150mm Istar / PST Mod First Light

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Solarhound
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150mm Istar / PST Mod First Light

Post by Solarhound »

I had this project completed Late Sunday and had a somewhat clear but hazy day for a first light . Temperatures peaked in the mid 90's and the air was thick with humidity , far from ideal but good enough for an initial trial run . Finding the sun was a challenge with the eyepiece only a few inches off the ground !!
My laptop had overheated from sitting in the sun (this was supposed to be a quick test) and was very "glitchey" . It would not run my DMK 31 and struggleed with my 21 and dropped pretty much every other frame . Other than the laptop issues I was pleased with the initial results . There was no ghosting or reflections and no heating what so ever , the tube stayed the same temperature on either side of the ERF .

Here are the first light images , first a shot at 1500mm showing the field with a DMK 21
July 22 150 2.jpg
July 22 150 2.jpg (375.26 KiB) Viewed 2403 times
These were all done at 2X , 3000mm
July 22 150 3.jpg
July 22 150 3.jpg (357.98 KiB) Viewed 2403 times
JUly 22 150 4.jpg
JUly 22 150 4.jpg (296.58 KiB) Viewed 2403 times
July 22 150 6.jpg
July 22 150 6.jpg (345.94 KiB) Viewed 2403 times
July 22 150 8.jpg
July 22 150 8.jpg (484.12 KiB) Viewed 2403 times
July 22 150 9.jpg
July 22 150 9.jpg (199.7 KiB) Viewed 2403 times
July 22 150 10.jpg
July 22 150 10.jpg (207 KiB) Viewed 2403 times
July 22 150 11.jpg
July 22 150 11.jpg (315.1 KiB) Viewed 2403 times
July 22 150 1.jpg
July 22 150 1.jpg (150.78 KiB) Viewed 2403 times


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swisswalter
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Re: 150mm Istar / PST Mod First Light

Post by swisswalter »

Hi Mike

great first results


Only stardust in the wind, some fine and some less fine scopes, filters and adapters as well. Switzerland 47 N, 9 E, in the heart of EUROPE :)

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Carbon60
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Re: 150mm Istar / PST Mod First Light

Post by Carbon60 »

Great first light session, Mike.

Better conditions will help, plus you'll develop a feel for settings and tuning to really make it sing.

Stu.


H-alpha, WL and Ca II K imaging kit for various image scales.
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Re: 150mm Istar / PST Mod First Light

Post by MapleRidge »

Great first light images Mike...well done!

Brian


Brian Colville

Maple Ridge Observatory
Cambray, ON Canada

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/185395281@N08/albums

10'x15 Roll-off Roof Observatory
Takahashi EM400 Mount carrying:
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Deep Sky Work - ASI294MM Pro+EFW 7x36/Canon 60D (Ha mod), ONAG
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Ha Setup: Lunt LS80PT/LS75FHa/B1200Ha + Home Brew Lunt Double Stack/B1800Ha on the Orion OTA + Daystar Quantum
WL, G-Band & CaK Setup: Lunt Wedge & Lunt B1800CaK, Baader K-Line and Altair 2nm G-Band filter
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Re: 150mm Istar / PST Mod First Light

Post by marktownley »

Excellent first light, very promising!


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Solarhound
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Re: 150mm Istar / PST Mod First Light

Post by Solarhound »

Thanks for the encouragement guys it is appreciated ! I would have never attempted these mods if I had not found this site and the many talented members here . I know that I have not commented on the many fine images I see here as much as I should and will try to do better , I want everyone to know that the members here have been a great inspiration for me and you keep me working harder to improve what I love to do .

As for the new Istar mod I am very happy with what I see in the live view and this aperture can really deliver resolution but has presented a new problem , my mount does not like this big beast . The first images were done on a Losmandy GM 8 , when the focus would become sharp I could see the mount was not smooth but jiggling . I will try this scope on my HEQ5 pro and see if it is any better and plan to strip down and give the Losmandy a tune up .
I would be interested to hear any suggestions for a good mount that will handle a 1500mm long 26 lb scope for imaging .


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Re: 150mm Istar / PST Mod First Light

Post by marktownley »

I'm tempted to invest in an Istar 150mm f10 at some point in the future...


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Re: 150mm Istar / PST Mod First Light

Post by swisswalter »

Hi Mike

a Losmandy G11 will handle that scope


Only stardust in the wind, some fine and some less fine scopes, filters and adapters as well. Switzerland 47 N, 9 E, in the heart of EUROPE :)

from 7 am - 7 pm http://www.nanosys.ch

from 7.01 pm - 6.59 am http://www.wastronomiko.com some times vice versa ;)
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