Hi all, since beginning on my AA journey, my main interest has been (and still is) the planets, and my equipment is pretty much been tailored for planetary imaging. However, now that planetary season is over, I'm interested in going across to the
Dark Side and imaging some DSOs. Galaxies are my main interest right now, but I might get interested in bright nebulae also. I have dipped my toe in the water already using my current setup to get a
not terrible image of NGC 1566 using my Evolution (altaz) mount, C9.25" SCT, Meade f/6.3 reducer and (unmodified) Canon 700D.
https://www.cloudynights.com/gallery...maged-1732020/
Obviously the alt/az mount makes this all much more difficult, so 6 months ago I purchased a second hand Celestron CGEM (I) mount off IIS, and have plans on using this to try some DSO imaging in the off season. I have a few questions about using it as I am going back to almost complete newbie status, especially as it relates to polar alignment (which I've never done
) and choice of accessories. A few issues I have are:
- The C9.25" and C6" SCTs I own have CG5 dovetails, and the CGEM mount only supports CGE. I have 2 options, buy a
CGE-CG5 adapter for US$120 so I could use both OTAs, or just buy a
CGE dovetail for the C9.25" for about A$70 and only use the larger OTA. Is there any advantage in using the 6" SCT?
- I cannot see Octantis from my backyard, there is a huge tree on the nature strip and I cannot get it cut back (despite numerous requests to the Council). I note that the CGEM mount has something called All-Star Alignment where all I need to see is a few bright stars, is this really how it works?
- The OTAs I have are all "slow", but I'm looking at adding another f/6.3 reducer in series to reduce the focal ratio/length further and turn my 9.25" SCT into a 775mm f/3.3 - is this necessary?
- I don't have a guider, how long can I image without one? I reckon I
could turn my ASI224MC planetary camera into a guide camera, but I would need some sort of
guide scope, or an
off-axis guider - what is best here?
- Filters? I have a Baader Neodymium Moon and Skyglow filter, but is a UHC filter necessary to start with?
What else am I missing?
Thanks in advance
