Using NINA and CPWI in Capturing the Needle Galaxy

[@donwoelz]

Just a note...you mentioned the unity gain of the ZWO ASI071MC was 139. My manual indicates that unity gain is 94.

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Hi Don, Good statement ... I just check and it is very near what you mentioned ... I see 90 for the ASI 071mc pro. My ZWO 1600mm is 139. Because of your response, I started to look around the different forums and see many of the 071 users set gain way above that unity value ... some as high as 300. Thank you for you inquiry.

[@Cgconst1]

Excellent! Thanks!

[@ronlundgren4391]

Nice shooting Pat.

[@craiglowery4427]

Nice

[@anabella.a5]

Que precioso jardín, hermosas fotografías 🤗. Un saludo desde Argentina.

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Gracias. El jardín requiere un poco de trabajo extra, pero vale la pena. Me da paz y alegría

[@steveby14]

Great pictures, Pat. Enjoy your videos thank you 🇪🇸

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Thank you for watching my video, Steve

[@richita3177]

Wow, I'm blown away by your equipment and knowledge, what a great video. Cheers Rick from Australia

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Thank you for watching my video(s), Rick.

[@jacintoartigas3017]

Hi Pat, great pictures, I like your work, thank s for share

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Thank you, Jacinto

[@astrogav]

Muy buen video amigo, felicitaciones

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Thank you

[@jonathanrobinson8816]

Thanks for this, solved my initial setup issues with Nina and celestron scope, can’t believe it was as simple as setting up the scope first! Subbed, and looking forward to more videos . Thanks, from Somerset, England

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Thank you Jonathan for watching my video(s). It took me some trial and error to figure it out too. It's too bad that all of the Celestron mounts don;t work with EQMOD or that CPWI won't work with all the other mounts, particularly those SkyWaters and Orion mounts.One would think with ASCOM, they should all work on the same software. Maybe someday in the future.

[@jonathanrobinson8816]

@@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy absolutely agree. Will be binge watching your other vids over the next week, so will probably hammer you with questions! Thanks again for the high quality vids

[@perry3928]

Hi Pat. New to your channel. Love the final image and your garden. I have the nexstar 8se with starsense and sky portal wifi. New to the hobby. I'm north of you in Rochester NY. Just waiting for clear skies to break them in. Looking forward to more.

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Hi Perry, Thank you for watching my video(s). I hope I bring you some added value to the wonderful world of astrophotography. I cut my teeth on the the little sister of the Nexstar 8",the Nexstar 6SE" but have graduated to the C-11 Edge HD and other scopes. Hopefully, you will enjoy some clear skies as the moon continues to wane providing some rich dark skies for you.

[@jimb5512]

Subscribed! Just stumbled across this video. I enjoyed it very much. I'm 75 and never had a telescope. I now have a edge hd 8 OTA on backorder. In the mean time I am collecting accessories (AVX mount, diagonal, eyepieces and focus motor). I enjoyed the software tips and will get my laptop loaded with what you are using.. bth, I live in Conyers, Ga. You live in a lovely area. Best regards, Jim

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Hi Jim, Well, I am not far behind you as I am 73. What camera do you have or plan to acquire? For astrophotography, you will also need a guide scope and another camera for it. The AVX is a great mount and yes, it uses CPWI to control it via a computer connection. the connection will be from a USB2 cable from the base of the hand controller to your computer. (You will need to look at the base of the hand controller to see what type USB connector that you will need. All of this will match up in NINA perfectly. It will be very important to accurately polar aling the mount in order to use the GO TO functions or to plate solve in NINA when slewing to your target. Yes, Savannah, is a lovely place. Our port is going bonkers with activity ... 3rd most active in the US now. Plus, it is much more mild here than in the Atlanta area, particularly in the winter. I alway have a winter garden.

[@jimb5512]

@@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy Thanks for the response. Initially, I will be doing nothing but viewing. Until I get familiar with everything. Once I am confident, I will try using some of my canon camera bodies (FF 1dxII, APSC 90d & mirrorless R7) to see what kind of results I can get. My hobby has always been photography (airshows & wildlife). I do have a question for you. If I load all CPWI & NINA on my laptop, can I do some testing with just the AVX? It might be a month or two before the OTA is back in stock. Thank you. Jim

[@RussellsAstrophotography]

Great video Pat, really enjoyed watching your workflow. Fantastic final image, I love the colours.

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Thank you, Russel

[@mrkutube]

Just trying to setup my CGEM II and Evolution 9.25 with L Pro with RisingCam IMX571 first time with NINA. Connected my Mele Mini PC to the CGEM II via CPWI and Ascom device hub. Did a three point polar alignment by NINA. Selected M101 in the Sky Atlas then Framing Assistant then pressed the Slew and Centre button, it slews then it hangs for long time. Spent about 2 hours fiddling in -5C then gave up, wasting this clear sky. Exposure was only 5 seconds in the plate solving. Googling for the solution your this video showed up. Thanks for sharing your experience Pat. This video will help trouble shooting my problem. I am using latest version of CPWI, it doesn’t show Hand Controller for connecting the mount, only showing USB and WiFi now.

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Hmmm, CPWI NOT showing the option to connect via the Hand Controller? That certainly doesn't sound right. Also, in your initial session, I wonder if you had some sort of cable snag. Another possible error might have been the CGEM reached it slew limit. I have dealt with this issue before. The solution is to connect the hand controller (NOT CPWI at this time) and slew in Right Ascension all the way to the east and then back all the way to the west. If it doesn't perform correctly, use the position where it didn't slew all the way and unlock your RA break and manually move the mount all the way over to where it should be, then lock the break and slew back and forth once again. I would set the speed to 9 on the HC to speed up the process.

[@Frantisek7403]

Greetings from Finland.Great video.Unfortunately we will not have dark sky for next couple of weeks at all 😞

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Hi Frank, Yes, I've heard you don't get much, if any, true dark skies in the summer. I guess you make up for it during the winter

[@Frantisek7403]

@@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy Thank you.The winter is great for us here as we can get the dark skies from 3pm unitll 9am.More north even longer.Just sometimes it´s not a fun when it get -30 degree celsius :) Wish you clear skies

[@AZ4Runner]

Loved watching your acquisition workflow. great image of a small target. Wow didn't realize the 11" edge had a 2800 native FL. Even with the 0.7x reducer you are still imaging at around 1900 FL. that is up close and personal. Also love the Garden! CS

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Thanks, Jason, I took some mental notes while watching your last video. Yep, it isn't always perfect, and usually, far from it. Well, all this rain certainly doesn't hurt the garden. Oh, and BTW, our annual rainfall here is about 50 inches per year ... a lot more than what you get there near the desert.

[@SimonsAstro]

Great video Pat! Excellent final images, when I did the needle recently I was doing 5 min subs! As you said, the longer your focal length, the more difficult to get round stars! Hope you get you OAG up and running soon. I can’t wait to get back on the Eagle nebula when it’s high enough for me! Clear skies Pat 👍

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Hi Simon, I am working on my tracking accuracy on the CGX mount which is hosting the big C-11. I will play with the OAG when the clouds abated. Meanwhile, on my SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro, I have the big Orion EON 130 Triplet and I have been easily getting round stars at 5 minutes and nearly round at 10 minutes. At your latitude, the Eagle is flying quite low. I am amazed you can even see it. Lots of atmosphere to look through with that target and all the others nearby such as the Trifid and Lagoon. Best of luck to you

[@SimonsAstro]

@@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy Thanks, Yeah I’m at 52 degrees! Everything is a bit low at present! And not dark till midnight 😬

[@siegfriednoet]

Correct Pat, here in Belgium this time of the year nautical dark starts at 11.55pm and nautical dawn starts at 03.30am, so very little time to image now. But that doesn't hold us back though 🙂 Great images !

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Hi Siegfried, I thought your summer nights were short. Doesn't give much time for astrophotography. However, I bet it is just the opposite in the winter months.

[@stevekuzmic3911]

Beautiful capture Pat. I struggled with 2700mm focal length when I got a skywatcher mak 180 which I only use it for moon and planetary imaging . Than I decided to use my guide scope for plate solving. Although that was a mission getting the guide scope perfectly aligned with the main scope. Works spot on every time now . Lucky with the rain mate

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Thank you, Steve. Yes, it is certainly difficult to guide with long focal lengths. I have another scope, the EON 130mm that has a focal length of 910mm and I can guide 5 to 10 minutes on the SkyWatcher EQ6-R pro. The rain is not good for astrophotography but the garden sure looks good!

[@JoesAstrophoto]

Great captures Pat! It's nice to know I'm not the only one fighting clouds on what is supposed to be a clear night. That C11 is such a beast! Seeing yours really make me think about getting one or maybe even a 14. Hope your weather improves soon.

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Thanks Joe, Well, don't you already own the C8? However, with that giant mount of yours, I bet you could pull off getting great tracking with the C-14. It has a focal length of 3910mm ... Now that's a beast, just ask Ray of Rays Astro. Oh, and yes, it is raining here at the moment

[@AstroQuest1]

Nice Video Pat and awesome images! I am not familiar with CPWI - it seems like a handy program especially for the raspberry PI computer set up you use. I must have missed your polar alignment or was it all ready done from a previous night? Also, I love that garden of yours. - Cheers Kurt

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Hi Kurt, Thank you. The garden is at its peak right now for the daylilies but still climbing in blooms for the dahlias. Since I don't move the mount and just cover the scope and mount when I am finished (I am rather lazy), the previous alignment was still spot on. I do remove the camera and bring that inside when finished.

[@robj144]

Cool.... you sure you want to use a filter on a broadband target though?

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

The Optolong L-Pro is great for galaxies in light polluted areas, such as mine. My Bortle values is about 5

[@Stephen-gp8yi]

What’s your opinion on the skywatcher sky hawk 1145p for a novice like myself?great content✌️

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

That looks like a good beginner's scope and should be able to see the comet

[@jeffreyvictor3678]

Pat…what are your guiding number for the CGX mount using a 2800FL OTA and a guide camera with only a 240FL? Do you think PA and guiding would improve with wide FOV?

[@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy]

Hi Jeffery, Guiding is ALWAYS easier with lower focal lengths. Also, good Polar Alignment is essential for good tracking