Video

Thanks so much! Clear skies 👍🙂

I believe you want any flatteners and reducers to come first in the image train, before any other accessories, extension tubes, oags, etc. You want to put filters as close to the cameras sensor as possible. If you're using an oag, put that between the flattener/reducer and the filters so the guide camera doesn't have to look through the filter to see a guide star.

In my case, it was already spotless. But if it needed to be cleaned as well, I would have followed the same procedure.

Thank you so much for your kind words. There is a lot of pushback on this film because it's different than what is traditionally taught in Sunday school. Not contrary, just different. It seems the message and intent are getting lost on many. I'm happy to hear it resonated with you. Your fresh perspective is a welcome encouragement. God bless ❤️

LOL it does look like that. I buy a lot of zwo and Celestron stuff because they make good stuff. But I assure you this video was not sponsored by anyone in any way. My channel is still too small to attract any advertisers, so everything is my own opinion and based on my own experiences 👍

If you're interrested in astrophotography, I have several other videos on that subject if you're just beginning I recommend. It's easy to buy a bunch of things you don't know you don't need in the beginning... I'll navigate you through that and hopefully save you some time and money. Clear skies!

It seems like modification goes hand in hand with this hobby. I've made all kinds of tweaks to get things to work better together. I don't have the edge hd, but I've been eyeing one for a while. From the photos it does look like the reducer is extra super beefy.

@@MrWilsonsChannel I really love the challenge. It helps keep me young ;-)

Great suggestion! I'll do that for the next one. Thanks 😊

I put my battery pack in the bag for extra tripod stabiliy. Good to hear your getting similar results from your rig. I think this thing is a beast! The tracking reaulta were just as good as my EQ6-R pro, if not better... and all at a fraction of the size and weight

I considered the 101, but it was a little outside my price range this time around. It looks like a really solid mount

@@MrWilsonsChannel Agreed. I was lucky and had some extra cash I could toss in as it's not cheap. My reason was the payload. I want to move up to an 11" Edge HD and with my current setup that might be more than the AM5 can handle. And I don't like to push my mounts. My tip is to calibrate PHD2 as close to the Celestial Horizon as you can. It has made a world of difference in my guiding. Instead of being around 1.18 arc seconds I'm not down as low as 0.54. Typically around 0.75 but still quite good. So calibrate near the Celestial Equator.

@brod5352 the asiair gives me a warning with the same advice if i calibrate too far from the equator, but I haven't had time to experiment with the difference yet. Thanks for the advice! I'll include this tip in my future video on this topic. 🙂

Thanks for the sub! You're the first one to notice the zelda reference. In some of my videos you may be able to make out my zelda themed mouse pad too 😉

C8

Yeah... i noticed that 😡 unfortunately I didnt know a new version was coming. Foiled again 😉

That's always been my fate😢

Thanks, that is a great point. That exact problem has had me flirting with an upgrade to the edge hd for a long while now 😉 haven't been able to clear it with the wife yet though 💸🤑

Max/min PE is 8.2/4.4. I got mine right before the new one came out. I think mine probably contains the new gearing since the PE is so low. It's in line with what the new ones are like. I got an asi220 mini guide cam in preparation for this mount. It has really good QE and the celestron oag has a HUGE prisim which helps me fit more stars in its field of view. Both let me get away with away with pretty short guide exposures around 0.2 seconds. I've read the shorter the exposure the better the guiding with the strain wave design. I've had no trouble keeping guide stars at 0.2 second exposures so far. I think I'll do some experiments on this: short vs long guide exposures. You just gave me a new video idea 🙂

What is your main camera model? Did you shoot M101 at 2032mm? I have the ASI174mm mini which has a larger sensor, 11.3x7.1mm and even a higher QE than your model. I use NINA and PHD2 I can’t seem to use exposures less than 1 second even in Bortle 2 skies. I’ve tried 0.5 sec but I loose the star often. Maybe ASIAir works better at guiding vs PHD2, although I heard ASIAir uses PHD2. I have the prism on my Celestron OAG set at the lowest setting. Have you tried 1 sec exposures for guiding and what were the guiding results. Did you shoot M101 at 2032mm FL at 5 minute exposure and how many exposures did you take? What software did you use to process? Thanks. I’m looking forward to more AM5 videos with you SCT.

I have an older model celestron nexstar 8" sct. Focal length of 2032mm. I have experimented with it at the full 2032, with the reducer which brings it down to 1280, and with an 8" RASA with a 400mm fl. I got great results from them all.

@@MrWilsonsChannel I’m looking at Rasa 8 vs Refractor. Love the low f ratio of the Rasa. For wide field what are your thoughts?

@dmcmahon999 it's a great scope, but honestly, i don't like it because it isn't very flexible. For example, I can't attach my filter wheel to it. Also at f2 it requires special filters. That means I have to buy one set of filters for my C8 and another set of filters for the raza. I'm not willing to do that, so I just end up using the C8 filters for the Raza which lowers the amount of light that can be transmitted and effectively eliminates the F2 benefits. If I had to do it again, I'd probably get a refractor at around f4 or f5

Thank you sir.

nice video, and i love your channel. however, you seriously undermine your credibility by saying that 2000mm is “almost three times” 900, when it’s barely over 2x.

I've definitely read many complaints about its performance in the Wind. I think that's more of a function of the lightweight carbon tripod however. I've seen other people adapt heavier tripods from other mounts for use with the am 5 and have got better tracking results in Wind. But I haven't tried that for myself yet. They used to have the 900 mm focal length limitation listed on the product page, but I noticed they have removed that. I think they realize that it actually performs well at longer focal length

The AM5 can hold a 13kg payload without a counterweight, and a 20kg payload with the addition of a counterweight. The counterweight itself should not exceed 5kg and the weight of the counterweight itself does not count against the payload capacity. Likewise, the weight of the optional counterweight bar also does not count toward the payload capacity.

This is great information. Are you using the zwo carbon fiber tripod? I've read some people are getting better wind tolerance by adapting a heavier tripod from a different mount. Any experience with that?

@@MrWilsonsChannel Yes. I recently got the iOptron tri-pier. (the 8034) I had some initial issues with the top plate rocking... yeah... anyway, fixed that(re-drilled attach hardware to 6mm and used countersunk screws, then I was able to add 3 holes to mount the AM5 directly) and had the first night with it. It was ok but I'm still having growing pains with the EdgeHD. It is a much more stable platform for the weight vs the TC-40. I never had issues with my FRA400 setup, but that was pretty low profile compared to the big EdgeHD. I do have some counterweights on the AM5 that I'm borrowing from my Star Adventurer GTi.

Thanks so much for your kind words. Clear skies!

The moon goes around the earth, the earth goes around the sun, the sun goes around the galatic core, and the galaxy is hurtling through space on a collision course with Andromeda... the universe is a busy place 😉

@@MrWilsonsChannel false. Read the Bible. The earth NEVER MOVES. The sun and moon move in a circuit above the flat and motionless earth. Stop misleading people. May GOD be true and all men liars. Space is fake. Obviously you are not a man of GOD, but of pseudoscience

@@MrWilsonsChannel there is NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF SPACE, OR THE GLOBE. Just propaganda, lies.

@@MrWilsonsChannel you're funny, should be a comedian 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I'm sorry, I think I misunderstood your original comment, I didn't mean to offend. But you certainly have peaked my curiosity. I am an ordained Christian minister and I must admit I haven't heard this interpretation linked to the Bible before. May I inquire what verses in the Bible reference this?

I don't know anything about that mount specifically, but looking up the specs online says it has a 30 pound load capacity. I believe the C8 Weighs about 13 pounds. You'll also need to tack on some extra weight for the camera and other accessories. They say you should only load an astrophrotography mount to about half of its capacity to maximize its tracking ability. If you go by that rule of thumb, then this mount isn't going to be able to keep up. I don't know how true that rule is, however.

@@MrWilsonsChannel thanks for your response. you recommend any on price?

@AstronomicalFun I just purchased the zwo AM5 myself and love it... but it was a little pricy

It's not really about seeing something visually impressive... it's about seeing a new stellar object appear from seemingly nowhere, one you'll never get to see again. That's the part that makes it cool 😎

Thank you for your support 😊

You got it 👍😊

Ok but, you do know we are observing it as it "was" not as it "is" so the "image" is basically in transit right now.

You're right about the delay. TCrB is 2700 light years from earth which means the explosion we're about to see actually happened 2700 years ago... but I think that makes it even cooler. Not only is it a once in a life time opportunity to see, but it's also a time machine. This thing erupted 700 years before Jesus was born, and yet we get to enjoy it today.

I combined ideas from several sources to make this one, so there aren't formal plans, per say. I did create a 3D model to work out the details, and I'll update the video description with a link to that file. You need to use a program called sketchup to open the model. I'll include a link to the software in the description as well. A free trial of the software is available, which should be all you need to get this project rolling.

@@MrWilsonsChannel Thanks, I look forward to building my own.

Thanks for the support 😊