A productive night with an Astrotrac

[cazza132]

Some pics from last weekend's astro shoot at Double Island camping on the beach. Still clear conditions, music, beer and an Astrotrac that I got lucky with calibration :) 45min worth of drifting and got pretty close. Need to sort mirror slap vibration - I guess you learn something new every astro shoot. Stoked with the results :)

Full spectrum 6D + Vis/Ha pass lens filter

M42 & M45 - 70-200 f2.8L IS II + 2xteleconverter at f5.6
8x120s, 8x60s, 4x20s, 4x8s, 4x3s at ISO3200. Dark frame subtraction with the 120s and 60s exposures.

Orion sword&belt, & Carina Nebula
As above but without TC and at f2.8, ISO1600

[allan gould]

Really great images. You must have nailed your alignment as they are really sharp.

[BlackWidow]

Really nice!

[cazza132]

Thanks Allan. Yeah, got really lucky with the alignment - best I've had it set - esp running 400mm at 120s. Have my good and bad nights with the Astrotrac. Definitely the best alignment I've had it. Drift alignment is getting easier with practice, and using a beefy tripod is definitely helping.

[renormalised]

Nice shots :)

[dvj]

Those are great indeed. What is a visual lens Ha filter?

j

[Rod771]

Very nice images Troy! Well done :thumbsup:

[pvelez]

Lovely shots there Troy

Pete

[MLParkinson]

Wow, looks like you know what you are doing to me. They're not masterpieces yet, but in a few years time I bet they will be. It takes time to learn all of the tricks. Sorry if my remarks are condescending.

[TimberLand]

Talk about going fishing and bagging the big one. WOW. You got all the good photons at the island.

[ourkind]

Beautiful shots :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

did well and great results.

[cazza132]

Thank you all for the kind words. MLParkinson - not condescending at all. These shots aren't to the level of the stuff produced with a scope with auto guiding systems, etc. Just make do with a 200mm lens + 2xTC on an Astrotrac. And still learning with that set up. Drift alignment is getting faster and better every time. Have been contemplating a fast Newtonian though - say 8" f4.0 with a good mount that's portable :)

[iceman]

Great results Troy! Well done.

[pmrid]

Wow, those are impressive results. You have got me intrigued to figure out how you can drift align with one of these portable tracking devices. Does the Astrotrac accept ST4 data from a guide camera or did you figure some way to drift with just your 6D?
Peter

[mbaddah]

Fantastic images! Beautifully framed and processed, well done.

Just wondering what tripod/wedge etc.. are you using with the Astrotrac? And which polar alignment method are you using? I'd greatly appreciate the extra info, cheers.

[broca]

Nice run of images!

[cazza132]

Thanks Mike, Steve, Mohammad and Peter. With the alignment, I used the 6D with 400mm and point it toward the celestial equator upward. Then take two consecutive shots and see which way the stars move, then adjust the tripod head to suit with small movements. If the stars move upward, you turn the rig eastward and vice versa. I have a manfrotto geared head with adjustment knobs for fine tuning. It has a bubble level and marks at one degree increments, so adjusting the inclination is relatively easy when you know your latitude. But if you want to fine tune that, you can drift with you camera pointed toward the east (or west).

[Ross G]

Great collection of beautiful photos Troy.

I love the Orion widefield.

Ross.