bogdog

i would be more than happy with that image,ok there is noise but at iso 1600 there will be you will never get hubble type pics from everyday consumer products,all you can do is best with what you have,and from what i see here you have done well but now you know iso 1600 is a bit much @ 5 min interval as it introduces noise try iso 800 @ 5 min or more subs at iso 1600 for shorter time maybe 3 min subs but more of them ?

maybe some usefull info on here http://www.celestron.com/university/astroimaging/all-star-polar-alignment

why limited to 30s? with that mount you should get around 2 or 3 minutes if not more unguided,so it sounds to me like not polar aligned correctly what is your setup like?

some info and images here http://www.dpreview.com/articles/7282239436/nikon-d810a-an-astrophotographers-perspective

maybe here helps http://cameras.altairastro.com/how-to-use-dark-field-correction-in-altaircapture-to-remove-fixed-pattern-noise/ not sure if this is what your looking for

do you have a polarscope? reason i ask is the cg5 didn't ship with one i had to buy one for mine polarscope is the little scope that screws into the bottom of the mount,and is covered by caps.....not your viewfinder or main scope

and so it begins! lmao it will only get worse as you try to progress,going ccd route will get expensive fast and can be a minefield as to which cam is best for your budget,filters,spacers,filterwheels and so on. get a t2 adapter for nikon this goes on where you would put a lens,then that will screw onto the focuser of scope,use a remote to activate the camera to minimise vibration best to start simple,then if you feel this is for you then save and go all out on the ccd route would avoid the collimation pitfall until you have posted pictures,others can tell you if you need t

maybe fashion something using the motor from an electric window off a car,that way the motor stops/starts when you press the switch scrapyards are everywhere in the world so no shortage,its just how you would design and implement it

used google http://www.neildunnewelding.co.uk/

you would probably be better buying an old m42 lens,you can get an m42 to t2 ring then use that with your ccd

this suggests to me you don't take darks and extract them through the process described in the manual.you just expose to get a picture then save that one picture? you should follow the steps in the manual taking your lights and darks then go through all the steps to stack i also have that camera (used once!) and gave up ,after a night of taking images and then the software baled on me saying it couldn't be bothered or something like that lol ill health has kept me away from astro just now so maybe later i will get it to work,but i am taking the software's approach right now...i

if your finderscope is perfectly aligned to your main scope then try alignment with the camera attached,pick out the three brightest stars you can and see if they match up through camera viewfinder,if you cant see anything in viewfinder take a snap @ high iso to see if star is in view see how it goes then,or drift align on a star to see how far off you are then adjust mount

no idea,maybe just the brightness of the stars reflecting on the glass elements but with it stopped down it should reduce them same with halo's

an amazing shot,nice to see in colour

nice image well done