1st attempts

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Hi all
Just posting a few of my first astro pics.
Ive tried my camera on my two of my scopes and I now see how vital a decent mount is!!
So I've settled for a standard 18-55mm and 20 second exposures.
Still a steep learning curve with processing.
Still getting multiple colour versions of each and not sure which is better.
I think its a personal thing but I tend to like a blacker sky but then there's more stretching and that mean more artifacts which tend to look a bit false.
Hmmm I'm starting to see the dark side!!
Any input would help.

Cannon 450d moded
30 x 20 second, 18mm (18=55), f=3.5, iso 1600
Darks, flats, and bias subtracted.

Tried startrails with 80 x 20 second lights.

[PKay (Peter)]

Mate Unreal!

The tank gives it all perspective.

Well done!

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Thanks Peter for the positive input.
We have a few header tanks up on stands and this one leaks!!
So last thursday night was mossie city around the tank.
I was eaten alive....(things you go through).
Also caught a satellite in one the frames.
Cheers
Andy

[John5 (John)]

Hello all,

A newbie here but am a technical person and love photography as well. I just wish to comment that I love these images and that I would be very pleased to have shot them myself!

Still awaiting delivery of my first telescope and accessories but look forward to learning the ins and outs. Not sure of that black hole sucking in the $$$$ though!

Regards, John5

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Thanks John,
Ive only got some basic equipment but my real Achilles heal is my crappy GEM mount.
Ive resigned myself that ill just use a static tripod with a DSLR on it and just learn from there.
By the time I can afford a decent mount I hope to have worked out what Lights, darks, flats, and bias mean and how to take them and use them.
Then there's the endless manipulation of each image you can do!
I found a good site that helped a fair bit on the basics using deep sky stacker which really helped me...https://astrobackyard.com/deep-sky-stacker-settings/
But nothing beats the invaluable information that this site gives.
Cheers
Andy

[xelasnave]

Great work Andy.
Is your mount a problem or with respect are you the problem?
For wide field you can get away with a few problems with a mount, certainly it should enable short exposures and save you moving the camera on the tripod.
Anyways your efforts so far are outstanding.
Good luck.
Alex

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Hi Alex
The eq mount I'm using is a second hand real cheepie that came with a "bushmaster" 130mm newt.
It was so slogged out that it would wobble badly on all 3 planes.
After many hours shimming and moding its not too bad but a little tight on the dec plane.
It came with a battery RA motor that hunts a little and it takes a while to get it running right.
I can normally polar align pretty quickly but only visual not a drift align.
Also when im at my other home ive got a permanent pier which I can flip the motor and come back an hour or so later and only slight drifting.
But this is ok for visual but when I add extra weight of my camera and watch this cheap motor clicking away on badly made gears housed in a badly made mount the pictures are shocking.
The only thing that I haven't tried is ditching the motor and manually guide.
This will be a proper test of the mount and probably my patience as well.
Its the only part of my "apprenticeship" that I have skipped.
I thought I was going to straight to a heavy duty fully auto mount until I checked the price!
Next clear night ill try my C90 and manually guide and maybe do a full drift align to totally rule out the mount.
Cheers Andy

[LostInSp_ce]

Nice choice of composition. Well done.