What got you into EAA?

Hey Robin, every so often I have a group of kids over and we explore the sky with 2 minute B&W subs from my CDK24. Amazing how much detail you can get in 2-minutes in a 21.3 sky with 24". I'd use a color camera but then I'd have to do a lengthy swap. For now they seem OK with B&W. 

I only became interested in Astronomy over the past 6 months.  I started with a small Meade ETX60 then bought one of the AWB Onesky's for visual.  I enjoyed them both but most objects were little more than fuzzies in my Bortle 5 backyard.   I then bought a Celestron Nexstar 8SE thinking this would be the solution to seeing all those amazing objects.  Turns out they were just slightly brighter and maybe a little less fuzzy.

I've enjoyed watching the YouTube videos with Trevor from AstroBackyard.  That said, there are many things about Astrophotography that don't appeal to me:

1.  Extensive setup and take down.  Super accurate pole alignments, big heavy mounts, guide scope tracking etc. etc.
2.  Long exposure sessions, sometimes hours or even days.
3.  Lots of post processing using multiple different software packages.  (I've never been any good at graphics work)

What appeals to me about EAA

1.  Quick and Easy setup.  I can get my LX70 mount out and a quick polar alignment in about 5 minutes.  It's not perfect, but doesn't need to be.
2.  Inexpensive in comparison to Astrophotography.  I recently purchased an Astro-Tech 6" Newtonian F/4 Astrograph used for $240.00.  I'm using a ZWOASI224MC  $250.00 on a motorized LX70 mount $320.00.  For less than 1k I have an EAA setup that is working great.
3.  I'm not interested in creating gallery quality masterpieces, I just want to see some cool stuff and amazing colors, not just fuzzies.
4.  I want to be to able to do this from my house, not travel 50 miles to a dark site.
5.  I have a Celestron AVX mount on the way (used also).  The goto will be a nice addition and allow me to see more during each session.
6.  I am working towards building a system that allows remote operation.  I'll still wheel it out and do the initial setup but after that, I'm moving indoors.  Not interesting in freezing my butt off all winter when I can sit inside at my 43" 4k monitor slewing around the sky checking out all kinds of objects on clear, long winter nights.

I'm happy to see the support from Bruce and Salvatore.

I'm hoping this area of Astrobin also becomes a vibrant community within itself.

Clear Skies  

The decision to try EAA was brought on when my Canon T3 decided it was done communicating through the USB port with my laptop. I had been involved with an EAA forum 2 years ago and read through many posts as individuals swapped ideas on which cameras were the best and exactly what EAA was and was not. It got to be quite a blood bath in there at times. I had been using the DSLR for years in live view to align and focus my AVX and NexStar Mounts so I wondered what’s the big deal sounds just like what I’ve been doing for years.
I’m needing the EAA more now that my eyes are getting old so when the Canon failed I took the opportunity to order a ZWO ASI178MC to use with my 5” SCT and SW80ED Pro and AVX mount. The new Camera should be here by weekend and I’m excited to try it all out first hand. From what I’ve read that should be a usable combination,
but I’ve been wrong before. I hope to be able to share some war stories soon.

Trying to see more in a city with light and air pollution. On clearer nights, I can show galaxies "live" during public outreach, and pretty clear live-stacked pics of nebulae (with a 12 nm Ha NB). It is just amazing what we can see "live" under city lights!
Started with Starlight Live with a color Ultrastar; now mostly ZWO1600 mono with Sharpcap Live-stacking. Would like another sensitive camera with color; kids are more enthralled by colors : )

Haha, I fully agree with the three points that do not appeal to Gyroman

Anyway limited by equipment and weather I am enjoying what I can do and learn AP with modest gear, while I absolutely realize that EAA is an exciting sector to explore with, exactly, such modest gear. There wasn't much I could do with EAA using an ASI120MC-S, but I just ordered the ASI462MC (no further purchases planned for a long time to come) and hope this will be a fine companion for both selenography and EAA on popular deepsky objects with either a small
refractor or simply a, say, 135mm prime lens shouldered on a mobile mount.

The availability of fine real-time stacking software, such as SharpCap or ASIStudio makes both, viewing and imaging so much easier and affordable in more ways than one. The first wireless electronic telescopes with integrated "CMOS eyepiece" are already on the market and it won't be too long until specifications and cost-performance ratio will be just right.

If there wasn't that Covid-19, EAA would be fantastic for group viewing, provided governments and people stop acting stupidly now.

Actually, I first stumbled upon EAA thanks to Robin's previous posts about this subject. Thanks a ton!

You all, please stay well,
Cheers
Robert

Hi Robin,
i like your story. Similar to you, i started with a sct 235mm and got a ccd for planets, then i purchased the Atik infinity and live stacking'infinity software'.
i started developing the 'raw atik files' to improve the quality of my images.
Next, i purchased a Rasa 200. At this point, i hesitated between the hyperstar and the Rasa, but the price difference was small.

i upgraded my mount from alt-az to a Cgx and increased my exposure from 20, 30 sec. to 180+ secs.

i later purchased the Atik 460 ex and the asi 1600 Mm. I, then purchased  the Baader Rasa ccd adapter and highspeed narrowband filter to see more and more details.

i don't regret the path I took, my only challenge has been the weather, down to -40C in the winter, and more and more pollution up there, starlink and the rest.

i have these 10 meter long cable, and image inside, but star alignment is done outside, so cold weather gets me.

l like my setup, highly versatile, for imaging planets, galaxies and nebula with the Rasa and sct 235.

I understood early the importance of calculating the fov for a setup.

clear skies and keep looking up.

richard

Hi @Dimidrol718, I suggest you open a new topic in the Equipment forum. Click here to do so.

My wife and grandkids use to do visual viewing but each had to refocus the scope.  We found it was taking several minutes by the time we all viewed.  About 2 years ago I switched my telescope, AG 17 INCH F6.7 on a AP 1600 mount, over to a ZWO094MC PRO color CMOS camera.  I added a 4k monitor that is duplicated to a 4k tv.  Now we use SharpCap Live Stack and watch the image build while playing with the color and stretching. The kids actually get involved with image adjustment.  After 5 or so minutes we all can see an image much clearer than through the eyepiece.   Everyone gets to view together and see the same thing.  This is all in a observatory and over the years we have been so pleased we have continued to upgrade by adding an 8 inch Celestron RASA for wide field viewing.  If your eyes are aging like my wife's and mine, EAA is a way to keep viewing.

Watching Trevor Jones on You Tube.

Thanks a million, Trevor

Robin Clark - EAA imager:
Many kids have trouble looking through an eyepiece

Especially on a large Dob when the eyepiece is 5 feet off the ground 🙂.

The last two years I have used my rig for EAA 20% of the time and "new traditional AP" 80% of the time.
Of course I've also mounted some fancy eyepiece for visual ( about 0,01% of the time )

When I do EAA it is often from my sofa as it is always great fun to watch the sky in real time
But frankly the main cause for EAA for me are often kids and friends.
To cast the sky on a big screen TV and show them interesting objects in the sky is fun for everyone.