves at a speed of 2,000-3,000 km/s, collides with cooler gas ejected by the star during its quieter days, and the collision excites the gas to emit light. Massive and mass-losing stars like WR 136 are called Wolf-Rayet stars. There are only about 150 such stars known in the Milky Way.
WR 136 will eventually detonate as a supernova when it finally runs of fuel and collapses. The explosion will obliterate the nebula and most other material within several dozen light years of the star. In its place will be a new type of nebula called a “supernova remnant” that consists of a rapidly expanding shock wave that excite the scant atoms lingering in the interstellar medium.
The location of the Crescent Nebula near the star Sadr in the constellation Cygnus, spread out over about 25 light years and lies at a distant 4,700 light years. It’s sometimes called the “Euro” nebula because of its resemblance to the symbol for the currency.
Explanation by publisher and author Brian Ventrudo from one of my ealier images cosmicpursuits.com/275/the-crescent-nebula/
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, CCD-CLS filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 8 x 5 minute exposures (40 minutes ) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP, Pixinsight Topaz denoise and Photoshop.
Collected between 22:19 and 23:03 on the 6th of March, 2022.
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Tri-band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C.
NINA Observatory Software.
34 x 300 second (2 hours 50 minutes) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields, 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP, Topaz de-noise and Photoshop.
27th August 2021
Also known as the Pinwheel galaxy.
At about 170,000 light years across, it's roughly 70% bigger than our own Milky Way Galaxy.
Lying some 25 million light years away, the Pinwheel galaxy is estimated to contain at least one trillion stars. Look for it in the constellation of Ursa Major ( the great bear ).
Pierre Méchain, Charles Messier's assistant, is credited with discovering M101 in 1781.
BORING techie bit:
Captured using a Skywatcher Quattro 8" with f4 coma corrector on a HEQ5 mount.
Guided using an Altair 50mm guidescope and GPcam combo.
Canon 450D astro modified with Astronomik CLS CCD APS-C clip in filter.
18 exposures of 5 minutes at ISO 400 combined with calibration frames. Stacked with DSS and all processing done with StarTools.
Technical card
Imaging telescope or lens: GSO RC8 Carbon Fiber
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool
Mount: Skywatcher AZ EQ-6 GT
Guiding telescope or lens: Celestron OAG Deluxe
Guiding camera: QHYCCD QHY5III174
Focal reducer: Astro-Physics CCDT67 - 0.67x Reducer
Software: Main Sequence Software Seqence Generator Pro, Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight
Filters: Baader Planetarium OIII 1.25" 8.5nm, Baader Planetarium Ha 1.25" 7nm, Baader Planetarium SII 1.25" 8nm, ZWO green, ZWO blue
Accessories: ZWO EFW, Baader Planetarium Steeltrack 2"
Resolution: 4352x3140
Dates: Sept. 20, 2017
Frames:
Baader Planetarium Ha 1.25" 7nm: 60x300" (gain: 200.00) -20C bin 1x1
Baader Planetarium OIII 1.25" 8.5nm: 13x300" (gain: 200.00) -20C bin 1x1
Baader Planetarium SII 1.25" 8nm: 13x300" (gain: 200.00) -20C bin 1x1
ZWO green: 20x60" (gain: 200.00) -20C bin 1x1
ZWO red: 10x60" (gain: 200.00) -20C bin 1x1
Integration: 7.7 hours
Avg. Moon age: 29.31 days
Avg. Moon phase: 0.06%
Astrometry.net job: 1751696
RA center: 344.191 degrees
DEC center: 62.615 degrees
Pixel scale: 0.688 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: 84.523 degrees
Field radius: 0.512 degrees
Locations: Berga Resort, Berga, Barcelona, Spain
Skywatcher 150/750
HEQ 5 Pro Go To
ASI 183 MC PRO
34*300s with DOF 60/0/10
20*60s with DOF 100/0/10
Bin 2x2
Gain 0 Offset 7
Temp -10°C
Pre and post processing with Pixinsight
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C.
31 x 5 minute exposures (2 hours 35 minutes) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP, Pixinsight, Topaz denoise and Photoshop.
Imaged between 18:25 and 21:177 on the 24th of January, 2022.
Probably needs more time
Imaging telescope or lens:Skywatcher Esprit 80 ED Triplet Super Apo
Imaging camera:ZWO ASI 183 MM PRO
Mount:SkyWatcher NEQ6 Pro Goto
Guiding telescope or lens:Skywatcher Esprit 80 ED Triplet Super Apo
Guiding camera:Astrolumina Alccd5L-IIc
Focal reducer:Skywatcher Field flattener for Esprit 80mm
Software:Main Sequence Software Seqence Generator Pro, Adobe PhotoShop CS5, FitsWork 4, DeepSky Stacker Deep Sky Stacker 3.3.4, PHD2 Guiding
Filters:Baader Ha 1.25" 7nm, Baader Planetarium SII 1.25" 8nm, Baader Planetarium O3 1.25" 8.5nm
Accessory:TSOptics TS Off Axis Guider - 9mm
Dates:May 14, 2019, May 23, 2019, May 29, 2019, June 1, 2019
Frames:
Baader Ha 1.25" 7nm: 44x600" (gain: 200.00) -20C bin 1x1
Baader Planetarium O3 1.25" 8.5nm: 27x600" (gain: 200.00) -20C bin 1x1
Baader Planetarium SII 1.25" 8nm: 25x600" (gain: 200.00) -20C bin 1x1
Integration: 16.0 hours
Darks: ~50
Flats: ~27
Bias: ~100
Object description (wikipedia.org):
The Elephant's Trunk nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth. The piece of the nebula shown here is the dark, dense globule IC 1396A; it is commonly called the Elephant's Trunk nebula because of its appearance at visible light wavelengths, where there is a dark patch with a bright, sinuous rim. The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a very bright, massive star (HD 206267) that is just to the west of IC 1396A. (In the Figure above, the massive star is just to the left of the edge of the image.) The entire IC 1396 region is ionized by the massive star, except for dense globules that can protect themselves from the star's harsh ultraviolet rays.
The Elephant's Trunk nebula is now thought to be a site of star formation, containing several very young (less than 100,000 yr) stars that were discovered in infrared images in 2003. Two older (but still young, a couple of million years, by the standards of stars, which live for billions of years) stars are present in a small, circular cavity in the head of the globule. Winds from these young stars may have emptied the cavity.
The combined action of the light from the massive star ionizing and compressing the rim of the cloud, and the wind from the young stars shifting gas from the center outward lead to very high compression in the Elephant's Trunk nebula. This pressure has triggered the current generation of protostars.
Sunflower Galaxy or M63
Skywatcher 200p, NEQ6 mount, UV/IR Cut filter, Baader MPCC M3 coma corrector, ASI294MC Pro at -20C.
NINA Observatory Software.
14 x 300 second (1 hours 10 minutes) at Gain 350, Offset 30, dithering every 3rd frame, 40 dark frames, 40 flat fields, 40 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP (using Ha-OIII formula), Topaz de-noise and Photoshop.
The centre is unfortunately over exposed.
11th/12th April 2021.
Skywatcher 150PDS
Celestron CG5
TS optics 3x Barlow lens & Nikon 2x teleconverter
Microsoft LifeCam Studio
Firecapture v2.4
5000 frames total
AS!3 top 50% of frames stacked
RegiStax 6 wavelets
GIMP 2.10
Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P f/3.5
Altair Astro Hypercam 585C OSC (Offset:10 / Gain:100)
HDR mode on
156 x 60 sec. subs (~2.5hrs.)
Processed in Astro Pixel Processor, GraXpert and Affinity Photo
The magnificent Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51 / NGC 5194), and its companion NGC5195, in the constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs). It is without doubt the best and most famous example of a spiral galaxy that is presented face-on to our perspective, and probably only Messier 31, the Andromeda galaxy, is as well-known.
There is a plethora of other galaxies in this image, and I have cropped the image to show the largest of these as a trailing arc leading towards the right. If you look closely and zoom in to the image there are many more small galaxies visible.
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 21 x 5 minute exposures (1 hours 45 minutes) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP, Pixinsight Topaz denoise and Photoshop.
Collected on the evening of the 1st of March, 2022 between 21:59 and 23:55.
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-|Band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 16 x 5 minute exposures (1 hour 20 minutes ) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in Pixinsight Topaz denoise and Photoshop.
Collected between 23:40 and 0:55 on the 16th and 7th of March, 2022.
Lots of thin cloud illuminated by a bright moon.
Skywatcher T250/1000 Newton F4
Player-One Uranus-C IMX585
Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 Pro Goto USB
Logiciels acquisition: Stellarium - SharpCap
Logiciels traitement : PIPP - AutoStakkert - Pixinsight
Filtres: IR cut
Accessoires: Focuseur ZWO EAF - Barlow Kepler x2.5
Dates: 18 Janv. 2025- 22h38 GMT
Images unitaires: SER (1054x3.36ms) 10% de 10541
Gain: 330
Échantillonnage: 0.137 "/pixel
Focale résultante: 4390mm
F/D: 17.56
Seeing: 1.10 "Arc
Bortle: 5
Phase de la Lune (moyenne):72%
M33, the Triangulum Galaxy.
Mount: SkyWatcher NEQ6.
Camera: ASI1600MM.
Telescope: SkyWatcher Newton 150/750.
Flattener: Baader MPCC Mark III.
Filters: Baader RGB, ZWO H-alpha.
Exposition: L: 93 x 120s, RGB: 12 x 120s (x 3), H-alpha: 5 x 300s.
Capture software: CCDciel, ASTAP, PHD Guiding.
Proccessed with PixInsight.
Taken with a Skywatcher ED100 Refractor with a Canon 600D at prime focus ( 900mm ) processed in mono as did not want a blueish sky in the picture :-) Best 15 of 45 shots stacked in Registax 6, seeing was average to poor with noticeable shimmering. All frames shot in JPG, not RAW.
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C.
45 x 5 minute exposures (3 hours and 45 minutes),
Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP, Pixinsight and Photoshop.
Imaged between 22:45 and 02:55, on 16/17th of December 2021.
Nel 2010 ho comprato una SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro usata. Era praticamente nuova ed usata pochissimo.
Durante i primi utilizzi mi resi conto che qualcosa non funzionava bene durante l'autoguida (a volte i frame presentavano le stelle allungate già con focali corte di 560mm). Ho fatto allora alcuni test per cercare di capire e risolvere il problema. Ho utilizzato per i test il riflettore SC C8 ridotto a 1650mm di focale e la Magzero MZ5m. Ebbene osservando il grafico AR con l'autoguida abilitata e disabilitata avevo capito che il problema non era software ma era dovuto alla montatura.
Infatti con l'autoguida disabilitata il grafico presentava oscillazioni in AR con continui massimi-minimi +3-4/-3-4 pixels che si ripetevano ogni 13-14 sec. Qualunque software per l'autoguida abilitata cercava di compensare questi errori ma spesso la correzzione si sommava alle oscillazioni provocando errori ancora peggiori. Andava un pò meglio impostando tempi di correzione uguali o inferiori ad 1 sec.
Qualcuno mi ha consigliato di revisionare la montatura: smontarla, pulirla e reingrassarla. Dopo quella fatica il problema è rimasto.
Poi osservando gli ingranaggi in movimento notai che il l'errore si ripeteva ogni volta che un dente l'ingranaggio del'albero motore entrava tra 2 denti dell'ingranaggio flottante centrale.
Ho cercato in tutti i modi possibili di ridurre questi errori agendo sulle distanze reciproche dei 3 ingranaggi, ma il risultato era pressochè uguale.
La possibile soluzione poteva essere sostituire gli ingranaggi con cinghie; nel frattempo avrei utilizzato il telescopio principale con focale inferiore a 500mm per non incorrere a mosso nelle foto a lunga posa.
Diverse aziende realizzano i kit di modifica con le cinghie, ma spesso la modifica comportava la perdita del rapporto di trasmissione originale rendendo inutilizzabile la pulsantiera della HEQ5. L'unico modo per gestire la montatura sarebbe stato utilizzare l'EQMOD.
Qualche mese fa ho saputo che la l'azienda Rowan Astronomy (UK) realizzava l'HEQ5 Pro Belt Modification Kit (www.rowanastronomy.com/productsa1.htm) che mantiene il rapporto di trasmissione della configurazione originale
Quindi ho comprato il kit. La modifica è stata molto semplice e in poco tempo.
Vi rimando all'album di Facebook www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1199861523390411.107374... dove troverete altri dettagli e accorgimenti.
La prima cosa che si nota anzitutto è la drastica diminuzione del rumore metallico durante il go-to. www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5bu97zoRok , youtu.be/_WRNKh5xMFg
I grafici prima-dopo sono eloquenti. Adesso l'andamento in AR è molto più linerare e le correzioni software sono decisamente migliorate.
Anche il grafico della DEC è migliorato perchè sono praticamente scomparsi gli errori di guida dovuti al backlash.
_________
In 2010 I bought a used skywatcher HEQ5Pro. It was practically new and used very little.
During the first use I realized that something was not working well during the guider (sometimes frames showed the stars elongated already with focal 560mm court). I then did some tests to try to understand and solve the problem. I used to test the SC C8 reflector reduced to 1650mm focal length and MagZero MZ5m.
Well looking at the AR graph with autoguiding enabled and disabled I realized that the problem was not software but was due to the mount.
In fact, with autoguiding disabled graph presented oscillations in AR with maximum-minimum continuous + 3-4 / -3-4 pixels that occurred every 13-14 sec. Any autoguiding software enabled tried to compensate for these errors but the correction is often added up the oscillations causing even worse errors. Setting correction times same or less than 1 sec, the result was a little better.
Someone advised me to revise the frame: dismantling cleaning, re-greasing etc. After that laborious effort the problem remained.
Then I noticed in watching the moving gears that the error is repeated each time a tooth the crankshaft gear entered between two teeth of the central floating gear.
I tried in every possible way to reduce these errors by adjusting the mutual distances of the three gears, but the result was almost equal.
The possible solution could be to replace the gears with belts; in the meantime I used main telescope with focal less than 500mm in order not to blur in long-exposure.
Several companies realize the modification kit with belts, but often the modification entailed the loss the gearing ratio of the original setup making unusable the handset in the HEQ5. The only way to handle the mount would be to use the EQMOD.
A few months ago I learned that the company Rowan Astronomy (UK) realized the HEQ5 Pro Belt Modification Kit (www.rowanastronomy.com/productsa1.htm) that maintains the gearing ratio of the original setup .
So I bought the kit. The change was very simple, and in a short time.
I refer you to the album Facebook www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1199861523390411.107374... where you will find more details and tricks.
The first thing you notice is the drastic reduction of the metal noise during the go-to.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5bu97zoRok,
The graphs before-after are eloquent. Now the shape of the curve AR is much more linear and software fixes have definitely improved.
The DEC's graph also improved, because virtually disappeared driving errors caused by backlash.
SkyWatcher 70mm SK707AZ2 + Filter Thousand Oaks + super 25mm + barlow 2X.
Edited with MS Picture Manager and Photofiltre.
It's possible to see the 3708, 3709, 3711, 3712, 3713 and 3716.
Skywatcher 190MN, NEQ6 mount, Altair Tri-band filter, ASI294MC Pro at -20C. 31 x 5 minute exposures (2 hours 35 minutes) at Gain 120, Offset 30, 50 dark frames, 50 flat fields and 50 dark flat frames.
Processed in APP, Pixinsight and Photoshop.
Imaged over two nights, 1st and 5th of December 2021, due to varying weather.