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Hi again Aaron, Autoguiding is essential a bit further down the track, but
with really good polar alignment and using an 8" f/5 Newt[focal length 1000mm] you can get a high percentage of acceptable subs of surprising
length. In my experience, about 99% @ 30secs-- about 75-80% @45sec,
about 50-60% @60secs--about 35-40% @90secs, and about 20% @120secs.
I have had on occasion perfectly round stars at 150secs[probably 1 or 2%.
Obviously, if you use a scope of 500mm for example, you will get unguided
exposures roughly twice as long,[ more likelihood of knocking the scope,
or wind caused movement, the longer the exposure.]
For your information the mount weighs about 10kg, 2x 5kg counterweights
=10kg + about 4.5kg for tripod, so about 24-25kg all up. With a smaller scope you would only use one counterweight, so all up would become 19-20kg. I am an octogenarian, and can carry the complete mount out into my backyard, so assuming that you are very much younger, it should be a doddle for you.
As a guide, I can be imaging within 20 minutes of taking my scope out into my backyard, or 25-30mins at other sites. Much of this time is taken up with polar aligning.
Hope this helps.
raymo
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