Moonshed

Over the last week I have been taking images of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn using an easy guider attached to my 200mm Celestron with my Cannon 1100D. The images have come out okay, just low power wide angle shots, the planets only appearing as small dots. In the old days I used film camera and would put a 10mm Plossl straight into the visual back of the scope and use a tele extender to give a high power so I could see the rings of Saturn and Jupiter’s GRS. However, this is this first time I have tried it with a digital camera and no matter what I do using the same set up I cannot get an image. When I remove the camera and tele-extender I can see Mars in the centre of the eyepiece so I know I am finding it ok and tracking ok. I have tried adjusting the focus from end to end but still no image. I cannot understand what I am doing wrong, any help would be greatly appreciated.

And that reminds me of those paintings years ago that spun the canvas around at high speed and you threw different coloured paints on it. The funny thing is we thought they looked good and actually bought them 😂

I have spent countless hours sweating buckets over images of distant galaxies, nebula, planets, sun and moon and consider some of them to be nothing less than exceedingly marvellous, kinda, and all my friends and family can manage is to say “ that’s nice”. I get a freak shot of Mars and a lens flare and they are all posting and reposting it to all and sundry! My wife even wants me to print it off so she can frame it and hang it in the living room. I give up. It is an eye catching image though I have to admit 😄

There are a lot worse earworms to have buzzing around in your head!

Could be, but I think it’s more likely to be a Martian jelly fish, or maybe squid.

It’s all due to the Infinite Improbability Drive.

Was it wagging?

I will have them ready as they will be pretty much essential for the trip, so DON’T PANIC!

Glad you reminded me about that, I will make sure to take mine.

I did, but they said they had posted the necessary notifications giving Earth plenty of time to appeal the decision, but they posted it in the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet in their office basement! It is now too late to appeal so Earth will be destroyed 2:00pm tomorrow. See you in the pub.

They can take their hyperspace bypass and route it through Pluto. NIMBY.

I was taking some images of Mars last night through my 8” Celestron, just low magnification stuff using my Lumicon East Guider. I used automatic exposure settings on my Canon EOS and just pressed the button on the remote when wanting a pic. Most of them turned out as expected, a small reddish sphere, but two of them were really weird. I don’t know how I managed to alter the focus twice and to the same extent five images apart, but somehow I must have because this is one of them, the other is almost identical. it’s definitely a UFO. (only kidding) Or maybe a lens flare or something. Anyway, it’s an interesting effect and no doubt some of you will be able to explain exactly what it is....a UFO!

Yes, looking forward to it myself, will make a change from the usual type of images I have been doing. I haven’t had my camera modified though as I also use it as a regular camera. Waiting for dark skies and clear nights!

Thanks for the info. I have been doing astronomy since I was 13 or 14, I’m now 74. I first started astrophotography back in the 90’s using a film camera, you have no idea how hard that is because you can’t see what you are doing until you get the photos back a week later. I started using a digital camera 3 years ago, same model as yours as it happens. So far all my work has been through the scope but recently I have been thinking about mounting the camera on the scope, using a wide angle lens and taking some shots of the Milky Way. I will give it a go next month when the sky will be darker.

Hi 2scopes, That’s a nice image of the Milky Way, well done. I would be interested to know how you took the image, the hardware, software, number of images and exposure times etc. It would be a help to others starting out in this field. Is your camera modified? Thanks Keith

Hi Jiggy, I completely agree with your point that it can sometimes be too much bother to lift it all out, set it up, attach the camera and plug it into the laptop, carry out PA then star fix, check the focus, and that’s before you even start! How many scopes hardly get used because of that? Quite a few I’m sure. I have to confess there have been times when there has been excellent seeing conditions but I have been too tired to be bothered, and I have been annoyed with myself and regretted it the next night because it was cloudy. I do have a health problem that results in me having days here and there where I don’t feel well and this is why I have been considering leaving the scope out for a few days in the good weather periods. However, having taken note of the advice given here I really do think I would be better off continuing bringing the scope in after each session. The main reason being I need the PA as good as I can get it for my photography, and it’s true it only takes a few minutes with the Polemaster. BTW it is my opinion that the Polemaster is without any doubt whatsoever the best piece of kit I have purchased in all my 60 years of observing. All I am trying to avoid is all the other work. I could of course leave it out suitably covered and then I would only need to spend a few minutes to do the PA. Still, I would worry about the condensation and the more I have thought about it I wouldn’t rest happy in my bed knowing someone could come along and steal my most prized possession, which of course as has been pointed out here, would not be covered by insurance. Imagine walking out to where you left it and seeing it gone! OMG! So, all things considered, it’s going to be locked away each night. Thanks for your input Keith

Hi James, Thanks for your reply. I’m not really worried about security, where we live in the middle of the countryside we have very little crime and our garden is completely enclosed and not overlooked. Anyway, if someone knew I had a scope and really wanted it they could easily force open the shed door in a few minutes. I take your point though about needing spot on accurate PA, it would be best to put the scope away and redo the PA the next night because as you say it does only take a few minutes with the Polemaster. Thanks for your thoughts. Keith

Hi Sean, Thanks for the info. I hadn’t thought about condensation but now you have brought it to my attention it is a worry, some nights my scope and mount are covered in condensation and I really wouldn’t want to put a cover over that. I did wonder about the heat extremes causing the bolts to move fractionally and it doesn’t take much to shift it out of PA. I may stick to putting it back inside each night. Keith

I have an 8” Celestron on an EQ5 and use a Polemaster for PA. What I would like to do when things get busy and the forecast isn’t too bad is to leave it outside overnight protected by a cover. I keep my scope set up in a shed then lift it out onto a concrete base with marked spots where to place the tripod legs, this way it is almost pa before I start using the polemaster. it would be very handy to be able to just throw a cover over it instead of putting it back in the shed. If I use a cover, such as provided by Meade Instruments for around £50 will it still be pa good enough to continue with photography? What do other members do to keep their polar aligned scopes out for a few days at a time. Thanks, Keith

I can remember so many days or even weeks of continuous cloud cover when I lived in Scotland. I kept a note book of my observations and one dreadful year I recorded only 6 occasions when I could do any observing. Ayrshire is the wettest place I have ever lived.

Hi merlin100, Having lived in Scotland for 20 years I know exactly what you mean about the weather there, I lived in Beith, North Ayrshire and if it wasn’t raining it was because it was snowing! I bought my first serious ‘scope there, the one I have now, an 8”Celestron. I have now retired to North Norfolk and the difference is remarkable, so many more clear skies, but you can still almost guarantee that for any special event, such as the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, it will be cloudy, this is an inescapable fact of astronomy no matter where you live. I also agree that many beginners have unrealistic expectations being raised on spectacular images from the HST and others, but I find seeing these amazing objects with your own eyes, or taking your own photos, is a far more rewarding experience. Keith

Hi Steve, Just to say I gave you a welcome from Moonshedman but that was just a temporary arrangement until I could log in with my usual name of Moonshed, which I have now done. Just so you know not to reply to Moonshedman as he no longer exists. Keith

Thanks. I logged out as Moonshedman and came back and was able to log in as Moonshed with no problem. I have no idea what went wrong, must have been something dumb that I did. All ok now.

Thank you for that information, I had no idea it was a standard type USB cable, you have saved me wasting £19 just in the nick of time, I was about to order it from Modern Astronomy. It so happens I have a spare cable of that design so I dug it out of the box of odds and ends where it’s been lurking for some time and it’s a perfect fit. I will download the new software tomorrow, after uninstalling the old, and hopefully that will fix the problem. Weather permitting I will test it tomorrow, fingers crossed all goes well. Thanks again 😄

I will do as you suggest and try uninstalling the existing software and then reinstalling the new and see if that works. Regarding the cable it unfortunately has what appears to me to be a cable with a non-standard fitting that plugs into the Polemaster so I don’t think I have any choice but to buy that particular one.