Orion 52080 manual

Orion ® StarShoot ™ Deep Space Color Imager II #52080 INSTRUCTION MANUAL Providi ng Exceptiona l Consumer Optical Products Since 1975 Customer Support (800) 676-1343 E-mail: support@telescope.com Corporate Offices (831) 763-7000 P .O. Box 1815, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 IN 308 Rev . B 0 7 /07[...]

Securing thumbscr ew 2 3 W elcome to a new world of adventure. Y our new StarShoot Deep Space Color Imaging Camera II (SSDSI- II) is capable of capturing detailed, full-color images of astronomical objects. Galaxies, star clusters, and nebu- lae, as well as the planets, Moon, and Sun (with optional solar filter) can all be imaged to create spectac[...]

Figure 2b. If your telescope has T -threads, r emove the nosepiece from the SSDSI- II and thread the camera directly onto the telescope. This provides the most secure connection. T -threads 4 5 In order to reach focus, the telescope must have approximately 0.6" (15mm) of inward focus travel relative to where a standard eyepiece focuses. If you[...]

6 7 When the 3VDC power supply is plugged into the SSDSI-II, the TEC is on (Figure 3). It takes about a minute for the TEC to provide maximum cooling, so wait a couple of minutes befor e you begin to capture images. When the power source is not plugged in, the TEC is of f. Remember to unplug the TEC when it is not in use, or you will drain the powe[...]

8 9 7. Windows will note that the driver has not passed Windows Logo testing. This is normal. Click the Continue Anyway button. 8. Wh en the W i za rd h as co mp let ed , c li ck the F ini sh bu tt on. T his c om ple tes t h e dr ive r i ns tal lat io n pr oce ss. Now , start the Maxim DL Essentials Edition software. The camera will now be recogniz[...]

10 11 Getting Started During Daylight We recommend using the SSDSI-II for the first time during the day . This way , you can become familiar with the camera and its functions without having to stumble ar ound in the dark. Setup your telescope and mount so the optical tube is pointing at an object that is at least a couple of hundred feet away . In[...]

12 13 Note: The camera’ s field of view is fairly small. It is approximately equivalent to the field of view through the telescope when looking through a typical (i.e. not wide-field) 10mm focal length eyepiece. So make sure the object to be imaged is well centered in the telescope before connecting the SSDSI-II, otherwise it may not appear in[...]

14 15 Stretch Window . The r ed slider arrow corresponds to the Minimum value and the gr een arrow corresponds to the Maximum value. Simply left-click and then drag each arr ow to adjust it to the desired level. The best results are obtained by adjusting the arr ows (numbers) until the most pleasing display appears. There are also seven automatic s[...]

Figure 13. The Combine Images window allows “stacking” of individual images into one high-quality resultant image. 16 17 4. Focus the camera using the telescope’ s focus knob. The focus point for the SSDSI-II will be approximately 15mm inwards from the eyepiece’ s focus point. If you are having trouble determining best focus, try focusing o[...]

18 19 T o start: 1. Acquire the deep sky object into the field of view of your eyepiece, and center it in the eyepiece’ s field of view . Focus the eyepiece with the tele - scope’ s focuser . Make sure your equatorial mount is well polar aligned, and the R.A. motor drive is on and engaged. 2. Remove the eyepiece and replace it with the SSDSI-[...]

20 21 Important Note: Dark frames ( Dark Raw 1x1 ) should only be subtracted from Light Raw 1x1 images. If you try to subtract dark frames from images that are already color -converted (i.e. Light Color 1x1 images) the resultant image color will be incorrect . T o take dark frames for subtraction from “light” images: 1. In the Camera Contr ol W[...]

22 23 1. Open all “light” images to be stacked in Maxim DL Essentials. Do this with the Open command in the File menu. 2. Click on one of the opened images, and select Dark Subtract from the Process menu. The averaged dark frame has now been subtracted from the selected “light” image. Repeat this process for all of the “light” images op[...]

24 25 Color Balance The sensitivity of most CCD cameras as a function of wavelength (color) is dif - ferent from the response of the human eye. The filters used for creating color composites also have their own characteristics, as do the telescope optics. Although “perfect” color rendition is an elusive if not impossible goal (all indi - vidua[...]

26 27 For the Permanent Stretch T ype , the Linear Only mode is useful for adjusting the range of pixels to match a particular file format. The Log mode is useful for compressing the dynamic range of the image, but can be rather harsh. The Gamma mode allows you to selectively emphasize bright or dim parts of the image by entering a suitable Gamma [...]

28 29 all saved data will be kept intact. If another Size Format is utilized, there may be some loss of data, especially when saving combined images. Batch Pr ocess Batch Process can be used to process multiple images simultaneously using the various commands available in MaxIm DL Essentials Edition. The first step is to select a set of images or [...]

30 31 Computer to Mount Connection In order for autoguiding with the SSDSI-II to work, you need a way to send commands fr om the computer to the telescope mount. This is generally done with a cable connecting the computer’ s serial (COM) port to the mount’ s auto - guider jack; this cable is generally mount specific, so contact the dealer you [...]

32 33 Some telescope mounts, such as the Orion Atlas EQ-G and Sirius EQ-G, uti- lize an “ST -4 compatible” autoguider jack. For easiest autoguiding with these mounts, we recommend purchasing the optional USB Guide Port interface (GPUSB). This adapter box will translate the autoguiding computer commands from MaxIm DL Essentials into ST -4 pulse [...]

34 35 Y ou ar e now r eady to take a long-exposure image through the main telescope and imaging camera. The SSDSI-II will continuously send small correction factors to the mount’ s motor drive to insure steady and accurate tracking throughout the duration of the exposure, however long that may be. Other Autoguiding Notes: • If you are using a G[...]

36 37 Window Menu New Window – This creates a second view of the currently selected image. The new view can be independently panned and zoomed, but will have the same str etch as the original window . Fit to Image - This toggles the Fit to Image mode on and of f. The Fit to Image mode causes the window for the image to be adjusted to the same siz[...]

38 39 Focusing One of the hardest things to do in imaging is achieving good focus. Y ou can simply watch the computer screen to focus ( Focus in the Camera Control Window), but you can focus “by the numbers” on a bright star to get the best focus possible. T o do this: 1. In the Camera Contr ol Window , select Light Raw 1x1 mode. 2. Set the exp[...]

40 41 For imaging deep sky objects under light-polluted skies, you can try a SkyGlow Broadband light pollution filer . This helps suppr ess the light emitted by street - lights, but still lets most of the light from deep sky objects thr ough. An incr ease in overall image contrast results. USB Extension Cable In many instances, it is likely a long[...]

42 One-Y ear Limited W arranty This Orion StarShoot Deep Space Color Imager II is warrant- ed against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only . During this warranty period Orion T elescopes & Binoculars will repair or replace,[...]