DaveHKent

I have the smaller SLT90 and usually use the 3 star alignment. I tend to pick three stars spread far out as possible in the sky, which takes a while to slew the scope around but gives accurate results. The other thing I find makes a difference is to watch how the target star moves when you to a goto move to it. For me, the last movement is up and right. I always make sure I have the star slightly off centre below and left, then move it up and right to take the slack out of the cogs before hitting align. This tends to make it more accurate and hold the tracking better.

Thanks. I do have the L bracket. Some of it is that I have never used an eq mount before, so plenty new skills to learn. If I can produce images like that, I’d be over the moon

Cheers, I'll give it a go anyway. I do have a 75-300mm lens. What is the longest focal length you think the SA can cope with?

I got a SA earlier in the year and I'm just getting to grips with it? Does the auto guide just correct for slight imperfections in polar alignment? I've got a Canon 700D, a ZWO ASI1200MC and a number of raspberry pi sitting about. With the scope from my Celestron NexStar 90SLT (90mm ap, 1250 focal length) being able to screw straight onto the Star Adventurer, I was hoping that just the purchase of a guide scope would give some very good images for not much extra cost.

I have a few basic questions after finally getting some cloudless nights and really have a play with my SA. 1) How do you aim the SA at your target, especially if you are using a scope on the dovetail bar, rather than a camera on a ball head? Does anyone use the DA dial or is it just a case of manually moving the RA and DA axis until it points into about the right place, then zoom in for finer positioning? 2) Is there any benefit to having the tripod lower than higher? I have a manfrotto 055 tripod, so it is pretty stable, having it low did mean kneeling on damp ground for polar alignment. 3) What do people do with their intervalometer when doing long exposures? I left mine swinging for one exposure and it did affect the quality. If there is not a common solution, I might look at 3d printing a holder bracket. My first real picture with this is: Not brilliant, but there was a lot of moisture in the air. Something to build on when I have built my skills up. I did try M42 shortly afterwards but reached the point where there was too much dew on the lens. A hair dryer or dew heater is my next purchase.

If it helps anyone looking at mounts, I did some research through what astronomy stores stock and what people on forums such as this have used and these seem to be the best options: First Horizon 8115 (£85, load unknown) Manfrotto 055. The 055CL and 055XB are older models which can come up second hand, they will take 7Kg. The 055XPRO3 will take 9Kg and is around £149 Velbon DV-700N, 6Kg load, £100-£110 Fotomate VT-2900, 8Kg, £142 I just had a beep on my phone to say a Manfrotto 055CL from eBay has been delivered. A ball head arriving tomorrow, I should be set. Now all I need is one of those great big fans that blows the cloud away. It has not been worth trying with my rubbish tripod since my SA arrived a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully I will post a first light picture soon.

The red star on the right is 52 Cyg and the rogue star looks suspiciously the same, even down to the slight reddish flare. Could it be an imaging defect? Though, none of the other stars seem to have copied. Zooming in on Stellarium there is a faint dot of nebula right where this extra star appears. I'm not sure how accurate that is, as it seems to be a photo overlaid on genuine star coordinates.

Do you know what model of horizon? If I do mount my scope on it in the future (1250mm focal length), I'll need something pretty sturdy but would prefer to keep it around the £50 if that is sensible.

It looks like I have recently made the right choice. I wanted a tracking mount for widefield images of the milky way and star fields, and had fancied the Omegon Mini Track (the small windup mount). Then I realised it only worked in the northern hemisphere and I'd be disappointed if I go on a more exotic holiday again, but a model that works in both was a little bit more. But for a little bit more still, they have the newer sturdier version, then add a bit more and you get both hemispheres. As the cost mounted up, it was getting close to the star adventurer, so a new one arrived on my doorstep on Friday (A very quick response to questions and shipping from Rother Valley Optics). Seeing some of the images on this thread has convinced me I have made the right choice. I have a Celestron Nexstar SLT90 (altz goto mount) and thought DSO imaging was beyond me. It looks like this will take the weight of the tube if I want to go that far, but some of the images with just Canon DSLRs have been amazing. I have got a couple of questions though. I don't have a ball head and my photography tripod is a cheap basic one. I have set up my SA on there and it is clear it is going to be very wobbly. I have a load of Amazon vouchers, are there any tripods or ball heads people would recommend on there? The Skywatcher SA tripod is £59 (but not sold on Amazon), so I was looking in the same price range. There are a number of ball heads with good reviews for £20-£30, would pretty much any of these be suitable? There is a Neewer tripod that will take 12kg for £47 and the ball head is removable, which would give me both for £50. Would I regret scrimping on this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neewer-Aluminum-centimeters-Camcorder-kilograms/dp/B073515X3H/ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=607M2SPFZFE0HN5NYFJ3 A short term alternate I could use is to put the SA onto my Nexstar Altz mount. If I didn't use the wedge and put it straight on the mount, it would fit but be mounted sideways. Would that work or would the tracking now be working the wrong way? I would not have the Nexstar mount unpowered so it did not track. How would I go about aligning, still turn the 6 so it is pointing to the ground.