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2nd time is a charm

KnightTrader

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KnightTrader

KnightTrader

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Hi, my name is Mike and I thought I would share a little of my experiences to date, which have led me hear to try out astronomy once more.

I started out in Astronomy in 2012, when I decided to do some research, and then went gung-ho into astrophotography.  Here was my initial setup.

  • Celestron CGEM 8-inch Edge-HD telescope with mount ($2500)
  • Celestron 80mm Guidescope Package with 125mm Rings ($160)
  • Orion StarShoot AutoGuider ($280)
  • Canon EOS DA camera ($1500)
  • Misc adapters

I bought many books and did some reading before hand.  Since my main interest at that time was to photograph galaxies, I began taking the steps necessary to learn how to polar align my scope properly.  However, what I found was that I was unable to take 5-minute subs without having the stars elongated.  I since then tried several things to try to work out those kinks.  Like PEC training, and trying different tracking approaches.  I think one of the biggest mistakes I made was having the telescope mount located on my pool deck, in which I used by sit on a chair and have my laptop located on the table on the deck.  Whenever I took shots, I would delay the start of the capture by 1-minute, to give me time to go inside, and then I would come back (20) minutes later after capturing the (4) 5-moin subs on my camera, which was controlled by an electronic remote.  Since the pool deck is also connected to the house, I always thought that any movement in the house could propagate to the deck. However, I did not want to try putting the mount on grass, as the stand would then sink in the dirt.

I also has a problem with the declination motor drifting, which I was able to visually observe, when I had the motor cover off with the control board moved off to the side. I tries switching the R/A and dec motors, but never got tracking to my expectations.

In short, I tried too much at one time, and made some errors in judgment along the way, in which the most I ended up with was a stacked image of M51, with some elongated stars. Still captured my heart that I was able to get that far.  I since gave up for the past 1.5 years with my scope gathering dust in my garage.  I was able to sell all of my supplies, which recapped some of the cost.

Here it is in 2014, and right after I sold my GCEM mount, the spark ignited once more, probably because it opened the door for me to start back over with a clean slate, to get another mount and scope, and try again in baby steps.  So I have done a lot of due diligence, and have decided on the Orion Atlas EQ-G mount along with an Orion ED80 80mm f/7.5 Apochromatic Refractor telescope.  (1) My goal is to initial view Jupiter and other targets, get use to how to use and polar align the mount.  (2) And then to try astrophotography again, taking wide-angle shots with the 80mm.   (3) Finally, ,my goal is to get back into tracking objects successfully, to get 5 - 20 minutes subs, as I have noticed that others have been able to achieve, so I know that it is possible.

I am interested in any comments others may have as far as where I went wrong the first time, and if I am on the correct path moving forward, so that I do not get frustrated like I did the first time.  Even though I am comfortable with investing up to three grand now, I do not want to go as far as I did last time (six grand), until I can be confident on achieving my results. Pretty much, I want to capture pics of planets and nebulae and galaxies, just to know I can do it (self gratification).

Wishing you clear nights....

Mike

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nmoushon

nmoushon

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Welcome to the forum.

As you found out you did jump in head first into the deep end of AP and felt the very large learning curve. Going forward definitely keep in mind your mistakes of the past and learn from them. I also found that the most learning occurs from failure and figuring out how to make it right. You tend to not forget those experiences as easily. You are making the right choice in taking a step down in your astro gear. I'm sure you will find it much easier this time around. 

When you get back around to AP after you get that visual bug satisfied the easiest way to test to see if your PA is decent it to take an unguided image. I imaged unguided with my ED80 for over a year and found that I could manage 2min subs consistently. Your ED80 has a longer FL than mine so you might not get exactly 2min subs but I think you should be able to get close. If you can get about 90sec subs or so I would say you have pretty decent AP. If you take the time to really make sure your PA is spot on you can get 3 or 4min unguided subs. But you did say you want longer subs with guiding. If you still have your guiding setup you can use that. If you dont a cheap alternative is to mod a 9x50 finderscope and attach a guide cam onto it. This has worked great for me and have gotten 15min guided subs without even trying. If I messed with the setting and really tried to improve my guiding im sure I could get 30min subs. Also dont forget to buy the field flattener/reducer that is suitable for your ED80. You will need this to make your images not have eggy stars that would be in your image no matter how short it is. It will also shorten up the FL and make it a faster scope which will improve how much data you collect in a given amount of time and also allow for easier guiding for longer subs. 

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KnightTrader

KnightTrader

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Thanks for the tip on the focal reducer.  I have found the Orion 0.85x Reducer-Flattener, and will add that to my list of pre-reqs when I start imaging with my ED40. Can you recommend a Canon SLR camera in the $500 - $700 price range for astro imaging? How has your 450D been standing up?

Mike

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nmoushon

nmoushon

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Thanks for the tip on the focal reducer.  I have found the Orion 0.85x Reducer-Flattener, and will add that to my list of pre-reqs when I start imaging with my ED40. Can you recommend a Canon SLR camera in the $500 - $700 price range for astro imaging? How has your 450D been standing up?

Mike

I'm not well versed in suggesting cameras other than what I've worked with. There's a lot that goes into picking one and I'm only starting to wrap my head around it. So I would suggesting making a new thread under the Equipement->Camera section. You will get a lot more help there.

But my 450D has held up very nicely and has done a great job for its price. You will only need the body, unless you want lenses for daytime use, so this will save you a lot of money and let you get a better camera. For instance the 450D body only can be picked up on ebay/amazon for under $300. So you could go cheaper and save money or step up and get a nicer DSLR body. You will also need the T-adaptor that is canon specific. This locks into the body and fools the camera into thinking there is a lens attached to it. Also I would suggested a 2" spacer so that you will be able to get the needed back focus to achieve focuse with the ED80. Depending on what your local Light Pollution is like I would suggest a CLS clip in filter for your DSLR. This will help cut out a lot of the local LP and increase your image quality. Also grab a remote trigger for the canon like you had before or since you will have a laptop to guide you can hook it up to you laptop and run software to control the camera.

You can find some images I took with my 450D here. They arent the best you can achieve with a DSLR but will show you want you will be able to get with minimal experience. For example there are pictures that show up on APOD that are from DSLRs and they rival the ones taken with a CCD camera.

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