First astrophoto (for 25 years)

[Jon]

So, when I was 20 I used to have a 5" reflector with just an RA clock drive ... took some OK shots with my dad's old Nikon SLR attached. I used to enjoy the hour of fiddling about with polar alignment, 40' single exposure, two weeks' wait for the lab to return your photos of ... lovely little rings because you didn't focus the thing ...

Anyway, after a 25+-year hiatus on Wednesday I took posession of a Meade LX80 10" SCT and Canon 60Da. First ting I did was to take 20 exposures of 47 Tucanae of which 11 were moderately usable - max 30" as I haven't sorted autoguiding yet (or more precisely, haven't worked out how to attach the Orion 80mm short scope for autoguiding to the LX80), ISO 800-1600.

This is my first attempt at stacking, using DSS - I took some darks, but no flats and have done no other postprocessing (it's going to be a steep learning curve!).

Any feedback/guidance welcome!

[Larryp]

That's a great image, Jon!-regardless of it being a first digital image or not!

[EricB]

Jon done Jon!

I too am returning to astronomy after a nearly 30 year gap. It's a great feeling, isn't it?:D

May you take many more photos!

Eric

[Jon]

Thanks guys.

Yes, Eric, it's fabulous. I stopped trying to do astronomy when I lived for 11 years in the most light-polluted corner of England. Couldn't see a star at all, most nights. But life has paid me back - I now live on a sheep farm 10km up the road from Mt Stromlo. Not an artificial light in sight.

[ourkind]

That's an excellent result Jon, in my opinion it's top shelf! I can see individual stars right down to the core which many people overcook. Clearly you have knack for this thing :)

Are you planning on using the Orion Starshoot Guider and Orion mini scope? What is the issue actually mounting the guidescope or connecting the guider to your mount?

[Jon]

Cheers Carlos. I don't know about knack, but I can certainly see how imaging could get addictive! It's just fascinating, and I'm getting the sense that in this digital age an image will never be quite finished - there's always something more you can do to improve it ...

The problem I've got is actually attaching the 80mm short tube refractor to the SCT OTA. I bought some 10" rings, which have threads to mount a guidescope, but they won't fit around the tube of the 10" because the dovetail backet runs the whole length of the tube. I don't really want to drill holes in the tube itself, so I'm a bit stumped.

[peeb61]

Hi Jon,
A great welcoming back shot of 47 Tuc!
When I had my LX200 I used the screws already in place to secure my guiding rail to, just use an allen key and select two on the top of the tube on either end.

Paul

[ourkind]

That's a good suggestion :thumbsup: also start a new thread in the 'beginners exquipment' section and ask the question I'm sure someone there with experience will also be able to share some more ideas :)

[Jon]

Thanks Paul - you got me halfway there. I didn't realise those screws could be used to mount things. The guiding rail wasn't long enough, but a quick trip to Bunnings, a bit of countersinking and voila!