hi. these are my M42 attempts the first 3 pics are through the canon 450d , and the next 4 are through the SW ed 80 Whit the camera attached. i think polar alignment is a big issue for me so i need to keep at it,can u give me some hints on polar alignment? and exposure time. any suggestions?
les
Hi Les,
Hope you don't mind, but I had a little play with image number 6. Trying to draw out more detail that is hidden in the picture.
If you're having polar alignment issues, just stick to taking a heap of short exposures, say only 20-30 seconds each to keep the star trails to a minimum. You can stack them up using Deep Sky Stacker and get a pretty good final image. More images stacked means less noise in the final image
What image processing software do you have?
Maybe I can help you out with it?
I reloaded the image, it is a bit smaller now, and doesn't show all that noise.
Are you at home at the moment?
I could possibly bring along a disc to work this evening with some software that you would find useful.
Yes my friend,from my experience you have alignment or guiding problems there. I have my own pictures of the exact same target that look reasonably similar to yours. Polar alignment by which ever method I tried in the early stages was not easy to digest ... that was until I came across a piece of literature that simplified it all. I have a link to it in my website that may help you as well (see below).
If polar alignment is an issue, as it has been with me, take a lot of short exposure shots. I have a 400D, and I take around 25 to 30 exposures at 10 or 13 seconds each (ISO1600 with ICNR). The final image turns out okay. As I have slowly been able to get my alignment organised, I have increased the exposure times.
Good on ya Les for having a go. There's always something to learn and tweak once you start taking pics. At least your having fun. Do you have a webcam you could use to help with fine tuning polar alignment?
