Deep Space Photography Part 4

 April and May turned into an interesting month as we began using both the Askar SQA70mm and an Askar SQA106.  While not a huge difference from the SQA55 the SQA70 nevertheless has 22% more focal length. We also decided to accelerate our plans of getting a second complete setup due to the availability of gear and the cost increases in tariffs. To that end we now have an Askar SQA106 as well as a second ZWO 2600MC Air and a AM5N mount.  The SQA106 is 508mm and has approximately 40% more reach than the SQA70 which should help us with our reaching further into deep space targets.

M16 "Eagle Nebula"

Nebula season is just about over in North America and we’re into Galaxy season which means our targets have changed.  The Nebulas we were able to capture with little effort has slowly drifted from our skies replaced with other targets that require early morning captures (midnight to 4-am).  The Galaxies now come into view early evening to early morning.  This means we have somewhat of a choice, early morning for Nebulas or mid evening (8-pm) to early morning (midnight) for Galaxies.  All we need is clear skies and a strong desire to forego sleep.

M58 approximately 68-million light-years

We had several nights of dark & clear skies around the same period of no moon.  The moon was rising very early in the morning and setting early afternoon which made for perfect conditions. We took advantage and captured 8-nights consisting of 300-seconds captures for a total of 30-hours and 360 captures. Our target was M63 or the “Sunflower Galaxy”.  We captured M63 using the SQA70 as while the SQA106 arrived we were still waiting for a few bits and pieces before we used it.

M58 prior to crop and annotation

Using the first night as a testbed we stacked and processed 48-images in Pixinsight, saving the image as a 16-bit TIFF then opened it in Photoshop where we processed it further.  The final processing was done in Topaz Photo AI before sizing back in Photoshop saving the image as both a TIFF & JPEG. The original image was cropped in at 2-1 in Pixinsight and resized from 100 to 200.

M63 "Sunflower Galaxy"

We’ve already written about just how well the SQA106 performs so we won’t rehash it here.  Both the SQA70 and 106 are excellent telescopes that we look forward to using for some time to come.

NGC4565 "Needle Galaxy" 6-hours

We encountered an issue with our computer after we upgraded the graphics card.  Seems we didn’t have a large enough power supply and while processing (or attempting to process) the images we encountered blue screens of death.  We had enough issues with attempting to stack and process that we had to throw in the towel and upgrade the computer once again.  We decided to go a little nuts and make certain we were “future-proof”. Here’s a partial list: Intel Core Ultra 9 (24-core) processor, ASUS ROG Z890 motherboard, 192GB DDR5 memory and the GeForce RTX 5090 32BG graphics card. We have 7-slots for nvme drives which are fully occupied (27TB total). We also have a 1500w power supply so no more power issues. We also decided to update our monitor to a Dell 40” curved monitor.  The computer arrived June 5^th and we had it completely up and running June 7^th, testing a 6-hour (72-images) capture of the Needle Galaxy. This might be a little overkill however the machine handled the total processing beginning in Pixinsight then Photoshop and Topaz AI without any issues.  The computer in question is the Digital Storm Velox.

Needle Galaxy Panorama (prior to crop)

We're headed to a very dark sky area soon so stay tuned.

Sandy & Don

 

 

 

 

The ASKAR SQA106

We decided to take a break from sharing our deep space photography to speak about the SQA106.  Okay, we’re still talking about deep space photography however on a slightly different level.

Lost Galaxy (SQA106)

First image captured

We began our journey back into deep space late 2024 when we purchased the SeeStar 50 which many know is a small all-in-one “smart telescope”.  What we didn’t realize at the time is that the SeeStar 50 is a “gateway telescope” for many.  Yes, it works better than it should however you’ll quickly left with wanting “more”.  That feeling of wanting more led us to buying a ZWO ASI2600MC Air camera and an ASKAR SQA55mm telescope. The SQA55 was a great smaller telescope that has a 264mm focal length at f/4.8 weighing in at slightly more than 6-pounds (2.8kg).  The SQA55 was replaced with the newly released SQA70 with a 336mm focal length at f/4.8, weighing in at slightly more than 7.5 pounds (3.5kg).

Crop of Lost Galaxy

We still use the SQA70 and have added another telescope, the SQA106. The SQA106 is a 509mm focal length and f/4.8, weighing in at just under 18-pounds (8.12kg). Yes, we now have two complete telescope setups, tripod, pier, mount, and camera.  The only thing that separates the two systems is the telescope.

So, what attracted us the SQA106?  Image quality is the same as both the 55 and 70.  The SQA55 is a dual use telescope in that it can perform equally well as a telescope and as a telephoto lens when attached to a regular camera with a range of f/4.8 to f/22. The SQA70 is not a dual use telescope.

The SQA106 has a longer reach into deep space than either the SQA55 or SQA70. The SQA55 has a wider field of view while the 70 has approximately 22% less and the 106 has approximately 50% less.

M104 Sombrero Galaxy (SQA106)

So far, we ‘ve owned 3- ASKAR SQA telescopes and have found the image quality of all 3 of them to be superior.

The price range is not for the faint of heart with the SQA55 coming in at under $900 US, the SQA70 is just shy of double and the SQA106 is just shy of 4-times.  Are they worth it? The short answer is yes.  We now have 2-telescopes that will allow us the ability to reach into deep space the way we wish. 

One word of caution on the SQA106.  This is a beast! The length with the shield extended along with a filter drawer, spacer and the 2600 Air is close to 30” (762mm).  We’ve noted the weight above but when you add the imaging train, you’re closer to 20-pounds (9.07kg).  Sadly, this does not come with a handle, yet one is available (if you can if one).  Buy the handle.  Order as soon as you even think you might be ordering the SQA106.  We had to go to Canada to find a handle as everywhere we looked in the US it was on inter-galactic back order. (Side note here is that we had ordered one for the SQA70 for added ease of use.)

M16 "Eagle Nebula"

We've included the Eagle Nebula image which is actually a test.  This was captured shortly after midnight for 300-seconds x 12 (1-hour).  We processed the stacked image much as we would any other however, we plan on adding multiple hours to the stack in hopes of achieving a better finished product.

Our first night went easier than expected.  The polar alignment went smoothly.  In the past, using either the SQA55 or 70 the number of stars found during the polar alignment single digit stars were found; our first night out with the SQA106 we were finding triple digits, and we were beginning within 60-minutes of sunset.

There are many YouTube reviews on the SQA106, and we have yet to find any that don’t sing high praises.  We’re just getting started with the SQA106 and look forward to sharing much more about this and it slightly shorter cousin the SQA70.

Meridian Flip; the most nerve-wracking time of shooting deep space.  The flip is done as the target you're tracking/shooting transits from the eastern sky into the west.  The meridian is an invisible line between east and west.  Twenty-some-odd pounds of equipment doing a delicate twist and turn as you stand by watching, making sure the cables don't snag all the while rethinking if you have all the knobs tight.  Fun!

Our recommendation based on limited but highly successful use is if you can find one; if you can afford it, and the weight doesn't scare you; get it.  But also order the handle...

Sandy & Don

Deep Space Photography Part 3

 

California Nebula 300-seconds x 12  (1-hour)

If you’ve been following us either here, Face Book or Instagram you know we’ve begun a trip down the rabbit hole regarding astrophotography or deep space photography.

Our journey began late last year several months from my last chemo treatment. I wanted to get back to photography which I had missed during my illness and treatment. Our normal form of photography is a combination of landscape, nature and wildlife. We had experimented with astrophotography some years back, but it never took hold. As we have written before, the older equipment was a beast, both in physical and weight.

                      Christmas Tree Cluster  300-seconds x 144 (12-hours) 3-nights                          

The introduction of the ZWO Seestar S50 got our astro juices flowing again and it was off to the races. We replaced the S50 with a combination of a ZWO AN3 mount, ZWO tripod, a ZWO ASI 2600MC Air camera, and an Askar SQA55mm telescope using a ZWO EAF (electronic auto focuser). We’re nearing the end of March (2025) and will shortly be adding a new Askar SQA70mm telescope as a replacement to the 55mm. The SQA55 and has focal length of 264 while the SQA70 has 336mm approximately 25% improvement in focal length.

We continue to use a combination of Pixinsight for primary stacking and processing as well as Photoshop and in some cases Topaz Labs that include Topaz Photo AI.

 Orion, Running Man & Horsehead Nebuls (300-seconds x 36 for 3-hours)

                        

We’re learning quite a lot as we stumble along. The moon phases play a significate role in how we photograph at night. While the period running to and behind a new moon is significant, there are days at a time that the moon while near full may be visible during the day and not at night. Likewise, there are periods of time that the moon doesn’t raise until midnight giving a window between sunset and moonrise for dark skies. We’ve also learned that we need to wait no less than 45 to 60-minutes after sunset to begin capturing our target for the night.

Speaking of capturing. The better the guiding the longer you can capture; we generally set the capture time at 300-seconds (5-minutes) times the number of captures which can be anywhere from 36 to 48 in length depending on the night skies.

Running Man Nebula 300-seconds x 36 (3-hours)

Also of note is the total number of captures for a single image. We’ve decided that the minimum number of nights is 2 while going up to 4 nights. Two nights might give is 72-frames and 4 in excess of 140. Multiple nights of capturing need not be one after another as we have successfully stacked 4-nights from different months.

We’ve been very pleased using the Askar SQA55 f/4.8 which is a Quintuplet Air-Spaced SD Glass Petzval Astrograph telescope with a focal length of 264.  Askar has recently released a SQA70 f/4.8 Quintuplet Petzval Refractor telescope with a focal length of 336mm.  The SQA55 has aperture of 55mm while the SQA70 has 70mm.  The SQA70 will give us about 22% larger aperture and focal length.  Yes, we have one on order. 

Till next time, wishing you clear skies...

Sandy & Don

Update:  The ZWO CAA has arrived and the SQA70 should be here within a couple of days. Just in time for a planned trip to a very dark area in northern Arizona.