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Hi Sandaruwan, I can't speak from experience, but others have done it before. Looks like there might be some challenges but have a look at the following post with the evo mount: m.facebook.com/groups/ASIAIR/posts/hi-everyone-i-just-received-an-asiair-and-have-set-it-up-on-my-8-evolution-with-/2479663598863515/ Looking at the compatibility list, ASI Air Plus supports NexStar mounts. The process to setting up should be similar. I urge you to do more research before you try!

Hi Thomas, I'm glad the video helped you. This is a fun and exciting hobby with a lot to experience at every level. Good luck with your astronomy and astrophotography journey, and Clear Skies!

Hi Heather, I have not dug into this before, but according to Celestron: "Gamepad Setup-- If you have a PC Gamepad that supports XInput, then you can use it to control the mount. You can also use it to control the optional Celestron Focus Motor. Selecting “Gamepad Setup” will cause the Gamepad Confi guration window to appear." So, according to this, any XInput compatible controller should work. I use the cordless controller because often I'll have my laptop 20' or more from the telescope (upper deck vs lower deck). CS!

It's a metal C-clamp. The 2.5lb weight was not enough to balance the scope, and I could not push the weight any further back as it would hit the mount, so I needed something additional. The C-clamp was convenient as I could easily reposition it if my equipment changed. CS!

Hi Heather, I think the best position for the guide scope is as close to the mount as possible. If it is placed on the far side, like mine, it will cause additional torsion on the mounting clamp. Unfortunately, the 6SE does not have enough space on the left for the mounting shoe, so I have to put in on the right. If you have the space, then keep your guide scope on the left. Clear Skies!

@@Felldisulfide Thanks!!

I do, but limited because the NexStar mount takes a long time to settle.

Hi @yvangarcia3535, no secret, just collimation and back focus. If you are using filters, you need to add a spacer to the standard back focus distance. I have also found that this telescope is very sensitive when collimating. Although I typically collimate indoors using ASTAP, I still have to tweak the collimation by shooting a rich star field (look for open clusters) and looking at the corners. I still get it wrong quite often, but I'm getting better at reading the difference between a corner being too close vs too far. Just the same, I have not yet been able to get a completely flat field of view. Maybe a better flattener would help. Clear Skies! Collimation using ASTAP th-cam.com/video/weaREykf8iM/w-d-xo.html Back focus th-cam.com/video/daCEZNRcgrU/w-d-xo.html

Hi Mark, thanks for the comment. I think it's a combination of light pollution and processing. I just can't make out dimmer objects against the bright sky glow. Narrow band filters cut through much of the light pollution, but they emphasize specific frequencies, and leave stars dull. This is why very often I'll get a lot of signal on the nebula, but less on stars. Processing also has a lot to do with it, especially when imaging nebulas, I don't stretch the stars layer nearly as because the larger stars would simply bloat and overpower the nebula. I think that has more to do with seeing conditions where the bright stars are more dispersed, so I keep them turned down. Clear Skies!

@@Felldisulfide Makes sense. Thanks!

Thanks Tich! Sorry to hear about the astro mojo... hope you get it back soon, looking forward to seeing your double barrel setup in action. Clear Skies!

Me too, I just learned how to use it to do image alignment. I had been struggling with that since I started!

Hi @seniorcordcutter, I'm using the StarPal 40cm dovetail as an extension, and I have it bolted to the original Celestron dovetail. There are two reasons I am doing it this way: 1) the StarPal dovetail is flat, meaning it does not "hug" the curve of the OTA, and would be unstable if bolted directly, and 2) the plastic corrector plate and mirror housings stick out from the telescope tube and would prevent a longer dovetail from sitting flush. I believe (please check yours) that the 8SE has an 8" narrow dovetail. I would suggest going with something 11" or longer. Celestron's dovetails have pre-drilled mounting holes sized for specific telescopes and would therefore not work as extensions, but SVBONY does have an 11" extension bar which is curved, but you would have to mount it such that it sits on the plastic lens and mirror housings and away from the OTA if you want to use it by itself. The other thing to consider is if you push the OTA forward past the primary mirror, you will need some sort of counterweight, which will really push the limits of the NexStar mount, but is doable if you don't have any other options. This is what I'm doing with the 6SE, but the 6 is lighter than the 8. Celestron's Dovetails (for reference) www.celestron.com/products/dovetail-bar-kit-11-narrow SVBONY 11.8" www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Compatible-Accessories-Equatorial-Astrophotography/dp/B0BXNZMNQB/ref=sr_1_5?crid=10YNM3OJGP6VT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LrOcZaSjy7n5v4ibNtsFhUriEAAU96QV9xSSTEFS4NvIsl9R9pGJL9tj9kNy6gv8njYN82gO0wnFopUz8rwr2OR6kcbth59M5jPD2Pla6vlyW9ooJCkid7EeoAVIiL2tSc6xFt2J5yUIpqHZ0MWL7VI2RWdLnQnxx-Cd1gZnOSUg5oppPJJjfcw0c0aKiDopTLn-CPVHMDZ5DV0NnbS3f-9LA5CNhVMK7Qh2SC41cl0.sBeY_gAamZC3KQozerCfV0O5HyjVqckkEy78KzdBvog&dib_tag=se&keywords=telescope+dovetail+long&qid=1723478662&sprefix=telescope+dovetail+long%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-5 StarPal 40cm www.amazon.com/StarPal-Dovetail-Telescope-Equatorial-Binocular/dp/B093GRXKW3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LCE3GOE2PSXE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VAVDm0tzKJhXnBhZSlMZpfWr-58NnXL1Riti18leB7HIrNBHsNwmvEKhqm92TPLsB366unL86ZkbMY_0BaWDQkD-5gNGC_NGUssxuBZG8bHeA-9cZBH4kXJXUBPdwW7poMpCUKrNB6LBg2AuwthTMg.vZnsCV6OONS9Ea9wHs0HByA5fRh8f_TDQcPUALiLFzg&dib_tag=se&keywords=%22StarPal%22+40cm+Dovetail&qid=1723479271&sprefix=starpal+40cm+dovetail%2Caps%2C65&sr=8-1 You can get a better view of my assembly in this video at around the 11:30s mark: th-cam.com/video/c0q-Dg9N1zY/w-d-xo.html Clear Skies!

Hi @jatinpunga9054, yes, the NexStar SE line were primarily visual telescopes. The 6SE is a favourite grab-and-go telescope for many people and can be used for deep sky and planetary viewing. The 8SE gathers more light, but the 6 is lighter and therefore more portable. In fact the whole point of my channel is showing what you could expect if you were to try using the 6SE for imaging, as it is not something most people would think to do! Clear Skies!

Hi @dougiesmart1623, thanks for the comment! Here's the link to the orientation alignment video along with a new video I just posted on generating star masks in Siril and GIMP: How To Align Astrophotos With Different Orientations th-cam.com/video/abHoSfLnnLg/w-d-xo.html How To Create a Starless Nebula Image and Combine With Star Mask In Siril and GIMP th-cam.com/video/tz0KYVduMaM/w-d-xo.html

@@Felldisulfide thanks very much for the info. I look forward to watching your videos later tonight 👍

Thanks Stefan! I admit, I've been quite taken with wide field imaging lately!

Any thoughts on similar video for your PC & SW setup? Any other channels you would recommend?

Thanks Patrick, I appreciate the comment, and welcome to the channel!

Hi Patrick, I have thought about it but wasn't sure I would be adding much to the conversation. Now that I have a bit more experience, maybe it's time to revisit the laptop setup. Thanks for the suggestion! Here are a couple of channels I would suggest which speak in some way to the 6SE and 8SE: Astro Explorers has many videos about setting up and using an 8SE www.youtube.com/@AstroExplorers Astro Blender has a variety of videos, including some related to Celestron CSTs. I have found his content on focus motors and back focus especially helpful. www.youtube.com/@AstroBlender Clear Skies!

Thank you for your time and knowledge. This video is 👌

Hi @TheSplashingPirate, The ZWO camera runs off whichever capture software you would normally use. In my case, I'm using Astro Photography Tool (APT), but you could just as easily use NINA, SharpCap, the ZWO proprietary software, etc. The difficulty in connecting the DSLR lens to the camera is the adapter itself: you need to have an adapter that has the right 'flange' to click into the lens, the proper thread size to connect the camera, and be the right length to place the camera sensor at the focal point (i.e. the correct back focus). There are some third-party adapters, but I found that the ZWO one works best for ZWO cameras because not only does it have the proper back spacing, but it also contains a filter tray. Once the camera is physically connected to the adapter, and the adapter to the lens, and you have the assembled optical train mounted on rings and a dovetail bar, you can connect the dovetail bar to your mount, and you should be good to go. Which part are you having a hard time with?

@@Felldisulfide Wow! Quick reply! I have the adapter and everything set up. But it wasn't until I tried connecting it to the Sky Watcher Adventurer that I realized it would not connect. I need to figure out how to do the NINA part...it scares me...but I've not even looked at the others. I don't think this will be happening tonight. Nothing is quick and easy with this hobby, is it.

Normally I do everything through ASI AIR…

:) no, there's always something more to learn. That's what makes it exciting. Think of it this way: the mount is independent of the telescope (or DSLR lens) and camera. You can put your camera/adapter/lens on a stationary tripod and take some time lapses if you like. The camera (image capture) is controlled by whichever software you prefer. It sounds like you have not set this part up yet, so work on that first. Your mount runs using it's own internal controls, and, in case of most mounts, it can ALSO accept signals from a laptop or mini-PC. Some people use dedicated 'Planetarium' software on their laptops to control their mounts. Others use phones of tablets to control their mounts using proprietary phone/tablet apps and built-in Wi-Fi on the mount. The point where the mount and camera 'intersect' is where you want to use your imaging software to send additional control signals to your mount. This would be for one of two reasons: 1) guiding. For guiding, you have a separate smaller scope with a separate camera which connects to your PC/laptop via USB, and runs on different software, most commonly PHD2. PHD2 takes images through the guide scope and compares each image to the one before to determine if the stars in the image are shifting. If they are, it sends a signal to the mount to adjust the mount's position either using the ST4 port and cable between the guide camera and mount, or the USB connection between the PC/laptop and mount. 2) Plate Solving. Plate solving is where your imaging software (via plugin of another helper plate-solving software) can analyze the image you have taken, and figure out where your scope is pointing based on internal star maps. With plate solving, some imaging software can send a signal to the mount to move to specific co-ordinates. The way this works is your PC/laptop would need ASCOM drivers (universal standard astronomy device drivers, ascom-standards.org/Downloads/Index.htm ) for the mount and camera, and the imaging software would use the plate-solving information to send a signal to the mount via the ASCOM driver to move in the desired direction, and by the desired distance. The connection between mount and PC/laptop would be either USB or wireless, depending on your mount and preference. My advice is start easy, try doing some time lapses with your camera/adapter/wide field lens on a tripod using some easy to use camera control imaging software. ZWO points you to use the free version of SharpCap. You can use that, or if you are very keen, go nuts with NINA or APT. Once you have that working, do a rough polar alignment with your star tracker, don't worry about guiding, and try taking some 30-60s exposures with a longer focal length lens. I have a couple of more recent videos where I use a Celestron GT and SLT mount as a cheap star tracker to do something similar if you are looking for some ideas. Hope that helps. Clear Skies!

@@Felldisulfide thank you so much for taking the time to help me. I’m getting my head wrapped around this a bit more…thanks to you!

Hi Running, here are my settings: RA--> Histeresis: 10, Aggressiveness: 70, Min Move: 0.20, max RA duration 2500 Dec--> Resist Switch, Aggressiveness: 100, Min Move: 0.20, fast switch checked, max Dec duration 1500 I usually use backlash compensation on Dec as well For guiding I use multi-star My guide refresh rate is 0.5s I found that the biggest obstacle to good guiding on a wedge is polar alignment. If your guiding is all over the place, try running the drift alignment tool in PHD2, hopefully that will help sort you out. Clear Skies!

@@Felldisulfide thanks very much sir. I’ll give that a go

Let me know if you post it!

Just heading out to pick up a used NIKKOR 20mm for wide field! CS!

It really is a very versatile scope! CS!

I'm still learning, but I've been told I need to stop down the lens a bit. The old lenses certainly don't have the same quality as current triplets, but they cost a fraction of the price, so there is that too ;)

And here I was thinking I should have gone for the tri. I don't know if I like how much the quad bleeds into the IR. I'm working on a project combining the quad, with the dual and UV/IR Cut, and the Quad's stars actually seem washed out in comparison to the UV/IR Cut, even though it picks up more nebulosity. CS!

Thanks JD, I appreciate the feedback. I usually overdo the gain on the audio, tried going lower this time, but did not reduce the background music enough. CS!

Thanks! I added a counterweight to the OTA because I had to push it forward past the primary mirror in order to fit the camera. Here's a closer view (before I added the filter tray) Celestron NexStar 6SE With Wedge Astrophotography Setup th-cam.com/video/IpqPej8mayI/w-d-xo.html

A 14mm Samyang! That's fantastic, I was looking at their other lenses, but they are not all made for Nikon. I'd love to see you image the Milky Way core with that Samyang!

You can do it two ways. When I started out, I had a 1.25" light pollution and high contrast filter which would screw into the T-Adapter. Later on I got a filter tray which sits between the camera and the extension rings (it acts as a 16.5mm extension). The filter tray supports both 1.25" and 2" filters, but now I only get the 2" versions in case I ever go full frame and find 1.25" too small.

Also - I have taped a filter to the front of my DSLR lens before as a test, but I would not recommend that method!

I was lucky to get out alive!

We had some people from our club who were headed to Waco for the eclipse. They turned around last minute and headed up to Quebec.

Glad to hear it, good luck with your astro journey! Clear Skies!

It really is a great lens. I don't know if they designed it as an astrograph, but that's what they ended up calling it. I'm testing out the NIKKOR F 300mm lens (made in the 80's and 90's) and am pretty happy with that as well. CS!

@@Felldisulfide Great...!, and for the rokinon/samyang 135mm, they are not made for astrophotography purposes, but an amateur astronomer came out with that idea, and now that lens is pretty much a must have for anyone in this hobby, f2.0 and can be used with any camera, dslr of course and dedicated cameras. CS

I did not know that, thanks!

@Felldisulfide with the proper adapter, you can attach a qhy or zwo cooled camera...

That's right. I'm using the ZWO Nikon adapter with built-in filter tray.

Thanks for that. I read the post, it's very good. He mentions the Nikkor F 200mm - I'm using the 300mm, so I'm in good company. I don't mind defraction spikes so I will stop down from f/4.5 with the internal iris. The other option is using narrowband filters, which I am, but they don't produce natural stars. If I can get the stars through lower f/stops and image nebulas in narrow band, that would be great.

@CodaSloth haha, congratulations! Best thing you can do for guiding is really good polar alignment. The guide scope/camera can help quite a bit to make your alignment better through methods like Drift Alignment. If you are using a reducer, then you should get pretty good results with guiding error under 1.8", but ideally closer to 1". Welcome to longer exposure times. Now you're going to need filters! CS!

@Felldisulfide what filters would you recommend. Also, I have been looking at focail reducers. What would you recommend for that as well.

I only have experience with the Celestron f/6.3 reducer, but there are other options, including some unnamed brands, and some more expensive options like the Starizona reducer, which is at least $100 more than the Celestron version. The Celestron reducer is not perfect, and still leaves a bit of lensing. As far as filters go, stay away from cheap light pollution filters. I also have not had much luck with the high-contrast filters when it comes to imaging. Get a good UV/IR Cut filter to start with. UV/IR Cut filters give you most of the broadband spectrum. I leave mine on unless I'm imaging in narrow-band. From there, most people get an Ha filter or a dual band Ha/OIII. Dual band is more expensive, but you can't go wrong with it! There are additional, more expensive filters which are broader than the narrow pass Ha/OIII/SII filters, but still tighten to limit which colours they permit through, such as RGB. I just ordered the Antlia Quad Band filter for the fall galaxies, hoping to use it as an all-in-one broader spectrum filter.

@IslandSkyPhotos thanks for the comment, I'm glad the video helped! Most of the online forums were so focused on where to measure degrees from that they didn't really cover the why and the how. Good luck with your scope, and clear skies!

Thanks Tich! You know, I don't think too many people starting out put much thought into sizing their gear so that it works together. Guide scopes are a great example of this. If you are imaging at a short enough focal length, you can get away with a less precise guide camera and a smaller guide scope. I hope your weather has improved since the spring! We went from clouds to heat and humidity... CS!

Actually, I got into imaging because visual became impossible where I live due to light pollution. My sky went from Bortle 7 to 8. Every year it seems we have to drive further and further to find a dark sky. I'm happy there's a new generation of astronomers who experience the hobby through imaging, and I hope that some of them will give visual observing a try, hence this video! I'm currently using a 4" refractor for visual, along with viewing through my astronomy club's other members' scopes whenever we get together at a dark sky site, and also, of course, the binoculars. Clear Skies!

Thanks Tich, the camera tripod I'm using is unstable, shaky, not well balanced. I have to extend the legs very far out to keep the whole thing from pitching over - and while the RA is easy to make fine adjustments to, the Declination is unwieldy because all of the weight pulls to one side. However... that Polar Pen... I spent at least an hour trying to polar align this rig the first time (I had it on a part of my deck where Polaris was not visible), and a half hour drift aligning the second time, but once I added the Polar Pen (TM) ;) alignment was a breeze. Provided I could align such that I could see Polaris in the pen tube, my guiding has been consistently in the 1.5" range, which at the focal lengths I've been using is pretty much perfect. So I'm conflicted - it's been a while since I built my last wedge, and I'd like to have a go at it, but... provided I don't breathe too close to this setup, it's just too damn convenient...

@ankurmishra3054 yes, the process is pretty much the same except you would be pointing your OTA North towards the Prime Meridian, not South (using a wedge). There are a few constellations astronomers in the Southern Hemisphere use to help with alignment, such as the Southern Cross, but nothing as simple as Polaris. There are also apps that can help you point your wedge in the right direction. I think you would need to get comfortable with drift alignment in order to fine tune your alignment once you have it more or less oriented based on the other methods.

@@Felldisulfide thanks a lot 😊

Thanks for the comment! I saw some of your observatory build videos. How's it coming along? Cheers, and CS!

@Felldisulfide Not too bad thankyou, I live in Ireland, middle of summer here in Ireland so no observing time. We've also had the worst weather too 😫 Hopefully first light soon 😀