Best from last night

[Stub Mandrel]

I keep going back to (mostly) the same objects as I try to get better, but it looks like 30 seconds is a wall for me until I get a polarscope and probably guiding sorted out.

I did manage to get some colour from M13:

M92 was a new one for me, hard to find!

And I stacked the best of three nights of M101, I did get two usable two-minute subs at ISO 800 then a few minutes of 30-second subs at ISO1600 and ISO800. Really struggling to get quality, but at least its recognisable:

<edit: I know the first two would look better with flats but I forgot to do ISO 800 and the ISO1600 ones made them a complete fail>

[JamesF]

If you don't have a polar scope, you could try aligning the tripod by eye by looking along the RA axis (can you even look up through the RA axis when you have no polar scope?  I've never had an EQ mount without one so I'm not sure) and then drift aligning.  If you're using APT then it has some options to help you do that.  I don't know if BYE does similar.  Even if you don't have APT or BYE it's possible to drift align.  You just have to do a bit more work yourself.

James

[Stub Mandrel]

I have a 1-degree circle at the end of the tube, and align with that, it's close enough for optical but pictures gradually creep across the frame.

I can't drift align properly because I have houses to the east and tall trees to the west :-(

[JamesF]

Hmmm.  There must be another way.

This thread might help?  http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/178853-drift-alignment-without-eastwest-horizon/

James