Carina Nebula

[spearo]

Hello All,
Here's my latest, I've been trying my hand at drift alignment and pushed the exposure time i could get...couldn't quite make it 4 but 3 minutes 45 seconds is a record for me (unguided of course).
field curvature visible on edges.
cheers
frank
(going back out as soon as the 12volt battery recharges! Konked on me just as i was moving to a new target...)

:D

[h0ughy]

fantastic, better get recharged!

[Striker]

Looks like your on the right track Frank.....neally 4 minutes is excellant for that focal length.

Have you mentioned your processing yet...are you using flats,Darks and bias frame's for calibration...what software do you use...if you want a simple program to use that does it all...get Images PLus version 2.75...it will do all your calibration automaticly for you.....then just finish up in Photoshop.

[JohnG]

Nice work there Frank, looks like that night spent on Drift Aligning has paid off.

Cheers

JohnG

[alandee]

Another beauty. Excellent shot.

[spearo]

Thanks everyone,
your encouragement means a lot!
And a very special thanks to JohnG for going WAAAAAY beyond the call of duty and coming over to teach me to drift align. I nominate him for an award!
that made a huge difference beacuse it was so confusing before ("what does "if the star drifts north" mean, in the eyepiece, compared to compass points, compared to scope, is it reversed inthe eyepiece, etc etc etc)
a few key pointers made all the difference for me!

as for processing ...nothing sophisticated yet for me i'm affraid: basic levels in PS and a quick run through Noiseware, done (max time spent processing a few minutes). Anyhing to do with flats, darks, etc is beyond me still

but, hey!, I'm having fun!

thanks
frank

[beren]

:) Congrats fine image :thumbsup:

[xelasnave]

Not too shabby indeed:thumbsup:
It makes all the difference to be lined up. That is a nice long track for starters, each additional second gets harder and harder until you go auto (which I have not done yet) but experience at manual guiding is part of the apprenticeship I recon.
Fine effort you gotta be happy with that:thumbsup:
alex

[spearo]

Thanks
I have yet to try manual guiding too!
this is 3min45sec tracking by the CG5 all by itself
f