Unistellar eVscope 2 - First Experiences

Introduction | Unpacking Surprise | Very First Experiences | First Conclusions | Links || Appendix: Some Comparisons

Update

Unistellar has offered that I can also send in my second eVscope 2 for repair. This happened at the beginning of May! In the meantime, Unistellar offered to exchange my second eVscope 2 for a third one and to send me photos taken with it beforehand for evaluation. This has happened, and I received my third new sample of the eVscope 2 on August 22, 2022.

Introduction

Photos: My second eVscope 2 (April 9-10, 2022)

In the following, I report on experiences that I made, or better, results that I got with the second sample of my eVscope 2 during my first three observing sessions in April 2022 on.

Note for those in a hurry: Jump to First Conclusions for a quick overview of the star shape problem!

Unpacking Surprise (April 8, 2022)

I had to make my first, unfortunately negative, experience already when unpacking the eVscope 2. When I wanted to extend the tripod legs to the stop, I suddenly had a center leg (together with the lowest leg) in my hand! I then also found that the leg could be rotated, while this is not possible with the other two legs.


At first, after pulling out the leg, I only saw the black plastic part... It probably serves to prevent the leg from being pulled out completely.		After my repair attempts, I also came across the two white plastic parts. They are probably meant to prevent turning of the leg.

Attempts to repair failed, but at least I was able to fix the leg again and now first extend the lowest legs, which I usually do not extend because of the stability (instead, I extend the center legs).

Update (April 19, 2022): Unistellar offered me to exchange the tripod.

Very First Experiences (April 9, 10, and 17, 2022)

On the first day after delivery (delivered on April 8, 2022), I unpacked the eVscope (and took pictures) and charged the battery. And despite the alleged 2-3 weeks of bad weather, which you get for free with every new telescope, I was able to make first observations in Erkerode already on April 9 and 10, 2022 (about half moon). I made further first observations on April 17, 2022 (one day after full moon).

Note: The photos shown are primarily meant to demonstrate the star shapes; these are best seen by looking at the linked originals.

Collimation

On April 9, 2022, I checked the collimation of my new eVscope 2 by turning the focus wheel all the way to the left and then all the way to the right. At the left stop, the collimation pattern looked fine, at the right stop it did not. This was also the case with the previous eVscope 2. On April 10, 2022, I repeated the same procedure and got the same result, but took two screenshots at the stops to document the results:


Focus wheel at the left stop		Focus wheel at the right stop

However, the exact consequences of these results are not clear to me. My guess would be that the collimation was/is OK.

April 9, 2021, Mühlhausen

The following photos were taken on my first observation day (April 9, 2022). I also show moderate crops (center and left area) for easier assessment of the star shapes (partly processed, partly unprocessed). In the end, however, the unprocessed originals (links) provide the best information about the star shapes.


M 34 (original)	M 34, processed (original)	M 34, section (original)

M 51 (original)	M 51, processed (original)	M 51, processed, section (original)

M 65/66 (original)	M 65/66, processed (original)	M 65/66, section (original)

M 97 (original)	M 97, processed (original)	M 97, processed, section (original)

M 101 (original)	M 101, processed (original)	M 101, section (original)

M 108 (original)	M 108, processed (original)	M 108, section (original)

These images were taken under a half moon and very poor sky conditions. Nevertheless, I would have expected somewhat better results, especially since Unistellar emphasizes that the eVscope can also be used in light-polluted skies (Unistellar does not recommend using it under a full moon, however).

I do not write anything at the moment about the star shapes - I would like to ask everyone to form an opinion of his or her own!

April 10, 2021, Mühlhausen

The following photos were taken on my second observation day (April 10, 2022). I also show moderate crops (center and left area) for easier assessment of the star shapes (partly processed, partly unprocessed). In the end, however, the unprocessed originals (links) provide the best information about the star shapes.


M 35 (original)	M 35 (original) - longer exposed

M 35, section (original)	M 35, section (original)

M 42/43 (original)	M 42/43, processed (original)	M 42/43, processed, section (original)

M 51 (original)	M 51, processed (original)	M 51, processed, section (original)

M 65/66 (original)	M 65/66, processed (original)	M 65/66, processed, section (original)

M 81 (original)	M 81, processed (original)	M 81, section (original)

M 82 (original)	M 82, processed (original)	M 82, processed, section (original)

M 101 (original)	M 101, processed (original)	M 101, processed, section (original)

M 105 (original)	M 105, processed (original)	M 105, processed, section (original)

M 108 (original)	M 108, processed (original)	M 108, processed, section (original)

NGC 3628 (original)	NGC 3628, processed (original)	NGC 3628, processed, section (original)

NGC 5371 & Hickson 68 (original)	NGC 5371 & Hickson 68, processed (original)	NGC 5371 & Hickson 68, section (original)

These images were taken under about half moon and very poor sky conditions. Nevertheless, I would have expected somewhat better results, especially since Unistellar emphasizes that the eVscope can also be used in light-polluted skies (Unistellar does not recommend using it under a full moon, however).

April 17, 2021, Mühlhausen

The following photos were taken on my third observation day (April 17, 2022). I also show moderate crops (center and left area) for easier assessment of the star shapes (partly processed, partly unprocessed). In the end, however, the unprocessed originals (links) provide the best information about the star shapes.


M 42/43 (original)	M 42/43, processed (original)	M 42/43, processed, section (original)

NGC 3628 & M 65 (original)	NGC 3628 & M 65, processed (original)	NGC 3628 & M 65, processed, section (original)

M 51 (original)	M 51, processed (original)	M 51, processed, section (original)

M 65/66 (original)	M 65/66, processed (original)	M 65/66, processed, section (original)

M 78 (original)	M 78, processed (original)	M 78, processed, section (original)

M 84 (original)	M 84, processed (original)	M 84, processed, section (original)

M 101 (original)	M 101, processed (original)	M 101, processed, section (original)

M 105 (original)	M 105, processed (original)	M 105, processed, section (original)

NGC 2024 (original)	NGC 2024, processed (original)	NGC 2024, processed, section (original)

NGC 3628 (original)	NGC 3628, processed (original)	NGC 3628, processed, section (original)

NGC 4435/38 (The Eyes) (original)	NGC 4435/38 (The Eyes), processed (original)	NGC 4435/38 (The Eyes), processed, section (original)

NGC 4461 (original)	NGC 4461, processed (original)	NGC 4461, processed, section (original)

These images were taken shortly after full moon and under a little better sky conditions than the previous ones (the moon was more distant from the sky objects).

First Conclusions

On virtually every photo you will find "poor" star shapes, although these are generally more visible when the photo is processed, that is, essentially, brightened. For each photo, I have also taken a slight crop so that the photo looks slightly enlarged in the small preview image and you can see the star shapes a little better.

However, the best way to see the star shapes is to look at the unprocessed photos in their original size (converted from PNG to JPG). These are accessible via links (see above).

Basically, you will find stars that are not round mainly in the left half of the photos up to the image center, but also at the top and bottom of the photos; depending on the photo and the conditions, this varies somewhat. Many of the stars once again exhibit a triangular or similar shape. But it is not yet clear whether this is a result of poor collimation or mirror distortion. I will there not discuss the star shapes and their causes any further, before Unistellar has not commented on my photos.

However, for illustration purposes, I would like to pick out a photo of M 35 where the poor star shapes are particularly noticeable (because it is an open star cluster) and where I marked some of them (see the note below):

M 35 (Original) - Apr 10, 2022, exposed longer in EV mode

Note: The markings do not so much denote individual stars as that they indicate, which area of the image is affected by the distortions of the star shapes.

In addition, I would like to pick out two more examples with galaxies, which are processed for the better recognition of the stars and galaxies. Here, of course, it also depends on the fact that there are stars in the affected area at all, so that one can also recognize the distortions.

M 101, processed (original)

M 105, processed (original)

In the end, all photos show the same basic pattern, only it is not always easy to recognize due to missing brighter stars.

Note: For further "research" in this matter please click on the thumbnails of the DSO of the three observation days resp. the links to the originals!

Update

Appendix: Some Comparisons

Below I show some DSO taken on several days and compare the days (on the first two days there was about half moon, on the third day, the full moon was just through).

M 42/43


M 42/43 (original) - Apr 10, 2022	M 42/43, processed (original)	M 42/43, processed, section (original)

M 42/43 (original) - Apr 17, 2022	M 42/43, processed (original)	M 42/43, processed, section (original)

M 51


M 51 (original) - Apr 9, 2022	M 51, processed (original)	M 51, processed, section (original)

M 51 (original) - Apr 10, 2022	M 51, processed (original)	M 51, processed, section (original)

M 51 (original) - Apr 17, 2022	M 51, processed (original)	M 51, processed, section (original)

M 65/66


M 65/66 (original) - 9.4.2022	M 65/66, processed (original)	M 65/66, section (original)

M 65/66 (original) - Apr 10, 2022	M 65/66, processed (original)	M 65/66, processed, section (original)

M 65/66 (original) - Apr 17, 2022	M 65/66, processed (original)	M 65/66, processed, section (original)

M 101


M 101 (original) - Apr 9, 2022	M 101, processed (original)	M 101, section (original)

M 101 (original) - Apr 10, 2022	M 101, processed (original)	M 101, processed, section (original)

M 101 (original) - Apr 17, 2022	M 101, processed (original)	M 101, processed, section (original)

M 105


M 105 (original) - Apr 10, 2022	M 105, processed (original)	M 105, processed, section (original)

M 105 (original) - Apr 17, 2022	M 105, processed (original)	M 105, processed, section (original)

M 108


M 108 (original) - Apr 9, 2022	M 108, processed (original)	M 108, section (original)

M 108 (original) - Apr 10, 2022	M 108, processed (original)	M 108, processed, Ausschnitt (original)