I am a newcomer and just started Astrophotography. Looking forward to being a part of this awesome community. Thanks!!
Hello from Florida
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Welcome!! No worries that not many welcome you, there are so many posts and things to do. Let me know if you need help to find your way through here.
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Hello and Welcome
Glad to hear about another Florida member. Lots of great ways to learn AP and meet new friends here.
Glad to hear about another Florida member. Lots of great ways to learn AP and meet new friends here.
Thanks for the welcome! I do have a quick question for you. Which star you generally use for the initial focusing of the scope? Thanks in advance.
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Using Bahtinov mask for a scope without autofocuser (which I ordered already for the new one 😊). Any brighter star that is currently visible from your spot will do. I found out though that the brightest stars are too bright to see the spikes perfectly, so a mag 3 star would be best. Do you use a Bahtinow mask? Btw. From Florida too, JAX area.
Engaging
Hi from Florida, I am newish to all this also and learning this as I go. From Central Florida, I use Capella and Sirius this time of year to focus with a Bahtinov mask.
Paul
Paul
Uwe Deutermann:
Using Bahtinov mask for a scope without autofocuser (which I ordered already for the new one 😊). Any brighter star that is currently visible from your spot will do. I found out though that the brightest stars are too bright to see the spikes perfectly, so a mag 3 star would be best. Do you use a Bahtinow mask? Btw. From Florida too, JAX area.
I have a Bahtinov mask built into the lens hood of the WO Z73 telescope. But did not use it yet as the ZWO ASIAir Pro along with the ZWO EAF did a good job autofocusing. My initial struggle was to use the Go To function to go to a named star for focusing. As I am not familiar with the star charts yet, I did not know which Star names to Go To that will be suitable for focusing on. If you happen to remember which star you used for focusing from the Jax area - let me know. BTW - I am from the Tampa area.
Hi and hello from Long Island NY I am also new here.
Subhadip Chatterjee:Uwe Deutermann:
Using Bahtinov mask for a scope without autofocuser (which I ordered already for the new one 😊). Any brighter star that is currently visible from your spot will do. I found out though that the brightest stars are too bright to see the spikes perfectly, so a mag 3 star would be best. Do you use a Bahtinow mask? Btw. From Florida too, JAX area.
I have a Bahtinov mask built into the lens hood of the WO Z73 telescope. But did not use it yet as the ZWO ASIAir Pro along with the ZWO EAF did a good job autofocusing. My initial struggle was to use the Go To function to go to a named star for focusing. As I am not familiar with the star charts yet, I did not know which Star names to Go To that will be suitable for focusing on. If you happen to remember which star you used for focusing from the Jax area - let me know. BTW - I am from the Tampa area.
Uwe can certainly tell you which ones he uses but any star works with the mask. I am located just north of Orlando and I use auto-focus from SharpCap but I have used the Bahtinov mask for many years. The key is to get a star not too far from the object of interest as the sky changes from area to area. And like Uwe said, if a star is too bright you might have trouble distinguishing the 3 spiked lines and if a star is too faint, you might have trouble seeing the lines. It also depends on your scope and camera. You need to experiment. Just remember a couple of things: 1) pick a star not too far from the object of interest and 2) check the focus over time as temperature changes (like 2 degrees or more) can change your focus. An example, if looking at the great Orion Nebula (M42), a good star to choose can be Saiph. Rigel might work but is very bright. Just try it and see. I also suggest you get star charts and get familiar with star locations. It will help you greatly. That is how we all learn.
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Bruce Donzanti:
Uwe can certainly tell you which ones he uses but any star works with the mask. I am located just north of Orlando and I use auto-focus from SharpCap but I have used the Bahtinov mask for many years. The key is to get a star not too far from the object of interest as the sky changes from area to area. And like Uwe said, if a star is too bright you might have trouble distinguishing the 3 spiked lines and if a star is too faint, you might have trouble seeing the lines. It also depends on your scope and camera. You need to experiment. Just remember a couple of things: 1) pick a star not too far from the object of interest and 2) check the focus over time as temperature changes (like 2 degrees or more) can change your focus. An example, if looking at the great Orion Nebula (M42), a good star to choose can be Saiph. Rigel might work but is very bright. Just try it and see. I also suggest you get star charts and get familiar with star locations. It will help you greatly. That is how we all learn
That is great advice - thanks.
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