Astromaster 130eq with Altair Astro GP cam 385c Help!

[JasonA1980]

Hi there,

I am new to these forums because having tried for hours and hours to set up my EAA cam with my Astromaster 130eq scope - it feels like I am getting nowhere.

I can with many of the scopes own 1.25 eye pieces in 10mm 20mm, 5mm and varied others with 2x Barlow and filters, I can see many things in the sky. However, I bought an Altair Astro gp cam which replaces the eye piece and I think I naively assumed it would just show me on my laptop with all the software I've downloaded a replica of what I can see with my own eyes.

With various efforts on exposure time, gain, gamma and white balance, ROI etc - I can't despite endless tries at focussing see any stars. In my image, you will see that every star I capture seems to look like a mini version of the bottom of my scope on the inside?



Any advice or help would be appreciated to help me understand why what should be stars appears like hot cross buns.

Thank you

[Graeme1858]

Hello Jason

Welcome to the forum.

You probably guessed, your image shows out of focus stars. If you have tried focusing the Astromaster to the full extents and still not managed to get focus then you probably need to extend the EAA cam nose piece to increase the back focus to the camera sensor.

Did the Altair Astro GP cam 385C come with any extension tubes?

Regards

Graeme

[Tillibobs]

I'll wager that an e.mail to AltAir will receive a fast reply telling you exactly what you need, and they will most likely have something in stock. They are noted for their customer support.
Keith

[JasonA1980]

Hello Jason

Welcome to the forum.

You probably guessed, your image shows out of focus stars. If you have tried focusing the Astromaster to the full extents and still not managed to get focus then you probably need to extend the EAA cam nose piece to increase the back focus to the camera sensor.

Did the Altair Astro GP cam 385C come with any extension tubes?

Regards

Graeme

Ah thank you, I had my suspicions it might be that - it did come with a small nose attachment, but it's not enough.

I'll research what I can buy or contact Altair as suggested also,

Thank you

[Gordon]

Normally with Newtonian telescopes the problem is getting the camera closer to the focuser. I have had to change focusers to a 'low profile' in order to get the camera closer.

You can try sliding the camera out a bit and see if the objects you are seeing are getting larger or smaller.

Let us know what you find.

[JasonA1980]

Ok, thanks for the advice - I managed to add an extender, pull the cam out of the viewfinder a bit and eventually, I could see stars. Not the best, nor the most perfect shot.

But after a very basic stacking, a bit of colour curve movement with the histogram tools in - I was able to actually have a better image than all those donut looking blobs a few nights ago.



And after careful consideration - I decided this morning that what I really hate about my attempts at basic astrophotography is the scope itself. I've now purchased a Celestron NexStar 8SE instead, and I am convinced it will be better than the Astromaster 130EQ.

[Graeme1858]

Step by step!

Hope you enjoy the new telescope!

Graeme

[Richard]

Having owned the astromaster 130 , yes better to move on and get a better scope , the 8se has the same mount as the 6 se so it also , like the astromaster under mounter for AP , you started with an EQ mount on the astromaster which is good for AP but the scope was wrong (and that wobbly mount) , now you have a great scope but an Al/AZ mount which is not , depends on what you want to do but for l AP get a wedge for the mount, it will allow longer exposures , otherwise you will be limited to short term exposures , with lower results
The 8SE is a good scope its 100% better than the 130 astromaster but costs a great deal more , will work well on the planets but for deep sky get a wedge and a focal reduces
Good luck I see a money pit coming

[Gordon]

@JasonA1980 You are moving through what most of us have done. My first scope was similar to your first, then I progressed to a Meade ETX80 (alt / az) and used it for a year or so. That gave me lots of 'processing practice'. From there I went with an EQ mount. The nice thing is the 8se OTA (telescope body itself) can be removed and used with an EQ mount, so as you progress you can still use what you have.

[JasonA1980]

Thanks

Haha yeah I think I'll end up having to remortgage the house as I improve

[JayTee]

Jason,

Just to reaffirm, you bought a great scope whose mount (unaltered) will basically restrict you to planetary/lunar imaging. The 8SE will take amazing planetary/lunar images.

If you do get a wedge, you can attempt longer exposure deep sky images. To help you in this quest it is advisable to get the Celestron .63 focal reducer. This will bring the focal length down to a manageable distance for starting out in deep sky images. For the mount, the optimal solution is to get a "quality" EQ mount. That can wait for now.

Congrats on the new scope.