Ready for Mars

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KathyNS Canada
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Ready for Mars

#1

Post by KathyNS »


I spent some time this afternoon reconfiguring the observatory for Mars. Off with the 8" Newt; on with the C-11.

It is an old orange-tube C-11, that was de-forked by the original owner. I have added a Moonlite focuser with DC motor, and I'll be using it with an ASI120MC camera. With a Barlow, it will be working at 5600mm focal length. It is a beast, and needs 33 lbs of counterweights on the CEM-60.

Last year, I reconditioned the finder. It is a right-angle finder, though probably not a RACI, with an illuminated reticle. The battery for the illuminated reticle is discontinued, and, when I obtained a substitute battery, I discovered that the original micro incandescent bulb was burned out. The writing was on the wall that the illuminator was obsolete, so I fitted it with an LED and made a dimmer pack that is powered off the pier's 12-volt system. In the process of doing that work, the original finder mount broke. I was able to find an ADM finder mount to fit the curvature and bolt pattern of the C-11, so it has a nice, shiny, new six-point ring mount. I treat my finder well, because I learned that finding planets at 5600mm focal length is hard!

I will have to do some work out in the dome on the next clear night, to get the finder aligned, and to find an approximate focus on the scope. The Moonlight has a short-stroke tube on it, since it is really just for fine-tuning and for adjusting for the seeing. Most of the focusing has to be done with the C-11's focuser. I obtained a second-hand Bahtinov mask for the C-11, so I should be able to get the focus dialed in pretty quickly.

Also, I will likely have to do a star alignment on the mount. I have never done one before! I use plate-solving for DSO AP, but that's not going to work for planetary. After that, I'll be able to run a session from in the house.

My plans are to shoot some frames of Mars. Since Jupiter and Saturn are still around, I'll probably shoot them, too. And while I've got the big focal length, I might try a planetary nebula or two.
12_2020-10-07_17-16-23_large.jpg
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DSO AP: Orion 200mm f/4 Newtonian Astrograph; ATIK 383L+; EFW2 filter wheel; Astrodon Ha,Oiii,LRGB filters; KWIQ/QHY5 guide scope; Planetary AP: Celestron C-11; ZWO ASI120MC; Portable: Celestron C-8 on HEQ5 pro; C-90 on wedge; 20x80 binos; Etc: Canon 350D; Various EPs, etc. Obs: 8' Exploradome; iOptron CEM60 (pier); Helena Observatory (H2O) Astrobin
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Ylem United States of America
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Re: Ready for Mars

#2

Post by Ylem »


She's a beautiful scope
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


Member; ASTRA-NJ



Orion 80ED
Celestron C5, 6SE, Celestar 8
Vixen Porta Mount ll
Coronado PST
A big box of Plossls
Little box of filters
:D



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Greenman Great Britain
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Re: Ready for Mars

#3

Post by Greenman »


Good luck with the alignment, as close as it is I imagine framing Mars at 5.6 metres is a bit tricky with a small camera. I had fun at 4.5 metres.
Cheers,

Tony.

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Smart Scope: Dwarf II - Club and outreach work.

AP Refractor: Altair 72EDF Deluxe F6;1x & 0.8 Flatteners; Antares Versascope 60mm finder. ASIAir Pro.Li battery pack for grab & go.

Celestron AVX Mount; X-cel LX eyepieces & Barlows 2x 3x, ZWO 2” Filter holder,

Cameras: main DSO ASI533MC; DSO guide ASI120MM; Planetary ASI224MC; DSLR Canon EOS100 stock.

Filters: Astronomik IR cut; Optolong L-Pro; Optolong L-Enhance.

Binoculars: Celestron 15 x 70.

Latitude: 52.219853
Longitude: -1.034471
Accuracy: 5 m
Bortle 4 site. https://maps.google.com/?q=52.21985,-1.03447

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Kerry C. United States of America
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Re: Ready for Mars

#4

Post by Kerry C. »


Kathy,
I thoroughly enjoy the photos you post. I will be looking forward with great anticipation to see these and more.
Kerry

Scopes; William Optics GT 81mm Triplet, TS Optics APO 102mm f/7refractor, Cestron Nexstar 8SE, Gskyer 80mm x 400mm refractor
Mount; Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro
Cameras; ZWO ASI 2600MC Pro, QHY5iii462C, ZWO ASI224MC, Canon 600D DSLR T3i.
Guide scope; ZWO 60280 f/4.6
Guide camera; ASI290mm mini
Filters; Optolong L-eXtreme 2”, Optolong L-Pro 2”, QHYCCD IR/CUT, QHYCCD IR850
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Re: Ready for Mars

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Post by bobharmony »


Looks like a very nice setup, Kathy... and that counterweight IS a beast! Good luck with your Mars hunting, I will enjoy the views vicariously as my 750mm fl isn't up to that task :)

Bob
Hardware: Celestron C6-N w/ Advanced GTmount, Baader MK iii CC, Orion ST-80, Canon 60D (unmodded), Nikon D5300 (modded), Orion SSAG
Software: BYE, APT, PHD2, DSS, PhotoShop CC 2020, StarTools, Cartes du Ciel, AstroTortilla

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yobbo89 Australia
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Re: Ready for Mars

#6

Post by yobbo89 »


nice scope and best of luck !


my typical routine to get on target is a view finder and sweep the ra and dec up and down up and down over and over haha ... :)

might be good to invest in a flip mirror.
scopes :gso/bintel f4 12"truss tube, bresser messier ar127s /skywatcher 10'' dob,meade 12'' f10 lx200 sct
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
mounts : eq6 pro/eq8/mesu 200 v2
filters : 2'' astronomik lp/badder lrgb h-a,sII,oIII,h-b,Baader Solar Continuum, chroma 3nm ha,sii,oiii,nii,rgb,lowglow,uv/ir,Thousand Oaks Solar Filter,1.25'' #47 violet,pro planet 742 ir,pro planet 807 ir,pro planet 642 bp ir.
extras : skywatcher f4 aplanatic cc, Baader MPCC MKIII Coma Corrector,Orion Field Flattener,zwo 1.25''adc.starlight maxi 2" 9x filter wheel,tele vue 2x barlow .

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Re: Ready for Mars

#7

Post by KingNothing13 »


Wow - well that sure is something.

Look forward to the results!
-- Brett

Scope: Apertura AD10 with Nexus II with 8192/716000 Step Encoders
EPs: ES 82* 18mm, 11mm, 6.7mm; GSO 30mm
Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars
List Counts: Messier: 75; Herschel 400: 30; Caldwell: 12; AL Carbon Star List: 16
Brett's Carbon Star Hunt

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starfield United States of America
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Re: Ready for Mars

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Post by starfield »


Reminds me of the movie "Spinal Tap"... Dial it up to 11! Can't wait to see the results.
Scopes: Esprit 100, 12.5" Telekit Dob
Camera: 294 MC Pro, 224 mc, 2600mm
Guiding: ZWO 290 mini on 120mm guide scope
Mounts: EQ6R-Pro, EQ Platform.
Filters: Optolong L-Pro & L-Enhance, Chroma 36mm LRGB, 5nm HA, 3nm OIII, 3nm SII.
Software: SharpCap, SGP, StarTools 1.7, Photoshop, Pixinsight
The Death Star Observatory
Astro Photos:https://www.astrobin.com/users/starfield/
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Re: Ready for Mars

#9

Post by helicon »


Great set up. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with Kathy...
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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