asset189

Good info on the heavens above web site for anyone looking to see them. Saw them fairly easily from Dumfries last month

Here one of mine , 20 minutes from home clear low horizon to West and added bonus of wickerman for foreground interest

Thanks for this info

Thanks so much and apologies for being a bit thick. This is an upgrade on an old manual barn door mount for me so wee bit more technical

Thanks , I'll give it a read . An other daft question - the blurb boasts 60min tracking time yet based on the 100/focal length equation only around 2 minutes tracking is recommend which is a fair difference , or have I got this wrong ? So do I have to adjust track every 90sec or simply shoot next exposure and align with software , ta

Thanks , I'll give it a read . An other daft question - the blurb boasts 60min tracking time yet based on the 100/focal length equation only around 2 minutes tracking is recommend which is a fair difference , or have I got this wrong ?

When calculation max exposure before star trailing becomes an issue , is the crop factor relevant for Aps-c sensor ?

Cant help with any groups but ive previously been at Playa Blanca and skies were fantastic, got my first view of Scorpius down there , worth packing the bins

these three book are a bit dog eared now but its where it began for me in early 1960s as my grandfather used them to show me the night sky.

Title of the thread is misleading, for a beginner like me the sonyvA5000 is more than adequate . the attached image is a 30 sec+ exposure and does not appear to have eaten many stars. All in all for the price its a smashing wee camera.

Thanks Mark, appreciated, less than 30 secs should keep me busy for a while

Part of me wishes I'd read this thread a,month ago before I got the A5000. That said I got it principally for a day camera and so far it been real value for money. I've now started to consider using it at night. As a novice it's likely ill stick with A-focal and prime work so hopefully camera will perform ok. Has anyone had much sucess using this camera in this fashion ? I take it I need an e-mount tring adaptor to mount it for prime photography ? Thanks in advance for any views / advice.

My first telescope was probably a 66TR , it was relatively expensive back then (late 80,s) too, it worked ok for a while then i threaded one of the two bolts on the yolk and could never lock the elevation properly after that. Good introduction to the world of telescopes though.

Got it now ( or enough for my wee brain anyway) thanks

Thanks Olly, I'm getting there now. Regarding the methods of determining the true brightness of a star (wattage in your analogy) I take it there are a limited number of different types of stars out there in the first place which make comparison and assessment of brightness less of a guess ?