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Posted by Paul A Brierley at 18:46 on 2014 Jan 11
I’ve used the camera and everything is working out off the box. I am very pleased.
Posted by Terry Byatt at 18:41 on 2014 Jan 11
The truth is that "The Sky at Night" will never be the same again.Why? Because sadly nobody will ever be able to step into dear Patrick’s shoes.
Posted by Mike Harlow at 20:06 on 2014 Jan 10
Hi Robin,Yes that’s exactly right…Jupiter is an extended object at 550mm focal length so the objective prism set-up blurs the spectrum. One of the methane bands in the spectrum of Jupiter is faintly visible.This was just an experiment to see what is possible with such a system and is reported here to hopefully stimulate interest in spectroscopy in general…Mike.
Posted by Martin Mobberley at 20:05 on 2014 Jan 10
Yes indeed Eric,Mark is very keen to start imaging trials with it ASAP!But the recent UK weather has been somewhat challenging!Martin
Posted by Americo Watkins at 19:32 on 2014 Jan 10
Martin,I think it would be interesting to see some lunar/planetary images taken with modern equipment using the restored telescope.Eric
Posted by Robin Leadbeater at 19:04 on 2014 Jan 10
Hi Mike,While Uranus does show more intense Methane absorption bands than Jupiter, I am wondering if in this case the difference is being exaggerated by some effect which has reduced the contrast in the Jupiter spectrum. (The H beta absorption band, from the reflected sunlight, is also significantly weaker in the Jupiter spectrum whereas it would be expected to be of similar intensity.) Perhaps the larger angular size of Jupiter (which determines the resolution in a slitless spectrum) is playing a part here?Robin
Posted by Martin Mobberley at 15:41 on 2014 Jan 10
I’ve been meaning to upload some recent pics sent to me via Mark Stuckey. Last year Mark resurrected my old 14 inch AE ‘scope, which I gave him some years ago, and he installed it in Horace Dall’s old dome, hence this thread. However, Mark has now completely and magnificently restored Horace’s 15.5-inch Dall Kirkham too, first built in 1938, and kept from 1986 to 2013 by Luton A.S. So Horace’s famous old telescope and its dome are now re-united and both are in absolutely pristine and fully working condition, thanks to Mark. From the late 1930s to the early 1980s this telescope took most of the best lunar & planetary photographs taken from the UK.The latest pictures are here:http://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/IMG_3479.jpghttp://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/IMG_3480.jpghttp://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/IMG_3482.jpghttp://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/IMG_3483.jpghttp://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/IMG_3484.jpgQuite a staggering double restoration job by Mark I think!!Martin
Posted by Terry Byatt at 12:50 on 2014 Jan 10
I quote from Martin’s response… "there is no such thing as bad publicity". This says it all as a defense!
Posted by Mike Harlow at 19:10 on 2014 Jan 09
Hi Paul,I’m no software expert I simply use the MX916 for acquiring images using the Starlight Xpress interface and process using IRIS. Very basic stuff. All I can say is that the MX916 is a very good camera in terms of sensitivity with it’s 11um pixels and low noise.So if you want to do some science it’s an excellent camera. If you want to take ‘pretty pictures’…maybe not so good because of it’s relatively small size. I recommend science!!!You may be interested in the image below which shows the spectral response of the camera. I got into spectroscopy last year and compared different telescope and detector combinations. The MX916 goes from about 360nm to beyond 950nm which again is a very useful spectral range.I can certainly recommend it…Mike.
Posted by Robin Leadbeater at 18:07 on 2014 Jan 09
Paul,If you run into trouble getting the camera to communicate via the parallel port I can recommend direct-iohttp://www.direct-io.com/It got me out of problems more than once back in the parallel port modded web and video cam days and a time limited trial version is freeGood Luck!Robin
Posted by Paul A Brierley at 17:49 on 2014 Jan 09
Thank you Robin.I hope to use the camera tonight, if the clouds stay away long enough.I will be very interested seeing what I can do with the camera, both imaging and processing. During the summer I hope to have enough spare cash, to treat myself to a USB CCD from SX or Atik.
Posted by Robin Leadbeater at 17:40 on 2014 Jan 09
Correction. there are a couple of images at full resolution on the astrosurf site above which gives an idea of the sort of image quality produced (they look pretty clean to me, though not exactly challenging targets)http://www.astrosurf.com/re/m057_taka_1x1.jpghttp://www.astrosurf.com/re/m011_taka_1x1.jpgso it must be possible. Robin
Posted by Robin Leadbeater at 17:27 on 2014 Jan 09
Hi Paul,There is someone here who managed it http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/153106-anyone-out-there-still-using-a-sx-mx916/but I think the main problem is allowing access to the parallel port which can be done with XP but possibly not with later Windows. Re the quality, it seems many people for some reason run 2x binned which gives rather poor low resolution images which would be undersampled with a typical setup eghttp://www.astrosurf.com/re/mx916.htmlThe manual appears to state is the native resolution of the camera.http://www.astro.soton.ac.uk/~mjc/obs/mx916.pdfbut actually the ICX083 CCD used is 752×582 x11.6umwhich should give a reasonable image if a rather small field by today’s standards. I doubt you would get images which would be considered of any quality though these days unless you can access this native CCD resolution. CheersRobin
Posted by Paul A Brierley at 06:48 on 2014 Jan 08
Thanks Nick.I have AA5, but sadly it doesn’t come with a cloud filter. And I have everything else. Including a Losmandy G11-Gemini L4.I just want to use this camera and see how good it is. What intrigue’s me. Are the lack of high quality images taken with this model. They have all been very poor with the odd exception.I should have a Trius later in the year but in the mean time, whilst saving the pennies. I’ll play with this. And try to get the best images I can.Thank goodness USB saved the day.
Posted by Steve Holmes2 at 00:23 on 2014 Jan 08
Thanks Richard – a timely (and indeed salutary!) reminder that if one is going to look for close approaches of minor bodies it might be a good idea to make sure your ephemerides are up to date! On investigation, mine were not. Having updated them from the MPC data (and checked them using Solex 11), I find the same result as given in your post.So, as that well-loved radio programme used to say: "I’m sorry, I’ll read that again – I make the closest approach 10arc-sec on 5th July"!!
Posted by John Thorpe at 17:51 on 2014 Jan 07
I take Terry Byatts point re Patricks friend Laura, but my point of view is very different. Martins biography is an immensely readable account, all the more so because it is totally true to his research, not avoiding or changing any of the facts as he sees them about Patricks life. The result is an account which is both highly informative and interesting, precisely because it reveals Patrick as a real and complete human being. To me this is far more respectful to the memory of the great man than to distort or suppress facts because they may be interpreted as insufficiently reverential.I certainly do not think any the less of Patrick because he made up this story. Martin explains well what Patricks motives may have been, and I find his explanations fully understandable, and it helps me to get a better picture of Patrick.Just about every astronomer I have met acknowledges a debt to Patrick. Reading this account of his life will only strengthen that conviction, and also gives us what I am sure most of his fans want; a glimpse of what Patrick was really like.
Posted by Nick Atkinson at 17:24 on 2014 Jan 07
Hi Paul,I suggest that you first contact StarlightXpress telecom 0118 402 6898 as they should be able to advise you on their software downloads for this camera and is free of charge.If you do not have a GOTO mount AIPWin.V2 is a good option and coming with a free book is VAT exempt. and will provide all the image manipulation features plus calibration. Should you wish to submit variable star photometry to the BAA it is fully integrated with this package.You do not say which mount you have, if this a GOTO then Astro Art and Maxim DL can be considered. AstroArt is the cheaper option but I cannot advise on this.You can download MaximDL plus Maxpoint for a free 30 day trial and all features can be tried. At $599 for the download option it is expensive but is fully featured for telescope and camera control and uses a StatlightXpress universal drivers for both your camera and auto guider. First check with SXP to see if the universal driver will support your camera. Maxim has been featured for over the last year in Astronomy Now. I use this package and have not been disappointed. The £ to $ exchange rate is favourable now.Maxpoint will integrate with Cartes du Ceil free planetarium software but you will need to down load an ASCOM driver. Later on you could always add on another planetarium.Clear skies,Nick
Posted by Richard Miles at 18:34 on 2014 Jan 06
Steve using MPC ephemerides, here is what I find:Appulse of Ceres (V=8.4) and Vesta (V=7.1), 2014 JulyAs seen from southern UK (MPC Code J77)Optimal UK-based observing interval: 22:00-23:00 UT on July 05Year Month Day HH:hh(UT) Sep.(‘) Alt.20147509:00 10.00-3420147510:009.97-2620147511:009.96-1820147512:009.92-0920147513:009.92+0120147514:009.91+1020147515:009.91+1920147516:009.89+2720147517:009.88+3320147518:009.90+3720147519:009.92+3720147520:009.91+3520147521:009.93+3020147522:009.94+2320147523:009.97+1520147600:009.99+0620147601:0010.01-04
Posted by Steve Holmes2 at 17:19 on 2014 Jan 06
Further to Jean Meeus’ comment, I make it that their closest encounter will in fact be on 7th July – just 6arc-minutes! Not all that high in the sky and with a waxing Moon around, but an historic encounter nonetheless.
