NGC253@250mm

[Mickoid (Michael)]

A bit of a play with my 55-250mm zoom kit lens on my 550d. Just 6.5 mins integration at f5.6 and 250mm, 1600 iso. Taken from my front yard in an orange zone on a Sightron Nano Tracker. Don't zoom in too much!

[Imme (Jon)]

Good effort finding it without goto!

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Imme

Good effort finding it without goto!

Thanks Jon, short focal lengths are pretty forgiving. I just knew approximately where it was after having photographed it many times. Shoot a couple of shots around the area, have a look, see if it's in the frame. If not, move it around, shoot again - ah, there it is! If it's not centered, I use the optical viewfinder on the camera with my peripheral vision so I can pick up a star that I can follow as I move the camera (hopefully) in the right direction to center the object. That's my GOTO!

[Anth10 (Anthony M)]

Like it.
The wide field shots always impress and it just gives the Galaxy that space feel to it.
Nice pick up with the open cluster appearing in the frame to the top right. Pretty good Mick.

[ChrisV (Chris)]

No GOTO, no guiding. 6.5 min. That's astrophotography on the go ! Nicely framed

[Rigel003 (Graeme)]

How great capturing a spiral with decent detail using a simple setup like that.

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Anth10

Like it.
The wide field shots always impress and it just gives the Galaxy that space feel to it.
Nice pick up with the open cluster appearing in the frame to the top right. Pretty good Mick.

Thanks Anthony, I reckon if I frame these objects carefully, I could capture both together with my Esprit 100 for a tighter shot.

Originally Posted by ChrisV

No GOTO, no guiding. 6.5 min. That's astrophotography on the go ! Nicely framed

Thanks Chris, it's certainly a portable outfit, I could carry the whole lot in a day pack.

Originally Posted by Rigel003

How great capturing a spiral with decent detail using a simple setup like that.

Glad you appreciate the simplicity, Graeme. It may inspire others with basic equipment to have a go.

[The Mekon (John Briggs)]

Originally Posted by Anth10

Like it.
The wide field shots always impress and it just gives the Galaxy that space feel to it.
Nice pick up with the open cluster appearing in the frame to the top right. Pretty good Mick.

Mick, Great shot. The cluster in the top right is of course a globular cluster NGC288. Centring the shot between the two objects would have made it a little more prominent, and I really like widefield shots of the two together.

[Atmos (Colin)]

Super widefirld shots do help put everything into perspective.

[traveller (Bo)]

+1 to what others said Mick.
Great effort for a tracker and great framing.
Bo

[RickS (Rick)]

Nicely done!

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Thanks for all of the compliments guys, sometimes the simplest of methods produce pleasing results. Last night conditions were reasonable ( new moon too! ) enough to try out the possibility of capturing ngc 253 and ngc 288 in the same field with my Esprit 100. I plan to process them tonight.