First Attempts - M42 & Sirius

[paul315 (Paul)]

Hi,
Heres my 1st attempts at Astrophotography using Nexstar 6se and Canon 500d taken last night 28/12.
M42 is a 10sec exposure.
Sirius a 13 sec exp though i am not sure what the blue cloudy area is below the star..?

I realise my Alt-Az mount is limited when taking photos (wish i'd done a bit more reading before the purchase) as you will see with the trails.

cheers
Paul

[TrevorW]

Well done for your first attempts

[batema (Mark)]

How good does that moon look. Well done and try for slightly longer subs on M 42. Push the time and see what happens.

Mark

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Well done Paul

The moon's a cracker. With a little more processing practice, it'll be even better.

You might investigate an equatorial wedge for your Nexstar one day. It's not the ideal solution, but they do work to give you a rotation-free image. Are you a member of a club that you can ask questions of? You'll be amazed at what experienced amateur astronomers can teach you.

Good first effort

[Gallifreyboy]

Good effort Paul,
This time last year I had the 6SE too and enjoyed it for visual work, I joined IIS and saw all the photos people ordinary people were taking and I thought I would give it a go too. Sadly the mount on the 6SE handles the scope nicely but not much else. It vibrates like crazy and doesn't track well with additional weight. I found my 1000D had to be very carefully positioned to even get the moon shots. I kept the camera and sold the 6se for an equatorial mount without any change left over and started on the astrophotography rollercoaster. Alas if you really enjoy astrophotography you will be significantly limited by the 6SE. The AUD$ strength however does put you in a better position to get new equipment compared to 12 months ago

Peter

[Matty P (Matt)]

Great first attempt Paul.

Similarly to you I first started imaging with my 8SE. The problem was that you are limited to 30 second exposures due to field rotation. The advantage you do have with the setup is that you have the ability to remove the OTA from the mount. Allowing you to upgrade your mount with ease. I bought myself an EQ6 mount and still have my 8SE OTA riding on top.

Good luck with it.

Matt