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AP Mach2 First Light #Mach2GTO

Nikita Pritsker
 

Hello fellow astronomy enthusiasts, It's my very first post here :) I recently had the pleasure of using my new AP Mach2 equatorial mount for the first time during an astrophotography session, and I must say, it was an incredible experience. The astronomy site located at Negev desert, Israel and provides Bortle 3 sky. Firstly, the tracking accuracy of the mount is absolutely phenomenal. For two nights the RMS was in range 0.2-0.3". Never got such low error with my previous mount. For the first time, no data was dropped out due to guiding issues. The mount is also incredibly user-friendly and very easy to set up. The build quality of the mount is also top-notch, with every component feeling solid and well-made. Overall, I couldn't be more satisfied with my purchase of the AP Mach2. It has exceeded my expectations in every way and has truly enhanced my astrophotography experience. Attaching images of the setup (mine the right one) and M51 galaxy that was imaged at the first night.
R Botero
 

Congratulations Nikita! Fantastic setup and result. 

Roberto
Brian Valente
 

Congratulations on your first light Nikita! an excellent target

On Sun, Mar 19, 2023 at 11:17 PM Nikita Pritsker <bllaaze@...> wrote:

Hello fellow astronomy enthusiasts, It's my very first post here :) I recently had the pleasure of using my new AP Mach2 equatorial mount for the first time during an astrophotography session, and I must say, it was an incredible experience. The astronomy site located at Negev desert, Israel and provides Bortle 3 sky. Firstly, the tracking accuracy of the mount is absolutely phenomenal. For two nights the RMS was in range 0.2-0.3". Never got such low error with my previous mount. For the first time, no data was dropped out due to guiding issues. The mount is also incredibly user-friendly and very easy to set up. The build quality of the mount is also top-notch, with every component feeling solid and well-made. Overall, I couldn't be more satisfied with my purchase of the AP Mach2. It has exceeded my expectations in every way and has truly enhanced my astrophotography experience. Attaching images of the setup (mine the right one) and M51 galaxy that was imaged at the first night.




--

Howard Ritter
 

Wonderful image and story, Nikita. I think you’ve won today’s APPOD (Astro-Physics Photo of the Day) — as well as the prize for most exotic observing location!

What optics do you have on that Mach2? How long were the exposures, how many subs, and were they guided? How did you process the data?

—howard

On Mar 20, 2023, at 2:17 AM, Nikita Pritsker <bllaaze@...> wrote:

Hello fellow astronomy enthusiasts, It's my very first post here :) I recently had the pleasure of using my new AP Mach2 equatorial mount for the first time during an astrophotography session, and I must say, it was an incredible experience. The astronomy site located at Negev desert, Israel and provides Bortle 3 sky. Firstly, the tracking accuracy of the mount is absolutely phenomenal. For two nights the RMS was in range 0.2-0.3". Never got such low error with my previous mount. For the first time, no data was dropped out due to guiding issues. The mount is also incredibly user-friendly and very easy to set up. The build quality of the mount is also top-notch, with every component feeling solid and well-made. Overall, I couldn't be more satisfied with my purchase of the AP Mach2. It has exceeded my expectations in every way and has truly enhanced my astrophotography experience. Attaching images of the setup (mine the right one) and M51 galaxy that was imaged at the first night.


<lrgb_crop1.png><lrgb.png><setup.jpg>
Nikita Pritsker
 
Edited

Thanks to everyone :)

My setup details:

Imaging scope: William Optics FLT132
Imaging camera: QHY268M
Guiding scope: Skywatcher Evoguide 50ED
Guiding camera: ZWO ASI224MC
Mount: AP Mach2
Filters: Baader LRGB 36mm Unmounted
Filters Wheel: Atik EFW2
Integration time: 399 minutes (3 min per frame, 133 frames)
Processing soft: PixInsight
 
Nikita Pritsker
 
Edited

A few more pictures from the second night.
The Whale (NGC4631) and the Hockey Stick (NGC4656) galaxies.
Same setup as in previous post, only integration time was a bit longer: 420 min (140 frames x 3 minutes)

crop3.png

lrgb.png

crop1.png

crop2.png

Dan_Paris
 

Amazin set of images!
Karen Christen
 

Great to hear, Nikita.  And a terrific first light result!

Karen

AP

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> On Behalf Of Nikita Pritsker
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 12:18 AM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: [ap-gto] AP Mach2 First Light #Mach2GTO

 

Hello fellow astronomy enthusiasts, It's my very first post here :) I recently had the pleasure of using my new AP Mach2 equatorial mount for the first time during an astrophotography session, and I must say, it was an incredible experience. The astronomy site located at Negev desert, Israel and provides Bortle 3 sky. Firstly, the tracking accuracy of the mount is absolutely phenomenal. For two nights the RMS was in range 0.2-0.3". Never got such low error with my previous mount. For the first time, no data was dropped out due to guiding issues. The mount is also incredibly user-friendly and very easy to set up. The build quality of the mount is also top-notch, with every component feeling solid and well-made. Overall, I couldn't be more satisfied with my purchase of the AP Mach2. It has exceeded my expectations in every way and has truly enhanced my astrophotography experience. Attaching images of the setup (mine the right one) and M51 galaxy that was imaged at the first night.



--
Karen Christen
Astro-Physics

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