first photos

[keiwein1]

so i just got back from taking some photos and these are the first ones i have taken, one is of Aldebaran and the other of the pleadies cluster, i know that they are not that good but i just wanted to share them with you.

[keiwein1]

it seems that i have uploaded 2 of the same photo, here it the other

[xtreemchaos]

good catch mate, well done. thanks for sharing charl.

[StargeezerTim]

Great start...   

[D4N]

It took me a while to work out what stars they are, I think M45 is a little too big for your sensor.

Maia in the middle, Asterope and Sterope on the left, Celaeno on the right and Taygeta at the bottom.

Nice to hit the target, a lot of the struggle is getting something on the sensor in the first place.

/Dan

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cjdawson]

Every image has useful information.  As D4N says.  These tell clearly that you are able to get the scope to point to the right place.   That's a great first step in itself.

Your Aldebaran image shows some elongation, either the camera is not aligned with the axis of the scope (not an issue in itself) and there is some drift in RA.  If the camera is aligned with the axis, then there is some RA and Dec drift.

This is important as RA means that there's a tracking error - possibly Periodic error, you should be able to calibrate the mount to reduce this a bit, or add guiding to solve it almost completely.

If it's both RA and Dec, then it could point to a not being perfect on Polar Alignment - I'd recommend drift alignment for that.

I'm also looking at the both images, at that little spike on the top left of each star and wondering, are you using a cable release?  If not, get one and it should help sort that out.

Also, use it in combination with Mirror lockup and the 2 second self timer in the camera.  This should help to reduce any camera shake issues.  (that little spike, if it's caused by camera shake).

Every image tells a story, whether it's focus issues, mount issues, tracking issues, or something weather related.   Never ever throw an image away, as it could prove useful years down the line.

One example is that I've given talks to my local astro society talking through how I setup my astro photograpghy system.  The issues that I had to overcome, the problems that I encountered and how I solved those problems.

By keeping every image, I was able to not only talk about the kit, and how I fixed things, but also demonstrate the before and after images and how the change effected the images.

[ollypenrice]

I suspect these images are in linear form. Astrophotographers 'stretch' their images.

Olly

[ollypenrice]

In the above post I'd attached an incorrect link which Mod Auspom kindly pointed out to me. The link I'd intended to post was this, to a good tutorial by SGL member and first class imager RobH. http://www.middlehillobservatory.co.uk/articles-primers/Levels%20and%20curves.htm

Olly

[bishbosh]

Nice first start

I've only just learned how to focus my DSLR properly doing prime astro stuff, although wishing the bad weather would do one! Not had much chance to play with my telescope