Let's see your 1st DSOs

[MartinB]

New imagers often worry about posting their first deep sky pictures but they shouldn't, we all had to start at some time. I thought it would be interesting to record our first fumbling efforts. So lets see what you did 1st time out, and no cheating with an image taken 6 months after starting!!

Here's my offering, 2 images taken one after the other on 1st March 2006

M13 - 8x30secs and M51 8 x40 secs. Both with an NS8, meade 3.3 reducer and an Atik 2HS modded webcam.

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[Whippy]

All the way back from the 5th of December last year. Part of M45 afocally with the same gear I'm using now (Canon Powershot A610, Hyperion EP's) only the scope is my WO ZS110 not my C8N. I always work on the theory that if you don't post your pics, then no-one's going to give you advice on how to improve them.

Anyways, 13 shots, 15 seconds each stacked in Registax.

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Tony..

[MikeD]

Here's mine, not my first though, I remember taking a single 8 second shot with point and shoot digital camera held to the Ep (M57 again) but I can't find it.

I didn't keep the details for this shot, I think (from memory and the file names) it was taken through a Skywatcher 130m with a toucam pro II (SC1 mod ) on the 23/09/04.

I think the subs would have been around 15 seconds as I seem to remember that was about as long as I could go with the 130m mount, I have no idea as to how many in the stack, but I would have used registax.

Mike.

[RobH]

Good idea Martyn.

Here's M82 from November 11th 2006, taken with a DSI Pro and 10" LX200 classic, alt az mounted...exposures about 15 seconds, I probably stacked 30 or 40 of them. It's not quite my first image as I tried M57 but never saved it, so this is my second.

Cheers

Rob

[winfij]

Here's mine - M13 taken with a self-modded SC2 webcam through an 8" newt, 01/08/2004

A stack of 12 x 20secs.

All the shots before this one were mostly of the moon, with a couple of poor attempts at the planets thrown in before I did the LX mod.

My first ever shot was this one of the Sea of Tranquility back on 05/03/2004, with the SC2 through my first scope - a Meade DS2114

Cheers,

John

[moondog]

Here's my first DSO attempt.

M13. TAL 100RS 4ins refractor on HEQ5 mount.

Canon 350D EOS at prime focus. 6 subs 45 secs @ 800 ISO. Processed with Deep Sky Stacker and Photo Shop Elements.

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MD

[cygnusx1]

M31, taken mid August 2007 with 350D on a C6.

No idea how many subs or length.

[trevboyd]

M57 Ring Nebula, taken 9 Oct 2007, Canon 350D, SkyWatcher 120mm f/8.3, EQ5, hand tracked.

Stack of 11x11s exposures

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Still quite pleased with how it came out - can't wait for it to come around again!

Trev

[Kai]

Orion Nebula Willim Optics Zs66, Canon 350d single exposure 10/01/2007 not sure of length,Iso Sorry

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[Roy Batty]

Here's my first real attempt, I didn't count earlier ones as my webcam wasn't actually working properly (ahh the age of innocence). Anyway it's the Blue Snowball nebula.

cheers

RB

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[FLO]

That's easy, I've only ever posted one

It was actually a joint effort taken under Greg's dark sky.

Cygnus is in the upper right corner facing lower left. It is difficult to make out as the 4 min exposure recorded way too many stars.

Canon EOS D60/28-70 on HEQ5, 28mm, f4.5, 4mins at 200ASA, piggybacked.

[Paxo]

After many year of visual observing, I took the plunge last October in the dark art of DSO astrophotography. My first attempts where with a Meade DSI II Pro through a 12" LX200R. I managed to image 2 targets the first night, all un-guided:

M92, ued a f3.3FR, image is 10 subs at 11 secs per sub, stacked using the bundled Meade Envisage software and then Tweaked in Photoshop CS.

M57, an early try at colour imaging, did something wrong in the software, got 10-15 subs of 11 seconds in the RGB channels, but needed to use Photoshop to stack the channels together.

Don't seemed to have gotten much further forward since due to weather/other committments but did have a good time imaging Holmes and then some lunar work, I'll keep trying though, I like a challenge!

Steve

[Sam]

Here's my first DSO. If you squint and stand 10ft from the monitor it looks ok. Took it not long after I did the SC1 mod on the SPC 900NC.

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Sam

[Andrew*]

I'll see if I can dig them up. I'm sure I've got them around here somewhere...

Andrew

[Beyond_Vision]

Here's my first attempt taken with a Meade DSI CCD and LX90 10" cant find any details of exposure. This was taken 10.02.2006 after having the scope for a couple of weeks.

I had taken some shots of the Moon before hand which were ok so I choose M42 for my first effort. I had no idea of the field of view of the set up at the time or how large M42 is. I didnt even realise I had only the core of it captured on the image.

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Regards

Kevin

[blinky]

Here is my first DSO, Orion! I was really chuffed when I got this, only about 12 months ago.

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[Cloudwatcher]

I had to trawl the depths of the wife's laptop for the earliest DSO image I could find (excluding the completely black oblongs) and this seems to be the first one saved. An extremely detailed webcam image of Mizar taken through a Meade EXT 70 AT in 2005.

Note the sharp focus,subtle colour and how the subject is centered in the frame to achieve an exquisite feast for the eye!

Cheers

CW

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[Tiny]

This is our only DSO so far. What it is of is obvious (horrid though it is). How it came about is maybe more interesting...

This is a two second colour video exposure of M42 downlinked onto a TV screen and then photographed with a digital camera. We did not plan to take photos but the image on the screen is multi magnetudes better than the photo. The image was in full colour with lots of whispy bits and lacked all the patterns which we assume are due to interaction between the camera pixals and the screen ones! The red bits on the picture are fingers holding the TV up.

This was stage one of getting the outfit going - since then we have recorded to video and the next stage (one day) will be to download the video onto computer to get images. One day.

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[steppenwolf]

My first DSO was M31. EOS 300d directly mounted to EQ6. 800 ASA, 55mm, F5.6 157secs., Average seeing, average transparency, 04/11/04

Edited because I failed to see the DSO only tag!

[jcm]

Blimey , would have to go back to 1990. I think it was M13 taken on film. Will try and find it.

OK found it.

11th Aug 1990 , M13 , Ektar 1000 film , 80mm(or was it 3"?) refractor , 1 min exp ?

John

PS I think I did a couple before this one but unfortunately the pictures have been lost.

Managed to find an earlier photo , but its of the moon , 4th Jan 1990 - 1/15 th of a sec Kodak 400 ASA film.

[jgs001]

Not sure it counts as a DSO, but it was a piccy of the Hyades.

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[beamish]

these three were effectively my first attempts at DSO's

M103

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Comet Holmes

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Pleaides

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Karlo

[SteelRat]

The Deep Sky Observers Guide has a chapter on double stars, so I guess this one was mine;

Some day soon I'll bag something from another page. That's right, I'll be a real boy someday

[Tim]

Here's my first (pic) post....It all seems so long ago now..........

It's worth pointing out that these are the only pix where the wife says they have the WOW factor. She isnt easily impressed by globs etc. Not even M13.

http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php/topic,21470.0.html

Warning, some big files there. Also captured with extreme luck and zero skill. Not that I am learning a bit about it all my pics are getting progressively worse.

Cheers

TJ

[lunator]

My 1st ever DSO was M42

Taken in December 2006.

Fujifilm S5600 15s ISO 800 Afocal through a 25mm orthoscopic eyepiece.

Cheers

Ian