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Old 03-01-2015, 10:09 PM
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FrankyT (Frank)
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Sippy Downs
Posts: 15
Help With Polar Alignment For Astro Photography

Hello I have a 3 month old Skywatcher Neq6. I have the slightest most annoying problem with drift even after numerous polar alignments. I get star trails in my photographs after 30 seconds. I do not have auto guide set up but am expecting to at least get a 2 minute exposure with no star trails. I would have hoped this would be reasonable with all the money I have spent. Firstly I am in the southern hemisphere and do not use the polar scope. I line my mount true south and ensure the tripod is level in all directions. The bubble level on the mount is not reliable. I have ample power and have good steady supply. I end up doing the 3 star alignments followed by polar alignments and have 0.00.00 readings. However the drift still occurs and any exposures of more than 30 seconds star trails appear.

I have a X5 barlow on a 12.5 mm reticule eyepiece. After a few seconds you can see star beginning to drift ever slightly but enough to ruin the photographs.

As yet I have not tried the drift align as described on these threads and am embarrassed to say I do know if its right ascension or declination that's drifting or both. It started raining and I had to call it quits tonight. The software with the Neq6 has a polar alignment procedure but it or I am failing. PEC prevents star wobble but my error is worse than that. When you zoom in on a photo you see the trails.

I thought levelling, good power supply and repeated polar alignments would hone it in but it doesn't. I am using the exact time to the second and longitude and latitude from GPS in the set up of the synch scan.

I have been told to keep persevering but I seem to think there is an issue somewhere with the gear but cannot prove it.

Thank You In Advance