Offset Tracking

[Benny L (Ben)]

Hi all,

I am wondering if anyone out there has any experience with offset guiding for the imaging of comets?

I am familiar with the practice of guiding on the nucleus of the comet but i was wondering if there is any software or hardware that will allow me to auto-guide on a nearby star but compensate for the comets motion..

any input would be much appreciated

[Benny L (Ben)]

Hi all,

after extensive googling I have found that in the good old days observatories used to use a Bifilar Micrometer which was calibrated to the relative motion of the comet to track it.

It involved hand-guiding on a nearby star as well as periodically adjusting the Micrometer to adjust for the comet's motion :S

Sounds like a guide scope and guiding on the nucleous is the easiest way to go..