Stellarvue vs. Celestron Shoot-out!

[bladekeeper]

Not really a shoot-out...that'd be like bringing a knife to a gunfight. I wouldn't want to embarrass the Stellarvue like that.

Yesterday was Day 2 of my 9-day off work vacation. While looking at my Orion ST80 with its GSO Crayford focuser, I had an idea. A few years back while picking up an old heavy-duty wood tripod from a gentleman, he mentioned that he had the scope to go with it and that I could have it if I wanted it. He was just going to throw it away. It was an old Celestron C80 telescope. Poor thing had been ridden hard and put up wet too many times, or rather, spent a great deal of time at the bottom of a young man's closet and had the chew marks to prove it.

I brought it home and cleaned it up. The objective was in good shape. Back then, I'd pulled off the stock focuser and replaced it with the stock Synta focuser from my ST80 when I bought the GSO Crayford.

Well, yesterday I swapped focusers, putting the ST80's original back on that OTA and the GSO on the C80.

Also, I have another version of the venerable C80, my Celestron Premium 80. Basically the same OTA, same focal length and everything, just different stickers on the sides. I've previously imaged the Moon recently with the Premium 80, but have never done so with the rougher looking C80.

Anyway, the sky was fairly trashy all day long, but as the Sun was setting, the high thin clouds condensed into random puffballs for the most part. Transparency was in the toilet and seeing was pretty rough.

I decided to set up anyway. I got the SV102T saddled onto the AVX. As the dark was deepening, I got my polar alignment done and my focus dialed in. While waiting on the Moon to come around, I ran off some 3-minute frames of M45. Not an especially good image. The humidity level was near 100% and the temperature was hovering right over the dewpoint. The dew monster was atrocious. I had frequent fogging of the objective and kept having to give it the hairdryer treatment.

I also had several bands of clouds passing over the target during imaging. One of these days I'll manage a decent capture of this object.

I finally aborted that due to thickening clouds and heavier dewing.

Back inside, I waited on the Moon to escape a treetop. Around 0040, I went back outside and commenced my lunar captures with the SV102T and ASI174MC. Once I got those in the can, I pulled the SV from the AVX and carried it inside. I pulled off the cam and extension tubes and added those to the C80 (below is a daylight photo of the configuration).

Since this scope has a longer focal length than the SV, I had to do 8 frames instead of my typical 6 for a full-disk lunar mosaic. This also meant increased exposure time, thus longer to capture 1000-frame video files.

Once that was all done, the fog erupted immediately afterward. Since the temperature at this point was at the freezing mark, the fog was sticking to everything and leaving a nice rime of ice everywhere. I had to shake the ice from all my cables.

Once inside, I Autostakkerted, Registaxed, and ICEd my data and here are the results.

First up, the 6-panel mosaic from the SV102T, straight out of Registax:

20191118 SV102T 00_41_59_g4_ap78_stitch by Bryan Gabbard, on Flickr

And here is the 8-panel mosaic from the C80. As my buddy Mark nicely put it, gotta love the cheesy-green achro tinge.

20191118 C80 01_02_11_g4_ap64_stitch by Bryan Gabbard, on Flickr

Finally, here is the SV mosaic after the StarTools color balance treatment:

20191118 SV102T 00_41_59_g4_ap78_stitch V3 by Bryan Gabbard, on Flickr

I tried the StarTools treatment on the C80 mosaic, but the result was on the bad side of horrendous. I'll not foist that on the unassuming masses.

So that's what I did last night. Waiting to see how my Day 3 sky will turn out.

Peace and clear skies, friends.

[j.gardavsky]

Hello Bryan,

it looks to me on the laptop like the C80 showings more finest details, but the SV delivering harder contrast.

As I don't mind the yellow/green very thin rim, my take would possibly be the C80.

Thank you for the very nice comparison,
JG

[Don Quixote]

They both look good Bryan.
The focus on the C80 was better than the SV102.
It looks like the Star Tool color balance seems imparted a blue fringe on the craters.
Very nice comparison.
The C80 holds it's own here.
Thank you for sharing your fun.

[Juno16]

Amazing comparison!

The “throw away” C80 did quite well! Very well in fact!

Both scopes did a wonderful job.

Very interesting work on this shoot out Bryan. You are having too much fun during your time off.

Hope that you have clear skies tonight. Really looking forward to your next report!

Thanks,
Jim

[SKEtrip]

Nice, Bryan.
Good luck on day 3!
Mark hit the nail on the head with cheesy-green didn't he?

New neighbors here.. they love the backyard FLOOD light.....
Time to have "the talk"

[Lady Fraktor]

Wonderful images from both telescopes Bryan.
This is why I love these older long achromats, they are capable of some very nice views/ images.

[bladekeeper]

Thanks, everybody! It was fun to play.

[mention]Don Quixote[/mention] , yeah, I think I nailed focus better with the C80. I am still trying to get the hang of the stupid auto-focuser on the SV.

I've been trying to work out a better StarTools process so that I do not have the blue bits in the image. Here is a more subtle approach that seems to have a more natural feel to it. What do you think?

20191118 SV102T 00_41_59_g4_ap78_stitch V4 by Bryan Gabbard, on Flickr

[mention]SKEtrip[/mention] Oh man! Good luck on "the talk"!

My neighbors have gotten into the holiday spirit and are busy stringing up Christmas lights all over the place. We tried to schedule the installation of a privacy fence today but the guy we wanted to use is booked for the next 8 weeks.

One more year of the ho ho ho holiday supernova, I reckon.

[j.gardavsky]

Hello Bryan,

now you've got a better contrast and resolution on the SV, at the cost of a very thin orange fringe on the southern rim.
Very nice!,
JG

[j.gardavsky]

Hello Bryan,

there is one more very interesting "point" for me, in the captures both through the C80 and SV:
It is the color taint on the Marius Hills in Oceanus Procellarum.
It happens quite seldom that the AP people catch colors, even if faint, on the Moon surface.

Thank you,
JG

[Thefatkitty]

Well done on all counts Bryan! "Autostakkerted"

The SV has great contrast, but I have to say, the C80 is a performer as well! Having two of them myself; I'm partial to the color as well Seriously, the difference between your dedicated cam and my DSLR is night and day. I'm amazed at the detail, not to mention the output size. I'm guessing the focal extender has something to do with that. Also, whereas I shoot 20-40 frames, a dedicated cam does a thousand or more. Probably shorter exposure times on each frame as well, so less blurring. I have to think at, say 1/320th second exposure for example, the Moon does move a few arc seconds.... Hmmm, Christmas is coming...

Glad you're enjoying your "you have to take it" time off, I was reading your reason for that on your other post. Interesting stuff! Well, we trust ya... I hope the weather cooperates for you as well; you could sleep all day and do astronomy at night

Unfortunately I must get back to it Have a good day!

[JayTee]

You are a really good "vacation" guy.

Last night wasn't as much about imaging as it was about playing with your toys. I always find it immensely fun to spend the night playing with my toys. It is a very healthy attitude. Some people say it shows we never grow up other people say it's essential to good mental health! I'm with the latter group.

Nice images by the way, the old C80 did remarkably well.

Cheers,
JT

[Don Quixote]

The latest Startools Color work is good Bryan
Nice rendition and the blue edges are no longer evident.

[Bigzmey]

Way to go C80! Too bad they don't make them as they used to.

[bladekeeper]

Thanks, everybody!

I too was quite pleased with how well the C80 did. Both the C80 and the Premium 80 are excellent visual scopes as well and enormous fun to observe with. I've been working my way back through the Messier catalog with them and I think I've only got about 20 or so left. I need to do a recount.

So I went down to ES today and did a little horse tradin'...details in another thread.

[SKEtrip]

Thanks, everybody!

I too was quite pleased with how well the C80 did. Both the C80 and the Premium 80 are excellent visual scopes as well and enormous fun to observe with. I've been working my way back through the Messier catalog with them and I think I've only got about 20 or so left. I need to do a recount.

So I went down to ES today and did a little horse tradin'...details in another thread.

Do tell!
When I asked my beloved for an astro item for Christmas she said "why do you want something you can't use?" Good questions actually.

Which focuser did you get?

[bladekeeper]

Thanks, everybody!

I too was quite pleased with how well the C80 did. Both the C80 and the Premium 80 are excellent visual scopes as well and enormous fun to observe with. I've been working my way back through the Messier catalog with them and I think I've only got about 20 or so left. I need to do a recount.

So I went down to ES today and did a little horse tradin'...details in another thread.

Do tell!
When I asked my beloved for an astro item for Christmas she said "why do you want something you can't use?" Good questions actually.

Which focuser did you get?

I went for the ZWO EAF.

[SKEtrip]

I chickened out & went with the Optec - knew there would be times I'd want to toss it to St Louis learning to use it.
Had to have the disengage feature

[bladekeeper]

I chickened out & went with the Optec - knew there would be times I'd want to toss it to St Louis learning to use it.
Had to have the disengage feature

Yeah, the clutch on the Optec is great. A feature sorely lacking on the ZWO...

[Hankmeister3]

Great images, Bryan. Your lunar imaging has few equals here … and elsewhere. Yep, like some say, never bring a rifle to a tank fight. I like going "big".

Oh, I do have one complaint. I can't clearly see the seven stars of Pleiades because of all that fog obscuring the seven sisters. Maybe you can process all that out the next time you post it! Heh!

[bladekeeper]

Great images, Bryan. Your lunar imaging has few equals here … and elsewhere. Yep, like some say, never bring a rifle to a tank fight. I like going "big".

Oh, I do have one complaint. I can't clearly see the seven stars of Pleiades because of all that fog obscuring the seven sisters. Maybe you can process all that out the next time you post it! Heh!

Yeah, that darn blue gradient is kinda hard to process out. Need better flats...