DSLR DSO Recommendations

[ElijahB]

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend a few DSO that would be worth a go for my first attempt of imaging deep space using the DSLR. I have a few quite limiting factors:

My View is from Polaris to the south, my house restricts my view to the North

I will not be taking any exposures more than 30 seconds due to lack of equipment

The camera will be hooked up to the laptop so I am able to take lots of frames

My equipment list is fairly basic in terms of I don't have much:

Celestron CPC 800 with GPS

Canon E350D

Laptop

Leads

Time

I thought I would ask for suggestions rather than me trying to capture something that would be too difficult for a first attempt. Not sure if there is anything in Ursa Major that would be worth a go as it's nice and high in the sky and in my field of view I hope this is enough information and I also hope people don't mind me asking for suggestions rather than just having a go.

Cheers Loads, ElijahB

[refractions]

Star clusters are a good place to start. M3 comes out good on a dslr.

[ElijahB]

Whoa... that was fast

Thanks

[Vega]

Along with M3, M13 is a must.. comes out real well with 30 sec exposures. As we are in Spring, wait as late as you can when it's higher up in the sky.

M37 over in the West in Auriga is another nice open cluster to snap at 30secs. However can sometimes be a pain to find, almost impossible through tht eslr viewfinder so use EP first.

Good luck!

Matt

[russ]

With your setup my first target would be M13, followed by M92. And then later in the night try M57 the Ring Nebula. They are all pretty bright and will respond well to the long focal length of the C8.

Remember to do the focusing first on a bright star, perhaps one of the alignment stars. Then use the GOTO to place the object in the camera. It saves a whole load of hassle.

Regards

Russ

[russ]

Sorry didn't read your post right through. M57 maybe difficult from your location at this time. But M13 is rising high after midnight.

In Ursa Major there is M51 the Whirlpool Galaxy but I fear 30secs, even at 1600iso, would not be enough. And the other popular target for Ursa Major is M81/M82. But the long focal and narrow field of view of the C8 may put the brakes on that one too.

Iain suggestion of M3 is a great one as it's well placed from the outset and the C8/350D combo will love it.

M37 maybe a bit too wide for a C8 and Auriga sets very quickly now into the North West horizon.

Russ

[Vega]

Good point about the FOV on the C8 Russ... forgot that

Maybe a shot of M82 on it's lonesome ? Still quite impressive framed on it's own with all that exploding gas

Matt

[ElijahB]

Thanks for all the suggestions..... all I'm waiting for now is a clear night to have a go. I've also ordered a Meade series 4000, f/6.3 focal reducer from eBay, hopefully that will aid me in my quest

[russ]

Thanks for all the suggestions..... all I'm waiting for now is a clear night to have a go. I've also ordered a Meade series 4000, f/6.3 focal reducer from eBay, hopefully that will aid me in my quest Smile

very good move, will be a major help.

Matt, M82 on its own is a very good idea. Should get a nice pic of that.

Russ