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It does do registration but it does a global normalization instead of local normalization. I still need to find some time to go through a full workflow in FBPP and WBPP and compare the final results. Will make sure my processing steps are the same.

It's the correct angle for August 2022.

@@Naztronomy ok, I should have checked that. Sorry

Mine is almost 8 years old now. It's a quad core i7 with 32GB RAM and GTX 3060Ti GPU. The 3060 is the newest part that I bought in 2021. And I also got a couple of really good nVME SSDs which help a lot with the speed. This particular image is not drizzled. I used FBPP to integrate and unfortunately, drizzle isn't available. On the plus side, it stacks really quickly. I posted a video on that last week: czcams.com/video/OD2yj0GTBo8/video.html

@@Naztronomy Yeah I saw that they don't allow drizzle as of yet. Yeah I saw that video. Wow 8 years old. That's great. I have a 3050 as I built mine for landscape photography editing and now moving over to DSO it is still working fine but we all want it quicker right? haha.

Absolutely! We all have a need for speed. I'm hoping to build a new one in 2025. Will probably take my 3060 over to save some money.

Thanks! Yeah, my lav mic was hitting my shirt. My sound check went fine but it shifted at some point. I blame my cat for jumping on my lap while I was recording early on 🐱

@@Naztronomy Blaming the pet makes sense. I do the same around here. haha.

Thanks! They're great for my lazy lifestyle.

Thanks! I can't wait for the reducer. It'll be amazing at f/5.1.

Thank you! Yeah, I have similar issues trying to stack all of my stacks from beginning to end. You'll have to just make a big black circle in the middle to hide the imperfections at the edges because the moon moves quite a bit throughout the eclipse. So it may be better to align all of your exposures to the corona itself and not the moon/sun or the prominences. Then just overlay one good frame with the prominence on top. Aligning on the prominence is tough, especially if you had totality of more than a minute because the moon moves fast!

@@Naztronomy Thanks for the tip! I was trying to do this with all the stacks combined but I'll try it on the individual stacks and then combine it. Thanks!

@@MrJaimec94 Anytime and good luck!

Glad this was helpful 😊

Hey Robert, yes it will stack a group of images as well. In the video around 2:02, I click File >> Open File. But right under that option, you have two other options that are "Open Sequence of Files" and "Open List of Files" that will both work. "Open List of Files" is probably the easier option. Let me know if you have any issues. I'm currently working on stacking some moon pictures myself using AstroSurface so I can also record my steps.

@@Naztronomy Thanks for the reply, I will go back over the video and have an other look. I have watched a few more videos on AstroSurface and it looks very impressive, I like the way that you can practically do everything in one program, I saw in one video that you can add borders and text to your image as well. It will be interesting to see if it will get rid of the camera noise that I am getting with my ZWO120 MC Pro. I have downloaded the latest version seeing that the one I had was a bit out of date, so to speak. Cheers Robert

@@newbee1016 Yeah, Astrosurface is an impressive piece of software. And it's true that you can add borders and text to your images as well. Stacking should get rid of some of the noise. Good luck with your data, let me know if you have questions!

No pain at all. I updated PixInsight like I normally do.

@@Naztronomy Did everything still work?

Yep, everything worked as it did before.

What's the other channel?

Totally agree. Hopefully they'll include it in a future update even though that'll make the integration time a little bit longer. It'll still be way faster than regular WBPP.

That's the 'Fast Integration' option in PixInsight. Previously, it was released as a standalone process where you do you preprocessing in WBPP then you stack them in Fast Integration. But they've since built that into WBPP. Someone else mentioned the option in the comments, I tested it out and although it's much faster than WBPP by itself, it's not as fast as FBPP (8.5 mins vs 5.75 mins).

My initial tests suggest that quality is the same. I've tried this with 3 different data sets. The only thing I haven't yet compared is doing WBPP with drizzle which has previously given me sharper results. I'll try and do some testing with this in the coming week and will post my results in a new video. Let me know if you want me to look for anything specific.

Ah thanks! I knew they had a standalone fast-integration process but I guess my eyes totally glazed over that option within WBPP. Thanks for pointing that out! The standalone process worked fine for me but having to jump to it from WBPP and click more buttons turned me off from it. But I'm really glad to see it incorporated into WBPP. I just ran it with the exact same dataset and it finished in 8.5 mins. MUCH faster than regular WBPP but FBPP is still faster. The difference you and I are seeing probably has to do with our hardware. My computer is coming up on 8 years old now. Aside from the speed, the masterLight file from FBPP is 103MB in size vs 317MB from Fast integration.

3 minutes! That's awesome. How much data did you integrate? I did get to almost 8x with another test run today. Have no doubt it'll consistently do 10x or faster given the right set of circumstances.

Thank you so much, I appreciate the support 😊

Mine is still there. If yours disappeared, can you try readding it?

@@Naztronomy Yeah I tried that right away, still didn't work. Maybe I'll try some more. I normally don't update things as soon as they release but the idea of faster stacking was too tempting lol

@@ct8618 You and me both! I was in the middle of stacking with WBPP when I got the email. Weird that re-adding it didn't work. Let me know if you figure it out. Good luck!

@@Naztronomy I got it working. It's possible I didn't exit PI when I removed it last time before going back in to re-add it. Nevertheless, its back! Thanks!

@@ct8618 Awesome, glad to hear you have it working!

I didn't mention it in the video but FBPP also uses less computing power than WBPP. Haven't compared that to APP or Siril though. Really an amazing advancement.

I think the scope is great for visual astronomy. There are no chromatic aberrations from what I can see and since I made the video, I've looked at a few more double stars as well as the moon where I'd normally expect some color around the limb but I saw none. When I pair it with my Televue Diagonal, I get really good contrast even with my low-quality eyepieces. I can clearly make out globs and most double stars I've looked at. There's not enough zoom to see close binaries like Mizar A and Mizar B but maybe I am looking at the wrong time of the year. I haven't observed any nebulae though. From my bortle 8 backyard, even with nebula boosting filters like an OIII filter, I can't really see anything with any of my telescopes. I'd love to test it out on the Orion nebula at some point when it comes back around (and preferably not from my backyard). With all that said, the field of view is really nice but it's limited by the focal ratio of f/7. It's not "slow" but having used larger scopes that are much faster and the amount of light you can collect quickly is noticeable. I don't see myself using this scope for anything other than looking at the moon (because the moon looks soooo nice through this) and for astrophotography. I plan on doing a follow-up video so I'll include everything I've mentioned here and maybe a little bit more. Hoping to get at least a few more nights of astro out of this before I make that video. Let me know if you have other questions in the meantime.

When it's all collapsed, it's about 373mm but when it's expanded (both with the camera adapters and the dew shield), its's about 474mm. And if you are wondering about the actual focal length, it's 490mm.

Ahhh if we convert USD to CAD, it's cheaper by about $19 USD at the moment. I am not sure if the Evoguide 50 is comparable to the Askar 71F. The Evoguide is an apochromatic guide scope and although you can use it for astrophotography, it'll be a bit more difficult with the helical focuser and the lack of a flat field. Evoguide is faster than the 71F so you'll collect light more quickly but but you'll have to add a field flattener. Are you looking for a wider field of view refractor? If you are, check out the AT60ED. I have a first light video of it here: czcams.com/video/FBS7PhGd0vk/video.html

Thank you! And I agree. I'm ready for the next one!

Glad it was helpful 😊

Thank you! So far I've imaged the Iris Nebula and it came out really well. I'm still editing it and will upload it to my astrobin soon (and the channel's community tab). I've tried to image a few nebulae in Cygnus for the last couple of weeks but clouds haven't let me. What kind of data are you looking to see? I can try to capture something that'll be helpful. I use the 533MC Pro as my camera and I have an L-eXtreme dual narrowband filter that I planned on using. The iris nebula I mentioned above was taken without any filters.

@@Naztronomy awesome! Waiting for that upload. I am going to be buying it either way, you have convinced me. Honestly iris nebula will be perfect for comparison.

@@shreyaskanetkar4697 Awesome! Use my referral link if you're able to :) I think this link should work, direct link to the file on discord with the caveat that I'm still not fully complete editing it: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1215409863354490960/1248744797578199190/Iris_Darker.png?ex=6664c7b8&is=66637638&hm=b6f629b325b71ce8b859235c43d6dcbb8f54daa3ae5558a04db1693071491dba&

Thanks 😊 The spinny end took way longer to do than I anticipated but totally worth it!

Great summary! For #2, I think the 'reference' layer should be what you find the best layer to align everything else to. Not necessarily the fastest exposure. I have some stacks where the second or third fastest is the best one. No real formula there. I like the idea of adding sky color back in. Makes total sense! If you use discord and want to share your results, check out the description for an invite link to the discord channel.

Good question! Under "Control" click on "More" and then you'll see an option that says "TargetTemp" - just check that on and you should be able to change the target temperature. For lucky imaging, you won't really see any benefits to cooling your camera. For Planetary images, I use my 533MC Pro which is a cooled camera and I keep the temperature control off so I usually never talk about it when I talk about firecapture.

Thank you! And thanks for the video suggestion, I like the idea especially since we're heading into Solar Maximum and should expect to see a lot more activity over the next year. I have a few telescopes I can use to showcase but the challenge will be enough clear skies :) The Askar 71F has a focal length of almost 2x RedCat51's so it would be better for the sun. You can get a closer look at the sun without adding extra glass in between the telescope and your camera. From my example in the video, you can see that the sun fits the field of view pretty nicely. You may be able to get a better view with a telescope that's around 600-800mm focal length (as long as the optics are good enough, both the RedCat and the Askar have excellent optics). You'll have to be careful about the weight of everything because the SolarQuest has a payload limit of 11lbs. I can actually use my 6" SCT to get fairly close to the sun at a focal length of 1500mm. The SCT with a DSLR is just under the payload limit. And yes, you can use a barlow lens to get closer to the sun and its sunspots, keeping in mind that barlows can decrease the quality of the image that you see. I haven't tested mine with one but I will try to for a follow-up video that I'm working on now. Let me know if you have any questions! Clear skies!

@@Naztronomy I'm aware of the weight limit on the SolarQuest, which is why I have reached out to you. I don't want the SolarQuest to be a one trick pony so photographing SunSpots are a perfect target for this tracker. So, if you could show what scopes/camera/DSLR combo would work with this tracker; which would do a decent job on zooming in to photograph SunSpots would be a great followup to the eclipse. I bet there are many out there who have purchased this tracker and are now asking themselves... what else can I do with it? Later this summer, I am planning a trip to visit Luntz to see what they have that will work with the SolarQuest to photograph SunSpots with.

The outer dimension of the dew shield is 87.60mm, so a bahtinov mask that goes around that would be ideal. I'm going to print one for myself that 87.65mm so I'll see how snuggly that fits.

The Askar 120 is amazing! Once you get comfortable with AP, you should be able to get some great images with the 120. You may need to buy a flattener/reducer for it though. I think the 585MC is a great choice. The specs look good and the reviews I've seen so far are encouraging. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. As for guide scopes, I've been using this one for a few years: amzn.to/3X5WCYL It's a 60mm svbony. I've used it from a focal length of 258mm to 3000mm without any issues. I've also used it with a ASI120mm Mini. If you look at my video here, around the 0:43 mark, you can see the setup on my newtonian: czcams.com/video/1MrPU5dVDQo/video.html And if you look at my community post here, you can see the same guide scope on top of the Askar 71F: czcams.com/users/postUgkxW4CQclSQEKQabHad0jqj_0JaKxyBIxs9 Let me know if you have more questions. Clear skies!

Solar sheets don't care about finger prints. Unless you're touching it and leaving a ton of residue, handling it this way won't affect the light transmission. It's a good idea to wash your hands or use gloves if you're worried. And the point of the video is to show that this type of a setup is NOT expensive. The only care you really need to take is to not damage the actual sheet. Make sure there are no tears, holes, or creases that can allow sunlight to seep through in order to remain safe. And you can use tape if you don't like glue.

@@Naztronomy Thanks Naz

Glad it was helpful! Clear skies!

The end of the video shows M13 and I also included a link to the Astrobin page for that object if you want a better look. I'm working on a follow-up video where I'll show more images through it. I didn't have enough clear nights before this video was done.

Thank you! Those are aluminum!? You are right. I just took off the dew shield locking screw and dropped it on the tile floor. Definitely sounds aluminum. Thank you for pointing it out. I'm planning a follow up video as I've been learning more about it and testing it more so I'll point that out and will definitely give you credit. My method of flicking it with my finger fooled me. And I'm kind of impressed with the quality because now, aside from the glass, the whole thing is about 99.9% aluminum.