Ideas for tonight

[mrjsh]

Hi everyone

I took my first photo a couple of nights ago when it was clear and as the weather is looking good am hoping to get back out there tonight. My first photo was of the orion nebula M42, and although I would like to try and take a better photo of it I was wondering if there were any other nebula around at the moment that would be good for a newbie like me to practice on? My view of Orion gets blocked very quickly by the surrounding houses at the moment, so something else to have a go with would be awesome. 

I'm using an unmoved dlsr with a Skywatcher 200p (prime focus) and I am in London so light pollution is a big issue (which is why i started off with M42). Saying that, I have been impressed with what you can see through the orange skies down here :-)

This was my first attempt - a bit haphazard as i was having an observing session and just decided to quickly set up the camera, but I'm just pleased that there is something there!

Thanks for your help

Jake

[Leveye]

The Rosette nebula is always a good choice. It does require exposures of about 2-3 minutes or more the get some nice details though. You might want to invest in a light pollution filter like the Astronomik CLS series. The Flame and Horsehead are close to this area as well. Those don't require as long an exposure to see.

[glowingturnip]

the rosette's probably a bit too faint for London skies though ?  Maybe everyone's current favourite, M81+M82 galaxies - nice and bright, fill a DSLR frame nicely, and I think the supernova is still visible ?

[mrjsh]

Thank you both for your help. Those Astronomik Filters look like a very good idea considering the area I live in. Definitely going to look into getting one. 

Stuart, I'm going to have a look for M81+M82 for sure tonight. Do you think an exposure between 20-30 seconds will be enough to capture the galaxies? 30 is the max I can get to at the moment before going to bulb, and I don't have a remote to control the shutter, so that's out of the question. Hopefully lots of stacked 30sec exposures might suffice?

I had a look at your photos, wow. Some awesome images there!

[jarlaxle2k5]

Go for some star cluster like the owl cluster if you can catch cassiopea or m35 in gemini

[glowingturnip]

Do you think an exposure between 20-30 seconds will be enough to capture the galaxies? 30 is the max I can get to at the moment before going to bulb, and I don't have a remote to control the shutter, so that's out of the question. Hopefully lots of stacked 30sec exposures might suffice?

certainly no harm in trying !  Just take loooots of exposures, and maybe a high ISO, 800 or 1600

[jarlaxle2k5]

Do you think an exposure between 20-30 seconds will be enough to capture the galaxies? 30 is the max I can get to at the moment before going to bulb, and I don't have a remote to control the shutter, so that's out of the question. Hopefully lots of stacked 30sec exposures might suffice?

I had a look at your photos, wow. Some awesome images there!

Look at my gallery (link in my signature) they are all 30" exposure targets.

Usually i get a minimum on 30 subs at iso800 (my canon 1100d at iso 1600 brings a bit of too much noise).

[mrjsh]

Look at my gallery (link in my signature) they are all 30" exposure targets.

Usually i get a minimum on 30 subs at iso800 (my canon 1100d at iso 1600 brings a bit of too much noise).

Wow, looking at that, I should have no problem with 30s exposures!

Thanks for the suggestions all, the night wasn't as great as I had hoped, but I did get a quick snap of M82 and a lovely long look at Saturn so I can't complain. 

[Kirscovitch]

Thank you both for your help. Those Astronomik Filters look like a very good idea considering the area I live in. Definitely going to look into getting one. 

Stuart, I'm going to have a look for M81+M82 for sure tonight. Do you think an exposure between 20-30 seconds will be enough to capture the galaxies? 30 is the max I can get to at the moment before going to bulb, and I don't have a remote to control the shutter, so that's out of the question. Hopefully lots of stacked 30sec exposures might suffice?

I had a look at your photos, wow. Some awesome images there!

I took a shot of M81/82 the other night. If I remember correctly the exposure was only 15 or 20 seconds. SN was still clearly visible.

[glowingturnip]

i thougth supernovas were only supposed to be visible for 2-3 weeks ?  This one seems to have been around for ages now !