152mm A+M Refractor(OfficinaStellare-1200mm F/L'resolvability of .76" arc-sec ) using an APM Flattener at PrimeFocus and a CanonEOSII RebelT7i modified UV-IR by Hutech , and without using any filter . MaximDL Pro V6.16 and I used the 'guiding' and I did nine Autosave Sequence 16Bit FITS RawMonochrome images , but only seven of them were round stars , with 67secISO800 'flush-frames' and each exposure was 300secISO3200 while also using 'LongExposureNoiseReductionON' and 'HighlightTonePriority-Enabled' , and a 30sec 'Delay between' each image after download . Tonight I did a 'calibrate' to each 'light' but I used new 'blue-sky' FlatMasters that I made Oct 21 2022 and I did nine at ISO3200 for 'flats' and then I rotated the DSLR 180 degrees and I did nine more 'flats' and I could see that the gradient shifted to the other side , so , when I 'combined them with 'Scaling Manual 0.0005 and using the Bayer Planes option they might be equalized , but , I still used the "Remove Gradient" command which made the FlatMaster more symmetrical and then I reduced the FlatMaster with "PixelMath-90 percent" and did a "Save As... with an added description so I know what it is . I did the same with the eighteen 'darks' as a DarkMaster but I did remove any gradient . I didn't use the 'pink-shirt' type because it has a slightly darkened outer area and on some images it causes a brighter 'center' area that needs to be worked on to make the image look 'flat' across it ; ... but it isn't necessary to use them if you don't have any . I then did "Convert Color - Scaling 100% for R-G-B and the Background I always leave unchecked" . Idid a 'Save As.... IEEE Float' with an added extension to the image name ... like 300sec for the five ISO3200 'light' frames I used . I put the seven FITS images in the "Stack" command and I used the 'Manual 2-star' and then 'Sigma-Clip _ Delta-Level and Sigma Factor 9.95 and then I pressed the 'Combine' button , and looked at the Log .... which showed it rejected 1,000,000 pixels of 72,000,000 pixels . [ I have my Astro-Physics 1200GTO Mount outside on some flat rocks I put in the grass and the East side of the Astro-Physics Pier is lower so I cut four squares from plywood and screwed them together , but they were there for about two years and they are becoming soggy . I found some 1x6 inch pressure treated boards around the yard and I cut four at 6 inches long and I used deck screws to stack them together to replace the plywood situation . I then needed to raise the other two legs of the Pier with one pressure treated board and I made sure the boards were shimmed stable on the rocks with other flat pieces of slate . I used a bubble level to level the Pier and then put some 3 in 1 oil on the Pier top and then the RA part of the Mount on the Pier and then I oiled the top section of the RA part and then put on the Dec section of the Mount and then the Counter-Weight Shaft and then two 10 pound Counter Weights up close the the Dec section . Then I used the bubble level on the East side of the Pier top which is now a narrow edge but the level can be held on the edge for a bubble reading .... which was leaning up toward the South which meant the Pier was leaning down a little to the North , so I adjusted the front North side Pier turn buckle to get the bubble to a level position and the South side back of the Pier needed a little adjustment . When I put the Telescope on the Mount and the Guide Scope and an extra 5 pound Counter Weight I did another small adjustment with the bubble level like before and I assume everythings' level . Then I used the Losmandy Polar Scope and got the three stars where they are supposed to be and the year 2020 part of the directions show the second and third stars should be on their main lines . The Mount is real close to Polar Alignment but with MaximDL Pro when you 'Calibrate' you look at the 'red' lines being drawn to mark the star's travel .... you look to see if the RA and Dec lines are over-riding each for each direction and if they are slightly apart for RA travel or Dec travel you then can make adjustments with the Azimuth and Decline knobs till it looks like a good right angle travel path . This is probably in Polar Alignment all the time but when a different setup is used you then check with the bubble level for a good level again and hopefully it's all Polar Aligned trying to prevent large drift between images .] . [[ The sky was clear Oct 21 , 2022 and from about 8:00pm for a few hours I tried using the MaximDL Pro 6.16 to 'calibrate' the Guider in the Almach area . When I did it was good in RA with a 25sec move and a 20sec move for the Dec . The Dec always leaned out from a good right angle and I tried different Dec positions with the Astro-Physics 1200GTO Mount and it's original spot area was about the best but still not a good right angle drawn 'red' track lines . I then got to the front of the Mount on the North side and looking South I turned the East RA knob with the top of it turning toward me about 1/2 inch and then I tried another 'calibrate' . It seemed to move the Dec 'red' lines to a closer right angle . I tried moving the same RA knob again another 1/2 inch and tied another 'calibrate' and it was about as good as it gets and then I tightened the RA knobs equally alternating from one knob to the other and then I did another 'calibrate' with a 15sec RA move and a 10sec Dec move and the lines were a good right angle . I then went to PacMan NGC281 and I tried a 'calibrate' a few times and the 'red' lines were a good right angle also . And the same in the HorseHead Nebula area . I checked before trying to 'calibrate' with a 'bubble level' on the edges of the Pier and I adjusted to North side turn buckle a little and back side of the Mount which was still OK . From there I proceeded with the Guider 'calibrate' routine till it showed the good right angle ... in Polar Alignment .... and MaximDL Pro gives a precise indication of the Polar Alignment you have when you do a 'calibrate' routine . ]] . {{{ The week leading up to Halloween .... Mars will be by the M1 Crab Nebula and it will be about 15 arc-sec in size so maybe there won't be any dust blowing around on it , according to StarryNightPro . ]]] .x
