Ngc 1097 Post collimation tester

[Peter.M]

I had a few things to test out last night, the first of which is my new collimation tools which im happy to say work a treat. The second tool I used last night was alignmaster, which also worked better than I could have hoped for. It was quick, easy, and best of all I wasnt doubting myself at any point in the process. My guide graph was the flattest I have ever seen it and frames showed 0 rotation from first to last a few hours later.

I lost alot of imaging time because my computer crashed inbetween my checks But It is definitely a target that I would love to put some serious time into.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Great field. Certainly did the trick.

[bmitchell82 (Brendan)]

For newts theres nothing better than cats eye collimation gear. 100% accurate the only error is that of your own eyes! and Alignmaster makes life just that much easier.

Good to see that you have some nice stars and the target is cirtainly interesting!

Good work Peter!

[Moon (James)]

Looks good to me too.
How well does the HEQ5 handle the weight?
James

[Peter.M]

I havent weighed my setup yet, but the heq5 does not seem to stress at all during slewing or tracking. These were 5 minute sub exposures, and I have been up too 10 minutes but the flexture monster eats half of my subs. I will probally try 10 minute exposures again now that I know my PA is not at fault, But im not too worried if 5 minutes is all I can get at the moment as OAG down the track will fix the flexture.

[allan gould]

Great start and it's good to see it's all working for you. 1097 will be a good serious start and you are getting there. Well done.

[Ross G]

Nice shot and good looking, round stars.

Ross.