working south from the equator

[tricky-dicky]

For astrophotography, you will need a wedge. And great patience. Astrophotography is one of the most frustrating things about astronomy. And it can also be very rewarding. The biggest tip I can give you is that you will need the most perfect alignment with Polaris as you can get. If your alignment is dead on, then your tracking will be good enough for pictures. Any drift, even the most minute variation, will cause blurry, fuzzy, or trails in your photos. Patience is the key.

Polaris is for the northern hemisphere.

How would I align my scope (I don’t have a wedge yet) in the southern hemisphere?

[LukeSkywatcher]

Celestial pole - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[tricky-dicky]

Thanks Paul,

That may be quite challenging, as the southern-cross is, looking from my location, is very low on the horizon, I can see it from the roof of my house, otherwise is obstructed by even far-away trees.

Is there anything I could refer to “higher” than that?

I have ORION just above me ..

[LukeSkywatcher]

Sorry i cant be of more help. I am unfamiliar with southern skies.

[ponytale]

the link below may be of help to you downunder.

Polar Alignment in the Southern Hemisphere - How To

[tricky-dicky]

Ponytale,

Thanks, mate, that is just what I have been looking for ..

I’ll try to use rules #1 and #2 and will see how it goes ..

Thanks again.

Do you use a wedge?

[Technobill]

Hi I am in Australia. In the south we dont have the convienience of a bright easily distinguishable star right on the pole. It is quite difficult to find the right one even if you have a good view of the southern polar region despite what the books say.

When I have been at star parties, most people use a compass to find south (or let someone with a GPS based goto scope find true south for them :-) ) Then fine tune wiith a drift alighment.

Generally, you would make sure you at least know your latitude and longitude, and the offset between magnetic south and true south pole for your area. Rough alighment with a compass and then drift align to fine tune.

Bill D

[tricky-dicky]

I don’t have problem with basic alignment, my CPC925 after using 3-star method tracks planets and stars good enough for observations.

For example, I can goto Jupiter and it stays in the field of view for minutes ..

The problem starts when I want to take a picture with exposures longer than 5s.

This is what I would like to concentrate on.

So my question is – do I need a wedge?

On another issue: after the3-star alignment - I used Betelgeuse, Sirius and another bright star – I pressed P-button (for planets) and selected Jupiter, which was roughly 40deg to the left.

What the CPC did was amazing – instead of rotating 40 deg to the left with almost no change to the altitude – it travelled al the way the other direction and stopped nicely with Jupiter right in the centre of the EP.

PS. Bill and Ponytyle, it looks like we are watching the same sunsets, I do it (almost everyday) at the City Beach.

[rowan46]

frankly yes you do need a wedge and polar alignment for longer exposures. webcamming the planets will not require a wedge but for long exposures you will need a wedge to stop field rotation. Wedges are better on permanent structures they can be a real drag having to constantly realign for each new position in the field.

[tricky-dicky]

What do you think about the Celestron HD wedge #93664 ?

Celestron HD Pro Wedge 93664 B&H Photo Video

[tricky-dicky]

I decided to get this wedge, but it’s not that easy.

The RRP in the USA is just below $400 whereas for us in Australia Celstron put the RRP just below $1000.

@$#! them ..