Hi to all,
I will be visiting Australia for the first time 24th Dec 2024 - 15th Jan2025.
Traveling from Sydney to Melbourne and then to Perth, in a campervan.
Equipment: I will bring is ZWO AM5, Redcat 51 and ZWO 2600 Mc Duo camera, Optolong L-extreme and L-Pro.
So I hope to have enough clear nights away from the light pollution, to do some decent astrophoyography. Dont want to jump to 5 targets in one night, but I would like to do as many as I can. I suppose I will have 6-7 clear nights.
What targets should I choose for Redcat 51 and ZWO 2600 camera ?
Thanks in advance
Vid
Stellarium is your road map to our Southern Skies ( in fact any skies around the world )
Just use the Ocular plugins to check FOV for a specific target for your custom rig.
This link will guide you through the process including some popular Southern targets
The Magellanic Clouds make good targets at this time of year as they are higher in the sky than they are most of the year. They are very large objects that may not fully fit within the field of your Redcat 51, so perhaps you might need to do 2-panel mosaics to capture them in their entirety.
If you are able to image after midnight then you should be able to catch Eta Carina (NGC 3372) and the Running Chicken nebula (IC 2944) which are both large objects that should suit the focal length of your Redcat.
Hi to all,
I will bring is ZWO AM5, Redcat 51 and ZWO 2600 Mc Duo camera, Optolong L-extreme and L-Pro.
If you have a Star Adventurer, you'll save a few kilos. The SA is capable to carry this Redcat 51 plus the ZWO ASI 2600MC which is well below its 5kg payload limit. The SA weighs 2kg while the AM5 weight 5kg. You can then put all your gear in carry-on.
If you have a Star Adventurer, you'll save a few kilos. The SA is capable to carry this Redcat 51 plus the ZWO ASI 2600MC which is well below its 5kg payload limit. The SA weighs 2kg while the AM5 weight 5kg. You can then put all your gear in carry-on.
I have a Skywatcher AZ-GTI , but its not so reliable. I was thinking about purchasing a AM3 for travel, but paying a 2000Eu for 1 kg less in my luggage is to expensive :-) Cheaper to buy more luggage on the plane...
I have a AM5 and southern hemisphere astrophotography question.
Do I have to set something in the iPad app for AM5 mount to track in southern hemisphere? Do I just put the location and time and mount switch automatic?
I just point the mount south, set the latitude scale on the mount and thats it?
One thing I hope you're aware of - Australia is big. Really big. Be prepared to drive for large portions of the day if you want to keep to your schedule.
Also, don't drive after dusk or before dawn - our wildlife love to jump in front of cars. One impact with a big kangaroo or a wombat will really make a mess of your car.
As for astro targets, our entire night sky is filled with them and other members have given some great examples. You'll love it when you get into the middle of nowhere with no light pollution and the night skies above your head.
I can't answer your question about the iPad app. However, I use Kstars/EKOS to drive my mount and it's always tracked in the right direction - no manual intervention required.
I have one more question about imaging. I will be doing 300 s lights, autoguided, dithering settings 2 px. If I do paralel imaging with a Fuji piggybacked, using lenses 24-35-50 mm ( FF equivalent ) , will the 2 px dithering be visible in the Fuji images ? Sensor size is the same for both cameras, 26 Mpix.
Thanks
One thing I hope you're aware of - Australia is big. Really big. Be prepared to drive for large portions of the day if you want to keep to your schedule.
Also, don't drive after dusk or before dawn - our wildlife love to jump in front of cars. One impact with a big kangaroo or a wombat will really make a mess of your car.
As for astro targets, our entire night sky is filled with them and other members have given some great examples. You'll love it when you get into the middle of nowhere with no light pollution and the night skies above your head.
I can't answer your question about the iPad app. However, I use Kstars/EKOS to drive my mount and it's always tracked in the right direction - no manual intervention required.
Cheers,
V.
Thanks for the tips. I hope I will not hit anything
