Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

I recently bought a Seestar S50 telescope. This $500 gadget is very clever, and takes care of a lot of the work for the new user.

Due to the quality of the work in this forum, I have been reluctant to upload any of my stuff. It isn't the scope, its my lack of skill
in processing the results. The scope does provide jpeg images, but to get decent results, I need to get the hang of processing
fits files... I have been trying to learn how to do this in Siril, which has the advantage of being free. However, my brain is
just not getting it... Watching youtube videos ends up confusing things even further, since everybody seems to be using different
versions of the program. I try following along, but always end up at a point where the guys says "...then click on the <blah> option..."
which my version doesn't have...

I finally took an image that isn't embarrassing to share here. This was a shot of the moon the other day. Actually, it is a stack from
a 60-second video. The scope took care of all this for me, with the press of a few different buttons! This is the jpeg produced, and there is
also a LARGE fits file, which I will attempt to process if I ever learn how!

Anyway, here it is, and I welcome comments and suggestions...

(Download)

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

Hi Bloke: First, I like your moon shot--I think it can be really good without too much work--a little cropping would be good. Second, I'm wondering from your avatar if you are a trombone player. But again, on point, I like your moon. I will leave it to those with more expertise than I have to give you more constructive comments.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Hi Bloke!
Glad to see you got a SeeStar!
I'm betting those and others like them will be most of the Internet going forward.
For one thing, Super Resolution is falling to the wayside as services are paring down file sizes one can post.
And as a rule, pictures have to be uploaded as tiff or jpg formats.

Love your Moon Image! Looks great!

Yes, the general Youtube video's can be confusing for the very reason the posters are using varying versions. so ours look somewhat, to a lot, different.
For that, you have to use "Interpretive Viewing" and adapt the old to your new versions. But they did their video with what they had at the time.

Here's a Youtuber I like and have learned a lot from. Cuiv the Lazy Geek

He also has his version of Siril, a free processing software, he presents.

I hope you find some helpfull things in those.

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Yes, I have been playing the trombone since 1967 (ouch!), including 10 years in the band of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards. I play so rarely now, I am giving my bone to the grandson of friends. He is learning, and apparently doing very well. I have a 'spare' bone, in case I should ever be called upon in an emergency! After the last time I played in church, I decided to keep the bone out of its case, to be more available if the mood strikes. It has been sitting on a stand in the corner of the kitchen for probably close to 4 years now!

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Thanks! I have a few other shots, but really am a bit nervous about posting them in public... My facebook friends like them, but they are not as expert as
some of you guys on here.

The night I shot the moon, I couldn't get the scope to scan to anything else. I had been having problems connecting my phone to it, so was using an Ipad.
I found out later that the Ipad thinks I am in Cupertino, CA, so I don't know if it was sending weird directions or something.

I have seen quite a few of Cuiv's videos. Another I follow is the Astro Room. She is very good at keeping the level right for us newbies, and she is very
up on the Seestar!

Maybe I can force myself to upload some other targets... They aren't great, but the issue is my editing rather than any shortcomings of the scope.

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

My dad bought me a trombone (Conn--I think) when I was in fifth grade and I played in school bands thru high school in 1962. Pretty much nothing after that. In the early 1980s my wife gave my instrument to someone without even letting me know. I would have at least saved as a souvenir the King mouthpiece that I bought a few years into playing, but that didn't happen. I can't really complain; she's better at liberating me from stuff I no longer use than I am. I keep everything, because, "Who knows? I may need it someday."

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Well Bloke, We all started somewhere.
My beginnings were all Picturds by todays output.
I like your Moon result. Nice!

I could almost never hit focus for years and years. And my stars were blobs. Those picturds were so bad, the disks they were on died.

So be brave, post what you can. And enjoy your SeeStar!

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Yeah, I had a Conn 6h for a while when I was in the army. This one is a King, 3B or maybe that was the Conn... Nice instrument, but needs to be played more than once a decade!

I have some friends here who have been very good to me over the years. I have spent almost every Thanksgiving and Christmas with their extended family. They told me that one of the grandsons started trombone, and apparently is doing pretty well. So, I figured I would donate the King to him. Be nice for it to get some use!