Cassiopeia

Date: 28 October 2013

Equipment: Canon EOS 1100D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm lens, EQ3-2 dual-axis motor drive

Exposure: 6 x 300s @ ISO 100 with focal length 18mm and f/3.5

Processing: Curves adjusted with Canon Digital Photo Professional, background removed and curves tweaked with GIMP

I wanted to try the DSLR driven on the equatorial mount. I pointed virtually straight up to the zenith and took 6 x 5minute exposures, along with dark and bias frames. I could do longer frames without stars trailing, up to 15 minutes in fact. However light pollution became untameable at these exposure times. In addition, dew became a problem. Dirt formed on the lens, creating unappealing marks in the images which were not easy to deal with as I neglected to take flat frames.

One thing I really like about this image is that M31 appears nicely in the lower left corner.