@@tankers4all I have the 102az and don't feel disappointed; the Starsense functionality and ease of use with no collimation were worth it to give me a small taste of what is to come.
Congratulations! I went the same path as you, first a 130 SLT and after a 6SE (used also). I see you also got a dedicated astrocamera, I have an ASI485 mc for planetary, moon and some DSO astrophotography. A full planetary process video with your new setup would be great!
Great video! I am really torn between the Celestron NexStar 6se (can afford) and the NexStar 8se (will have to save for). I just want to be able to see planets and some other stuff.
While the 6se has treated me well thus far, I want to say go for the 8"? Aperture is just such an important factor. That said though, I really like the used market. I've bought all of my scopes that way and its been stellar. If you have the time to wait and are in a decent size city, great deals come by. If you're willing to forego the Go-To and tracking, dobsonians can be a good option too. Good luck!
@@michaelfrazier9537 there's a bunch kind of all over but since I don't want to pay for shipping on something so big, I look local on somewhere like Facebook marketplace.
Hi very nice planet and moon i use to do astronomy i still use binoculars actually i have actually got a iron meteorite i bought a few years ago saturn is beautiful in your telescope what would earth look like if it had saturns rings in our sky i wish we could contact also very much. Well done .
you can only see dust that sits very close to the camera sensor. you cleaned all three surfaces, then you placed the light source in another area of the screen/sensor :) not much of an optical consistency there :) also, f/40 is a huge lot, you need exceptional seeing. anyway, nice images
Hey I just started watching your videos, I’m new to telescopes and want to start taking some pictures. Do you have a good camera that would could recommend that would not be too expensive.
Hey! That depends a little on what you want to take pictures of, but typically, DSLRs are a nice general option. I started with a Canon Rebel XSI ( also called the Canon 450d)(This is still my primary DSO camera). I bought it used, body-only, from Ebay for $65 or so. There are some other adapters that you need to attach a DSLR to a telescope like a T-ring and maybe a T-adapter so that may add a little cost on too. One downside here for DSLRs though is that some scopes, including the celestron 130slt that I normally use, don't natively support DSLRs ar prime focus and need a mod. Aside from DSLRs, you have the webcam/machine vision style cameras like my ZWO ASI 120mc. These are typically better for planetary and shouldn't require any mods to the telescope or camera, though if you are doing planetary then Barlow(s) are a must. Most of these can be a little pricey in the $200 or so dollar range but there are some quite cheap options as well. Unfortunately, I can't attest to the quality of the cheap models like those from SvBony as I don't have experience with those. But generally speaking, if your trying to work on a budget, and don't mind a little bit of DIY, getting a used DSLR is a pretty flexible route. Just make sure that the camera has live view. It would be a nightmare focusing if you don't have live view. But also don't just take my word for it, make sure you do your research and fi d whats going to work best for your budget and your targets!
I'm not super familiar with what mm eyepiece will get what magnification, but figure a 8mm and a barlow or two may get you closer in. For planetary, Barlow lenses are absolutely your friend as they multiply your magnification.
Can't unfortunately. I don't have those kinds of funds lol. What I can say is though that they come with the same mount but the 8se will have a increased performance. That light gathering capability and mirror size both increases the level of detail you can see, and can help with framerates during planetary acquisitions. I do think it's a very solid choice if you're looking for lunar or planetary. And if you pair it with a f/6.3 focal reducer, it can serve some minor DSO functions as well.
"Debayered". All sensors are monochrome, but what gives them 'color' is their Bayer Filter. A matrix of tiny green, blue, and red filters over individual sub-pixels. I'm not sure why exactly, but these Astronomy cameras like to export in B/W with the Bayer information saved as meta-data. It's probably a speed thing if I had to guess? So I had to take it into another program to bring the color back out. And then a few more to process the data.
No eyepieces, this was all done using a camera where you would normally put an eyepiece. Using a camera, you can integrate over time, and extract an image that is better than most second-by-second views through an eyepiece.
@@gavincosgrove correct, that is the transition from the live-view captured by the camera to the stacked/processed version which is basically the sharpened form of the best camera data.
Hi! I met your dad on a 14er hike today and we ended up hiking together the whole time! He told me you were also into photography and astrophotography and that I should give you a follow on YT!
I can't believe you found his channel. Check out the video called "Colorado Megafauna" for the bear that used a tree to scratch it's belly. lol. Enjoyed the hike. Wish you the best in all your upcoming plans!
I am probably going to do a mountain lion specific video in a little bit. We actually ended up finding some tracks in the snow. As for actual trail camera compilations, I don't think I'll have any until October or so.
Hey amazing views. I just got my nexstar telescope. Can u explain to me how does the image process work from the very 1st step to take the picture or video till the moment u process it to obtain the amazin final result? They look awesome.
Just did the stacking in AutoStakkert for each frame. The software uses alignment points mapped to the surface of the planet so you don't really have to worry about field rotation. That said, you can absolutely see the field rotation in the animations that combine multiple frames. The thing that actually limits singular video length is the rotation of the target planet. Since Jupiter is spinning at 1 revolution every ~10 hours, the frames need to be kept to
There are many different software packages/applications that are perfect for this. I personally use one called Stellarium. It has a Android Version, PC Version, and Browser version (and may have some apple support too?).
Replacing the corrector plate/glass might not be possible without distortion... or atleast thats the consensus on the forums. People say that the glass and mirror are paired during manufacturing to better compensate for errors on either. Manufacturers don't sell them separately so that prior statement sounds legitimate? That said, I don't have any personal experience with this so I can't say whether or not people are nitpicking here.
@@kylemccaslin i did figure out i need to send it into celestron to get my plate fixed cause there isnt really a way to replace it cause the chance that some one is selling one un cracked is extremely low but i didnt have much problems with looking at the moon i dont have any other barlow lense to see much else but it is good for now
1:44 did you attach the filter to the Barlow lens closest to the camera or the second Barlow lens? Also could I use 2 of the same type of Barlow lens, Just one with the filter at its end?
I did have it on the closer barlow to the camera here. I have tried a few different combinations and am unsure if it matters. Generally speaking though in optics, you probably ought to have the filter on the outer barlow. And yes you can stack two of the same barlow, they are multiplicative.
Coming from my 130SLT, I think that the 6se is a fantastic planetary scope. The build quality is excellent and the optics are crispy. The mount is also a nice medium between being heavy/stable and being portable. That said, I personally don't use filters much so that filter set seems like a bit of a waste to me. The included barlows and such could probably be purchased separately on a need-to-have basis? And you always could use a bigger aperture. I've only gotten the chance to try it once for DSOs and that was unsuccessful as it was my first outing with the scope. It can probably perform with that on select targets if you know what you are doing, but I wouldn't couch this as very DSO capable. Bear in mind that I almost exclusively use my scope for astrophotography so I may not have a informed take on visual astronomy. If I had to give my take general take on scopes & sizes, I'd say Aperture is king, but tracking & Go-To is really nice (required for imaging DSOs and suuuper convenient for planets). If you are doing purely visual then a Dobsonian might be better bang for your buck, but those of course forego the tracking.
if you add a 0.63 focal reducer 6SE can be used for some DSO taking picture of about 20 seconds and the stacking. But the field of view is still narrow even with the focal reducer so large objects like Andromeda Galaxy are out of range. Instead is quite good for globular clusters, some can be taken also without focal reducer, staking various dozen of 10 second exposures you can achieve great results
I haven't actually gotten to using it for visual yet 😅. I imagine the result should be somewhere in between the liveview and the end result. The eye is going to be waaaay better than a camera for the real-time, but the camera has that advantage of stacking via lucky image frames for the end result.
As far as size goes, that's mostly going to be a matter of your barlow setup. Getting it in frame and in focus was hard here but I imagine you should be able to do similar visually.
Yes, I had raw video which is similar to what you'd see in real time with your eye. But I then processed that data into stills and recombined them into a timelapse. The processing software are Autostakkert and Registax.
Short Answer: Yes Long Answer: I recorded the video clips through the telescope and barlow lenses, then took the frames from the video and stacked them together into one image per video, then sharpened & adjusted that image to pull more detail out, then recombined those images back into an animation. I do have a video out now that details my entire process if your curious about the steps.
@@kylemccaslin hey bro I bought a Nextstar6SE and used the 25mm eyepiece it comes with and could not see details of Saturn or Jupiter it was just a blur and small like a star. What you think the issue is? Do I need a different eyepiece to see Saturn and Jupiter? Can you please recommend or help me bro
@@harjodhsingh9072 For the size: I am using two 2x barlow lenses so I'm at 4x the zoom which makes the planet dramatically bigger/higher resolution (so long as we are under the optical limit of the scope which we are)(And at the cost of dimming the image by spreading it out over a greater area). Also, since I am using a camera, I can make the image bigger so its simpler to see. As for the blur, this could be a combination of being slightly off focus or possibly bad seeing conditions. If you want to maximize the clarity of the view, you want to have your scope collimated, give your scope plenty of time to thermally equilibrate before viewing, and check for good times where the wind speed is low & the atmosphere is still. For specific eyepiece recommendations, I'm afraid I don't have enough knowledge to pick anything out in particular. I have really been focused on imaging and don't do much visual astronomy. There should be plenty of channels though that may be able to help with eyepiece selection though!
@@harjodhsingh9072 Not problem, and feel free to ask if you have any more questions too! While I may not always get back to questions this fast, I try to respond within a week. Best of luck!
Nice work Kyle. Which uv ir filter are you using? I have the zwo uv/it cut. Has that filter ever worked with your Barlow/astrocam on 130 slt? I have the asi 224mc pro, It will be good if you can share the settings that you use on sharp cap. 🙏 Thanks.
I just have a cheap svbony uv/ir cut. Haven't tried it with the 130slt, but don't have any plans to try that soon. As for the SharpCap settings, I use 100 Gain then tune the exposure to get a histogram spread of about 80%. I have a process video coming out soon that may cover some more details.
@@kylemccaslin awesome that process video is very helpful. I noticed that it's still difficult to get a sharp focus with my asi224mc with the exact same 2x Barlow lenses that you use.
I'm probably gonna buy this scope! I'll start with my phone but I'll definitely buy a astrocamera (something like maybe asi 24mc). Also, i already own and Nikon d5000 but i can't find the charger..anyway, do you know if that one's a good camera or not for planetary?
Nice! It's been a great performer. Do be sure to check the used market though first! There can be some great deals out there, and if you don't mind doing the finding and tracking yourself, Dobonians can be really nice too! DSLRs can be alright, but the sensor cropping and control that the dedicated planetary cameras give you is really the way to go if you can afford it!
I got a new Celestron nexstar 8 SE and I level the tripod and I did solar system align but the object move out of the field of view in a few minutes what am I doing wrong?
Two things: 1) In addition to the leveling and aligning, are you also inputting your location and time accurately? It can be really easy to forget about the location part since it doesn't show up unless you hit back after selecting the alignment type. 2.) Are those few minutes at a high magnification? It might make sense that you get a little drift if your super zoomed in via barlows or a low mm eyepiece. If your way zoomed out though then yeah there would be something not right.
I mean you can do both but not simultaneously? Like if you have a camera on then you can't have an eyepiece on. You can however watch the live-view from the camera though while that's in.
@@neo5973 Two things here: There are "Eyepieces" and there are Barlows. Eyepieces are used for Visual Astronomy while Barlows are zoom multipliers that are used in series with either an eyepiece or camera. High magnification eyepieces have low measurements, like 8 mm. Barlows come in multiplier numbers like 2x or 3x. In order to see the planets close up, visually, you may need a high mag eyepiece + a barlow. For camera views, you probably need 2 or so 2x Barlows. (one 4x also could work but 2x is the most common).
You need more magnification. Barlow Lenses will multiply your magnification by some set value (i am using two 2x Barlows here). If your viewing through eyepieces, you'll want to use a low mm one to get closer views. I am using a camera which also makes it appear larger. You can see the pixels in the live-view part which helps show how small it still is.
@kylemccaslin I questioned the camera's focus ability and not sure if a focal reducer was good for naked eye viewing. I have a cheap $15 x2 barlow that seemed to help but by then I was a little deflated. Is there any noticeable change from opposition and... whatever the opposite of opposition is?
@@kylen8300 Focal reducers are a bad idea for planets. Some planets will change apparent size substantially though-out the year, but Jupiter's changes are less dramatic. You can view it perfectly fine at all times of the year (assuming its up).
@@kylen8300 There's generally a distinction between Visual Astronomy and Astrophotography, but there's nothing saying you couldn't just use a camera to look around at things by projecting the live-feed onto a laptop. That's certainly how a lot of astrophotography imaging sessions start anyways. Hope that answers your question? If I undder stood it correctly
Hi Kyle, I am considering buying this telescope after having some experience with a cheap EQ2 5" Saxon telescope (Specifically the Saxon Velocity 1309EQ2 Reflector with Motor Drive System (The motor drive never worked lol)) + ZWO ASI 120 MC-S camera with a few extra mods, I haven't been able to resolve very sharp images through it though. I'm assuming this is because its not the best quality telescope to be using. I was wondering if you have any tips I should know before purchasing this telescope because I don't want to spend 1-1500k (cant find one anywhere for cheap) on a telescope and the setup doesn't produce my desired images.
Hey! I'd say there's probably a few things to look at or consider before going for a bigger purchase. 1.) I try to wait for optimal Seeing Conditions before actually going out for an imaging session. I only ever go out when it's a 3/5 or higher (ideally 4/5 or higher). There are a few websites that you can look at that give forecasts for "Astronomical Seeing". I use www.cleardarksky.com/csk/prov/all_charts_map.html which has forecasts for the US, but judging by the scope model, you may be an Aussie? It's also important to avoid looking over too many close houses or other things that may produce hot air that can disturb the view. 2.) If your Barlow and Eyepieces are plastic, I'd be ultra skeptical of their actual quality. Most metal Barlows on the market are cheap and of decent quality. 3.) Is your scope collimated? (If you don't know what that is, there are plenty of videos on here explaining it!) 4.) It may be unnecessary to go all the way to a tracking SCT for what you're wanting to do. If you don't mind tracking yourself, a Dob can be a good bang for your buck. I imaging that can get quite difficult at higher focal lengths though. Still, something to consider, and something that may be around used for cheap? From a quality perspective, there's a buddy of mine who's done some good work with his 5" Orion Starseeker. czcams.com/video/Zs5JtxSJX_s/video.html I'm not specifically sure how sharp is "very sharp" from your comment earlier, but I'd say what Avanteesh has here is pretty top of the line for 5". That said, the quality of your scope, within the 5" size, may be lower. I would imagine though that your grade of scope should produce live-views similar to the views in this video: czcams.com/video/kMpyEuK-Hbw/video.html
@@kylemccaslinThanks for the reply, I have got my telescope collimated but I'm assuming the issue must be that I'm recording from my backyard right next to my neighbours house, does it make a large difference if I were to try imaging somewhere further away from housing? I also recently managed to get a pretty decent picture after a modification to match my focal length with my cameras pixel size so it would be nice to see how much further I can take it given all the correct modifications + conditions I need and you are correct, I am from Australia which has made it hard for me to find any good forecasts for my area since most accurate apps or websites don't support the location which has made it hard for me to tell if a night truly is good seeing or not.
I think you mean the planet's moons, but the answer is yes! You can see some of the moons in real time. The four Galilean Moons of Jupiter are visible, as well as one or two of Saturn's Moons. If you have a camera, then you can increase the exposure time and see many of Saturn's moons and should be able to see some of Uranus's Moons.
For focussing, there's not much you can do to prevent the shaking. The mount and OTA are simply not heavy/sturdy enough to not shake. It shouldn't be shaking just during normal viewing though. Assuming you are talking about normal viewing and not focussing, there are a few things you want to consider: The atmosphere is going to make the target look all shimmery, as if Jupiter was under water. This is a function of the turbulence of the atmosphere which is most visible at higher magnifications. To avoid this, you ideally want to be looking at Jupiter when it is high in the sky on a night with good "seeing" (i.e. Stillness higher up). See ClearSkyChart for more info on Seeing. You should also note that you ideally want your telescope to be thermally acclimated as well since heat from the telescope can cause localized bad seeing. Obviously focus is quite important as well. Technically the quality of your eyepieces & lenses matter as well here, but most generic stuff is good enough.
Just got my 6se. Everyone says it's no good for astrophotography. I'm new so it's cool to see you doing it. With the EQ wedge is it good for astrophotography or does it have other limits? Without the wedge what's the longest exposure you can do?
It's good on the planets. I think it's passable for DSOs. I've only tried DSOs once so far on it and was able to get 15s or so exposures relatively consistently which isn't great but can work. If you get the focal reducer which brings it down to f/6.3, then that should help quite a bit. I don't have any experience with wedges unfortunately so I can't comment on that.
So the scope does it's own tracking after alignment, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut since I'm shooting at 6000mm FL, things drift out of frame relatively quickly so I just sit there manual making periodic corrections... I am looking to get FireCapture working though which does have some built-in AutoGuiding capabilities
Recently bought a celestron 6se. The eye piece it came with is a 60x. Needless to say I didn’t pay a 1200 to just see a dot in the sky. What eye piece etc, do I need to buy to really see planets and really nice images ??? Please help!!!
So two things are going to help you bump up that zoom: the first is a Barlow (or two) and the second is a low mm eyepiece. Barlow Lenses are magnification multipliers, the most common one being a 2x. These don't replace the eyepiece and should be used in tandem. You can also use multiple barlows in series to further increase the magnification. For reference, while I don't use eyepieces (and simply have my camera attached instead), I do use two 2x barlows in my planetary set up. Barlows are typically pretty cheap and add alot of flexibility with different combinations of barlows and eyepieces. As for the eyepieces, the smaller the measurement (mm) the more zoomed in the view will be. These may cost a little more as they normally come in small sets. As you get to higher magnifications though, you do want to start paying attention to the "seeing conditions" as some nights are bad and the planet will look fuzzy no matter what scope/setup you have, while other nights can look pretty pristine. Hope that helps!
@@kylemccaslin thank you so much. Last night mars was very visible with the naked eye but it just looked like a dot through the scope. I was disappointed to say the least
I'm actually not using an eyepiece. I'm using the telescope as a giant lense for my camera. I am however using two 2x Barlow lenses to get muuuch more zoom. You probably can't get anywhere near the detail at the native focal length.
Here in the USA, the 6se is about $1000 new. But I'd only ever go New as a last resort. I see them come up Used for $600 here fairly frequently. There's alot that you can do though on similar scopes. You should generally think of scopes of the same aperture performing similarly. So if you find something else of similar size, you could potentially produce some similar results. There is a big difference in how easy/convenient it may be to produce images though. Different scopes may require different add-ons, cameras, or mounts to provide a good result. And as always, do your research before purchasing anything!
Wow, there are so many of these things for sale. The packaging of these Telescopes are so generic boring you might as well save $500 just to get a used one!
Yeah, absolutely. And alot of those used scopes are like-new since there's alot of people who buy then never use. Just got to make sure you aren't in that group haha
OK. NOT $300. More like $1,800 for everything you showed. That was a first red flag. Next, I have the same scope. It would have been really helpful if you gave the details about how you achieved those images of Saturn and Jupiter. I have been working with this scope for 4 years so I know what it can and can't do. But anytime I see a great planetary image, I want to know the nitty-gritty details. Thanks.
Not saying everyone can get it for $300, but that i somehow managed to find one used for $300 at a garage sale. I have a full process video that goes though a Jupiter Capture and Processing in its entirety if your curious
Don't think so. It was from a senior couple at a garage sale. Said it was 10 years old, with the software confirming it hadn't been used for the last 6 years. Also was on theme for the other stuff they had in the sale, so seemed legit to me 👍
Why music to compete with your message? Please reconsider. Thank you for trying to inform your viewing audience. I am interested in what you have to say, but extremely disinterested in your music choice.
$300 for a 6SE kit is incredible. Even used they’re well over $700+ now.
Amazon UK Robbing 1200GBP.
I know right this guy got so lucky
Just brought one through Amazon in Australia $1850 arriving in the new year can’t wait
You'll never be disappointed by a Celestron scope!
How about the starsense popular science 100az and the starsense explorer dx 102az?
@@tankers4all I have the 102az and don't feel disappointed; the Starsense functionality and ease of use with no collimation were worth it to give me a small taste of what is to come.
He is right. I have 7 of them. Using the Nexstar 5SE the most now. The 6SE is a great scope also.
Amazing work! I love what you have done with scopes that "are no good for astrophotography"! Keep up the excellence!
Bro, the nexstar is a monster at astrophotography. Change the mount and you'll get crazy stuff. Check out chuck astrophotography. That dudes insane.
I’m getting the NextStar 8SE soon and I can’t wait to see Mars,Jupiter, and Saturn
I am blown away at what you are doing! great job!!!!!
Thanks! Its not a cheap telescope by any means, but I think there's alot of capability to these mid-grade/size scopes that goes unnoticed lol
What a steal for that new setup!
I know right? Never underestimate the used market!
@@kylemccaslin been loving your videos! What marketplace did you find that on?
@@jedashford8579 Thanks! I got it from a garage sale I saw on Facebook Marketplace
Fantastic images. Great to see what this scope can achieve in the right hands.
that clear image of saturn is just how i remeber seeing it with my telescope just a lot smaller in the eye peace
Great results keep up with that !❤
amazing result with such a small bore
Beautiful Imaging!
Congratulations! I went the same path as you, first a 130 SLT and after a 6SE (used also). I see you also got a dedicated astrocamera, I have an ASI485 mc for planetary, moon and some DSO astrophotography. A full planetary process video with your new setup would be great!
This is great! Also love the editing and music hahaha
great progress 👍
Great video! I am really torn between the Celestron NexStar 6se (can afford) and the NexStar 8se (will have to save for). I just want to be able to see planets and some other stuff.
While the 6se has treated me well thus far, I want to say go for the 8"? Aperture is just such an important factor. That said though, I really like the used market. I've bought all of my scopes that way and its been stellar. If you have the time to wait and are in a decent size city, great deals come by. If you're willing to forego the Go-To and tracking, dobsonians can be a good option too. Good luck!
@@kylemccaslin Where is the best place to find the used telescopes? Thank you for responding
@@michaelfrazier9537 there's a bunch kind of all over but since I don't want to pay for shipping on something so big, I look local on somewhere like Facebook marketplace.
@@kylemccaslin Thank you!
Way to go bud!
Nice images!
you should try and spot the JWST, would make a cool video if it's possible.
Maybe, It's a neat idea for sure. L2 is pretty far for something that small though. Will have to check the limiting magnitude.
WTF Only 300??? jesus big find :D
It was a garage sale! I bet the sellers could see me salivating XD
Hi very nice planet and moon i use to do astronomy i still use binoculars actually i have actually got a iron meteorite i bought a few years ago saturn is beautiful in your telescope what would earth look like if it had saturns rings in our sky i wish we could contact also very much. Well done .
you can only see dust that sits very close to the camera sensor. you cleaned all three surfaces, then you placed the light source in another area of the screen/sensor :) not much of an optical consistency there :) also, f/40 is a huge lot, you need exceptional seeing. anyway, nice images
Thanks for the clarifier! And yeah looking for superb conditions for sure 👍
Hey I just started watching your videos, I’m new to telescopes and want to start taking some pictures. Do you have a good camera that would could recommend that would not be too expensive.
Hey! That depends a little on what you want to take pictures of, but typically, DSLRs are a nice general option. I started with a Canon Rebel XSI ( also called the Canon 450d)(This is still my primary DSO camera). I bought it used, body-only, from Ebay for $65 or so. There are some other adapters that you need to attach a DSLR to a telescope like a T-ring and maybe a T-adapter so that may add a little cost on too. One downside here for DSLRs though is that some scopes, including the celestron 130slt that I normally use, don't natively support DSLRs ar prime focus and need a mod.
Aside from DSLRs, you have the webcam/machine vision style cameras like my ZWO ASI 120mc. These are typically better for planetary and shouldn't require any mods to the telescope or camera, though if you are doing planetary then Barlow(s) are a must. Most of these can be a little pricey in the $200 or so dollar range but there are some quite cheap options as well. Unfortunately, I can't attest to the quality of the cheap models like those from SvBony as I don't have experience with those.
But generally speaking, if your trying to work on a budget, and don't mind a little bit of DIY, getting a used DSLR is a pretty flexible route. Just make sure that the camera has live view. It would be a nightmare focusing if you don't have live view.
But also don't just take my word for it, make sure you do your research and fi d whats going to work best for your budget and your targets!
I have the 6se but I wonder what mm you need to see Saturn 🪐 well.I saw Jupiter but it looked very far away more like a little tiny dot.
I'm not super familiar with what mm eyepiece will get what magnification, but figure a 8mm and a barlow or two may get you closer in. For planetary, Barlow lenses are absolutely your friend as they multiply your magnification.
can you do a vid on the Celestron Nexstar 8se? i am thinking of getting one and want to know if it is a good choice.
Can't unfortunately. I don't have those kinds of funds lol. What I can say is though that they come with the same mount but the 8se will have a increased performance. That light gathering capability and mirror size both increases the level of detail you can see, and can help with framerates during planetary acquisitions. I do think it's a very solid choice if you're looking for lunar or planetary. And if you pair it with a f/6.3 focal reducer, it can serve some minor DSO functions as well.
Did you actually use the Barlow lens or did you use it as an extension? Great work!
Actually used the barlow yes, not just as an extension. And thanks!
Bit confused on the black and white. Was that the camera? It has been debated yet?
"Debayered". All sensors are monochrome, but what gives them 'color' is their Bayer Filter. A matrix of tiny green, blue, and red filters over individual sub-pixels.
I'm not sure why exactly, but these Astronomy cameras like to export in B/W with the Bayer information saved as meta-data. It's probably a speed thing if I had to guess? So I had to take it into another program to bring the color back out. And then a few more to process the data.
Wow this is awesome. What eyepieces are you using to see saturn and Jupiter here?
No eyepieces, this was all done using a camera where you would normally put an eyepiece. Using a camera, you can integrate over time, and extract an image that is better than most second-by-second views through an eyepiece.
@@kylemccaslin so when the image goes sharper, that's the camera enhancement? You wouldn't see it that sharp with your own eye?
@@gavincosgrove correct, that is the transition from the live-view captured by the camera to the stacked/processed version which is basically the sharpened form of the best camera data.
@@kylemccaslinhi Kyle! What camera did you use?
Hi! I met your dad on a 14er hike today and we ended up hiking together the whole time! He told me you were also into photography and astrophotography and that I should give you a follow on YT!
I can't believe you found his channel. Check out the video called "Colorado Megafauna" for the bear that used a tree to scratch it's belly. lol. Enjoyed the hike. Wish you the best in all your upcoming plans!
What is that orange thing that you had on your eyepiece?
👍👏👏
One question. do you have any new Evergreen Colorado Trail Cam highlights coming up?
I am probably going to do a mountain lion specific video in a little bit. We actually ended up finding some tracks in the snow.
As for actual trail camera compilations, I don't think I'll have any until October or so.
how did you manage to get a telescope like that for 300? that’s a steal i wish i could get it for that price
I know right? especially since the case and camera came with XD.
Hey amazing views. I just got my nexstar telescope. Can u explain to me how does the image process work from the very 1st step to take the picture or video till the moment u process it to obtain the amazin final result? They look awesome.
I have that video exactly!:
czcams.com/video/TbRpI5Y1jPA/video.html
How did you stack the images? Didn’t you have any issues with field rotation (circular motion)?
Just did the stacking in AutoStakkert for each frame. The software uses alignment points mapped to the surface of the planet so you don't really have to worry about field rotation. That said, you can absolutely see the field rotation in the animations that combine multiple frames.
The thing that actually limits singular video length is the rotation of the target planet. Since Jupiter is spinning at 1 revolution every ~10 hours, the frames need to be kept to
Did you piggy-back two barlow lenses???
Yessir
IM HERE IN THE PHIL HOW CAN I LOCATE THE SATURN PLANET LOL
There are many different software packages/applications that are perfect for this. I personally use one called Stellarium. It has a Android Version, PC Version, and Browser version (and may have some apple support too?).
What planet location app/software are you using around 1:36 in the video?
That's Stellarium
My main large glass lense is cracked where could i obtain a replacement glass??? Having a hard time finding it
Replacing the corrector plate/glass might not be possible without distortion... or atleast thats the consensus on the forums. People say that the glass and mirror are paired during manufacturing to better compensate for errors on either. Manufacturers don't sell them separately so that prior statement sounds legitimate? That said, I don't have any personal experience with this so I can't say whether or not people are nitpicking here.
@@kylemccaslin i did figure out i need to send it into celestron to get my plate fixed cause there isnt really a way to replace it cause the chance that some one is selling one un cracked is extremely low but i didnt have much problems with looking at the moon i dont have any other barlow lense to see much else but it is good for now
1:44 did you attach the filter to the Barlow lens closest to the camera or the second Barlow lens? Also could I use 2 of the same type of Barlow lens, Just one with the filter at its end?
I did have it on the closer barlow to the camera here. I have tried a few different combinations and am unsure if it matters. Generally speaking though in optics, you probably ought to have the filter on the outer barlow.
And yes you can stack two of the same barlow, they are multiplicative.
hello Im currently saving up for a nexstar 6se, is it worth it? I plan on getting it in the next month or two.
Coming from my 130SLT, I think that the 6se is a fantastic planetary scope. The build quality is excellent and the optics are crispy. The mount is also a nice medium between being heavy/stable and being portable.
That said, I personally don't use filters much so that filter set seems like a bit of a waste to me. The included barlows and such could probably be purchased separately on a need-to-have basis? And you always could use a bigger aperture.
I've only gotten the chance to try it once for DSOs and that was unsuccessful as it was my first outing with the scope. It can probably perform with that on select targets if you know what you are doing, but I wouldn't couch this as very DSO capable.
Bear in mind that I almost exclusively use my scope for astrophotography so I may not have a informed take on visual astronomy.
If I had to give my take general take on scopes & sizes, I'd say Aperture is king, but tracking & Go-To is really nice (required for imaging DSOs and suuuper convenient for planets). If you are doing purely visual then a Dobsonian might be better bang for your buck, but those of course forego the tracking.
if you add a 0.63 focal reducer 6SE can be used for some DSO taking picture of about 20 seconds and the stacking. But the field of view is still narrow even with the focal reducer so large objects like Andromeda Galaxy are out of range. Instead is quite good for globular clusters, some can be taken also without focal reducer, staking various dozen of 10 second exposures you can achieve great results
what about visual? can you see the planets at that size without camera just through the eyepiece?
I haven't actually gotten to using it for visual yet 😅. I imagine the result should be somewhere in between the liveview and the end result. The eye is going to be waaaay better than a camera for the real-time, but the camera has that advantage of stacking via lucky image frames for the end result.
As far as size goes, that's mostly going to be a matter of your barlow setup. Getting it in frame and in focus was hard here but I imagine you should be able to do similar visually.
Looks like you used a program to clear up the images versus what the actual 6SE view was.
Yes, I had raw video which is similar to what you'd see in real time with your eye. But I then processed that data into stills and recombined them into a timelapse.
The processing software are Autostakkert and Registax.
Did you record the views through the telescope and then edit them to make them so clear ?
Short Answer: Yes
Long Answer: I recorded the video clips through the telescope and barlow lenses, then took the frames from the video and stacked them together into one image per video, then sharpened & adjusted that image to pull more detail out, then recombined those images back into an animation.
I do have a video out now that details my entire process if your curious about the steps.
@@kylemccaslin hey bro I bought a Nextstar6SE and used the 25mm eyepiece it comes with and could not see details of Saturn or Jupiter it was just a blur and small like a star. What you think the issue is? Do I need a different eyepiece to see Saturn and Jupiter? Can you please recommend or help me bro
@@harjodhsingh9072 For the size: I am using two 2x barlow lenses so I'm at 4x the zoom which makes the planet dramatically bigger/higher resolution (so long as we are under the optical limit of the scope which we are)(And at the cost of dimming the image by spreading it out over a greater area). Also, since I am using a camera, I can make the image bigger so its simpler to see.
As for the blur, this could be a combination of being slightly off focus or possibly bad seeing conditions. If you want to maximize the clarity of the view, you want to have your scope collimated, give your scope plenty of time to thermally equilibrate before viewing, and check for good times where the wind speed is low & the atmosphere is still.
For specific eyepiece recommendations, I'm afraid I don't have enough knowledge to pick anything out in particular. I have really been focused on imaging and don't do much visual astronomy. There should be plenty of channels though that may be able to help with eyepiece selection though!
@@kylemccaslin thanks so much for the detailed reply bro really appreciate that a lot 🙏
@@harjodhsingh9072 Not problem, and feel free to ask if you have any more questions too! While I may not always get back to questions this fast, I try to respond within a week. Best of luck!
Nice work Kyle. Which uv ir filter are you using? I have the zwo uv/it cut. Has that filter ever worked with your Barlow/astrocam on 130 slt? I have the asi 224mc pro, It will be good if you can share the settings that you use on sharp cap. 🙏 Thanks.
I just have a cheap svbony uv/ir cut. Haven't tried it with the 130slt, but don't have any plans to try that soon.
As for the SharpCap settings, I use 100 Gain then tune the exposure to get a histogram spread of about 80%. I have a process video coming out soon that may cover some more details.
@@kylemccaslin awesome that process video is very helpful. I noticed that it's still difficult to get a sharp focus with my asi224mc with the exact same 2x Barlow lenses that you use.
I have 5SE and having trouble in back focus. I see you have TWO 2X barlow. Is it for backfocus or any benifit other then maginification
I'm just using it for magnification. I assume you are using some sort of DSLR setup?
$300!!! It’s up for $1000
I'm probably gonna buy this scope! I'll start with my phone but I'll definitely buy a astrocamera (something like maybe asi 24mc).
Also, i already own and Nikon d5000 but i can't find the charger..anyway, do you know if that one's a good camera or not for planetary?
Nice! It's been a great performer. Do be sure to check the used market though first! There can be some great deals out there, and if you don't mind doing the finding and tracking yourself, Dobonians can be really nice too!
DSLRs can be alright, but the sensor cropping and control that the dedicated planetary cameras give you is really the way to go if you can afford it!
@@kylemccaslin thanks, i bought the 6se a couple days ago! It should arrive in a few weeks.. now do you think the asi 224mc is a good camera?
@@dimensio_italian_magician yeah looks good 👍
I got a new Celestron nexstar 8 SE and I level the tripod and I did solar system align but the object move out of the field of view in a few minutes what am I doing wrong?
Two things:
1) In addition to the leveling and aligning, are you also inputting your location and time accurately? It can be really easy to forget about the location part since it doesn't show up unless you hit back after selecting the alignment type.
2.) Are those few minutes at a high magnification? It might make sense that you get a little drift if your super zoomed in via barlows or a low mm eyepiece. If your way zoomed out though then yeah there would be something not right.
@@kylemccaslin I did my location and time
@@kylemccaslin thanks for your response
What editing software did you produce this with
AutoStakkert, Registax, RawTherapee, & PIPP, all free and able to do batch editing! see my planetary process video!
I have a question.. you can still see through the telescope right? Like the planets… or do you need a camera to capture and then see later?
I mean you can do both but not simultaneously? Like if you have a camera on then you can't have an eyepiece on. You can however watch the live-view from the camera though while that's in.
@@kylemccaslin thanks! What’s the best lens you would recommend for a nice magnified view??
@@neo5973 Two things here:
There are "Eyepieces" and there are Barlows. Eyepieces are used for Visual Astronomy while Barlows are zoom multipliers that are used in series with either an eyepiece or camera.
High magnification eyepieces have low measurements, like 8 mm. Barlows come in multiplier numbers like 2x or 3x.
In order to see the planets close up, visually, you may need a high mag eyepiece + a barlow. For camera views, you probably need 2 or so 2x Barlows. (one 4x also could work but 2x is the most common).
@@kylemccaslin thanks Mate that helps
Why does jupiter look better in your 6se than my 8se? It looks like a small pea as it did in my first $50 scope
You need more magnification.
Barlow Lenses will multiply your magnification by some set value (i am using two 2x Barlows here).
If your viewing through eyepieces, you'll want to use a low mm one to get closer views. I am using a camera which also makes it appear larger. You can see the pixels in the live-view part which helps show how small it still is.
@kylemccaslin I questioned the camera's focus ability and not sure if a focal reducer was good for naked eye viewing. I have a cheap $15 x2 barlow that seemed to help but by then I was a little deflated. Is there any noticeable change from opposition and... whatever the opposite of opposition is?
Dumb novice question... do folks use cameras as an eyepiece to view stuff from the naked eye?
@@kylen8300 Focal reducers are a bad idea for planets. Some planets will change apparent size substantially though-out the year, but Jupiter's changes are less dramatic. You can view it perfectly fine at all times of the year (assuming its up).
@@kylen8300 There's generally a distinction between Visual Astronomy and Astrophotography, but there's nothing saying you couldn't just use a camera to look around at things by projecting the live-feed onto a laptop. That's certainly how a lot of astrophotography imaging sessions start anyways.
Hope that answers your question? If I undder stood it correctly
Hi Kyle, I am considering buying this telescope after having some experience with a cheap EQ2 5" Saxon telescope (Specifically the Saxon Velocity 1309EQ2 Reflector with Motor Drive System (The motor drive never worked lol)) + ZWO ASI 120 MC-S camera with a few extra mods, I haven't been able to resolve very sharp images through it though. I'm assuming this is because its not the best quality telescope to be using. I was wondering if you have any tips I should know before purchasing this telescope because I don't want to spend 1-1500k (cant find one anywhere for cheap) on a telescope and the setup doesn't produce my desired images.
Hey! I'd say there's probably a few things to look at or consider before going for a bigger purchase.
1.) I try to wait for optimal Seeing Conditions before actually going out for an imaging session. I only ever go out when it's a 3/5 or higher (ideally 4/5 or higher). There are a few websites that you can look at that give forecasts for "Astronomical Seeing". I use www.cleardarksky.com/csk/prov/all_charts_map.html
which has forecasts for the US, but judging by the scope model, you may be an Aussie?
It's also important to avoid looking over too many close houses or other things that may produce hot air that can disturb the view.
2.) If your Barlow and Eyepieces are plastic, I'd be ultra skeptical of their actual quality. Most metal Barlows on the market are cheap and of decent quality.
3.) Is your scope collimated? (If you don't know what that is, there are plenty of videos on here explaining it!)
4.) It may be unnecessary to go all the way to a tracking SCT for what you're wanting to do. If you don't mind tracking yourself, a Dob can be a good bang for your buck. I imaging that can get quite difficult at higher focal lengths though. Still, something to consider, and something that may be around used for cheap?
From a quality perspective, there's a buddy of mine who's done some good work with his 5" Orion Starseeker. czcams.com/video/Zs5JtxSJX_s/video.html
I'm not specifically sure how sharp is "very sharp" from your comment earlier, but I'd say what Avanteesh has here is pretty top of the line for 5". That said, the quality of your scope, within the 5" size, may be lower.
I would imagine though that your grade of scope should produce live-views similar to the views in this video:
czcams.com/video/kMpyEuK-Hbw/video.html
@@kylemccaslinThanks for the reply, I have got my telescope collimated but I'm assuming the issue must be that I'm recording from my backyard right next to my neighbours house, does it make a large difference if I were to try imaging somewhere further away from housing? I also recently managed to get a pretty decent picture after a modification to match my focal length with my cameras pixel size so it would be nice to see how much further I can take it given all the correct modifications + conditions I need and you are correct, I am from Australia which has made it hard for me to find any good forecasts for my area since most accurate apps or websites don't support the location which has made it hard for me to tell if a night truly is good seeing or not.
Can you see moon's planets?
I think you mean the planet's moons, but the answer is yes! You can see some of the moons in real time. The four Galilean Moons of Jupiter are visible, as well as one or two of Saturn's Moons. If you have a camera, then you can increase the exposure time and see many of Saturn's moons and should be able to see some of Uranus's Moons.
i have a 6se and when i look through a 9mm the telescope keeps shaking and it’s super blurry! does anyone know how to make it clearer and more smooth?
For focussing, there's not much you can do to prevent the shaking. The mount and OTA are simply not heavy/sturdy enough to not shake. It shouldn't be shaking just during normal viewing though. Assuming you are talking about normal viewing and not focussing, there are a few things you want to consider:
The atmosphere is going to make the target look all shimmery, as if Jupiter was under water. This is a function of the turbulence of the atmosphere which is most visible at higher magnifications. To avoid this, you ideally want to be looking at Jupiter when it is high in the sky on a night with good "seeing" (i.e. Stillness higher up). See ClearSkyChart for more info on Seeing. You should also note that you ideally want your telescope to be thermally acclimated as well since heat from the telescope can cause localized bad seeing.
Obviously focus is quite important as well.
Technically the quality of your eyepieces & lenses matter as well here, but most generic stuff is good enough.
Just got my 6se. Everyone says it's no good for astrophotography.
I'm new so it's cool to see you doing it.
With the EQ wedge is it good for astrophotography or does it have other limits? Without the wedge what's the longest exposure you can do?
It's good on the planets. I think it's passable for DSOs. I've only tried DSOs once so far on it and was able to get 15s or so exposures relatively consistently which isn't great but can work. If you get the focal reducer which brings it down to f/6.3, then that should help quite a bit.
I don't have any experience with wedges unfortunately so I can't comment on that.
What size Eyepiece did you use?
I don't use any eyepieces, I put a camera where you would put an eyepiece.
How do you handle tracking?
So the scope does it's own tracking after alignment, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut since I'm shooting at 6000mm FL, things drift out of frame relatively quickly so I just sit there manual making periodic corrections...
I am looking to get FireCapture working though which does have some built-in AutoGuiding capabilities
2 2x Barlow.. Total focal length?
6m
Recently bought a celestron 6se. The eye piece it came with is a 60x. Needless to say I didn’t pay a 1200 to just see a dot in the sky. What eye piece etc, do I need to buy to really see planets and really nice images ??? Please help!!!
So two things are going to help you bump up that zoom: the first is a Barlow (or two) and the second is a low mm eyepiece.
Barlow Lenses are magnification multipliers, the most common one being a 2x. These don't replace the eyepiece and should be used in tandem. You can also use multiple barlows in series to further increase the magnification. For reference, while I don't use eyepieces (and simply have my camera attached instead), I do use two 2x barlows in my planetary set up. Barlows are typically pretty cheap and add alot of flexibility with different combinations of barlows and eyepieces.
As for the eyepieces, the smaller the measurement (mm) the more zoomed in the view will be. These may cost a little more as they normally come in small sets.
As you get to higher magnifications though, you do want to start paying attention to the "seeing conditions" as some nights are bad and the planet will look fuzzy no matter what scope/setup you have, while other nights can look pretty pristine.
Hope that helps!
@@kylemccaslin thank you so much. Last night mars was very visible with the naked eye but it just looked like a dot through the scope. I was disappointed to say the least
@@kylemccaslin to clarify I have a 25x on not 60
What mm eye piece are you using? I think mine came with the 25mm but I haven't been able to see much more than the moon
I'm actually not using an eyepiece. I'm using the telescope as a giant lense for my camera. I am however using two 2x Barlow lenses to get muuuch more zoom. You probably can't get anywhere near the detail at the native focal length.
J'adore ❤️
How much $🔭 in your country 😭😭
I can't find one hear in fucker Africa
Here in the USA, the 6se is about $1000 new. But I'd only ever go New as a last resort. I see them come up Used for $600 here fairly frequently.
There's alot that you can do though on similar scopes. You should generally think of scopes of the same aperture performing similarly. So if you find something else of similar size, you could potentially produce some similar results. There is a big difference in how easy/convenient it may be to produce images though. Different scopes may require different add-ons, cameras, or mounts to provide a good result.
And as always, do your research before purchasing anything!
What did you use for these photos?
Telescope - Celestron Nexstar 6se
Camera - ZWO ASI 120MC
Lenses - Two 2x Barlow Lenses (1 Celestron, 1 Astromania)
Filters - 1 UV/IR Cut filter
Software: SharpCap, PIPP, AutoStakkert, Registax, RawTherapee
@@kylemccaslin great image. Of course all this equipment is beyond me right now. Just purchasing my 8se so I have a long way to go
What eye pieces are in that case?
Did you get this telescope used?
Yup
@@kylemccaslin cool thank you
Wow, there are so many of these things for sale. The packaging of these Telescopes are so generic boring you might as well save $500 just to get a used one!
Yeah, absolutely. And alot of those used scopes are like-new since there's alot of people who buy then never use. Just got to make sure you aren't in that group haha
You. Got. That. For. How. Much?!?
Jojo reference
;)
$300??? How mine was $1000
$300 BUCKS?!! GTFOH
I actually said WHAT?! out loud lol
OK. NOT $300. More like $1,800 for everything you showed. That was a first red flag. Next, I have the same scope. It would have been really helpful if you gave the details about how you achieved those images of Saturn and Jupiter. I have been working with this scope for 4 years so I know what it can and can't do. But anytime I see a great planetary image, I want to know the nitty-gritty details. Thanks.
Not saying everyone can get it for $300, but that i somehow managed to find one used for $300 at a garage sale.
I have a full process video that goes though a Jupiter Capture and Processing in its entirety if your curious
Well, you certainly scored big time.@@kylemccaslin
Did anyone else notice that he looks like michael reeves brother???
I'll give you $450 for that kit and pay for shipping😂😂😂😢😮😮😅😊❤🎉 En Serio
haha, maybe if I find something better at some point 😅
That shit was stolen for $300.... But I'm not saying anything 😎
Don't think so. It was from a senior couple at a garage sale. Said it was 10 years old, with the software confirming it hadn't been used for the last 6 years. Also was on theme for the other stuff they had in the sale, so seemed legit to me 👍
@@kylemccaslin ... You got a great deal !! Happy star hunting ✨
Why music to compete with your message? Please reconsider. Thank you for trying to inform your viewing audience. I am interested in what you have to say, but extremely disinterested in your music choice.