Found my first deep sky object!

[theghettostylus]

After looking in the wrong part of Hercules for over an hour I finally found M13, didn't have time to take any exposures so the image is nasty also polar alignment went nuts and couldn't focus as the camera couldn't pick up a point to focus on. But next clear night I am going to get a half decent image of M13.

I'm just proud I found something after months of looking.

Thanks to the 150p and turn left at Orion!!!

[Tinker1947]

Onwards and Upwards as the saying goes, well done.....

[theghettostylus]

Wow, do you really have all that kit?

[niallk]

Congrats + great pic!!

[purdo]

Well done, congratulations.

[Tinker1947]

Wow, do you really have all that kit?

It didn't turn up all at once, spread out over a few years.....

[Psychology]

Excellent picture

[theghettostylus]

Wow! Again. That's some serious kit!!! Bet you get some great photos and views with that!

The book didn't lie. Dark smudge on a black sky. Couldn't control myself when I found it.

[hjw]

A good start. Just one hint from me. You said:"...as the camera couldn't pick up a point to focus on." Don't even try to let the camera auto focus. It cannot work. Go to live view - I usually do it on a bright star at the end of polar alignment, zoom in as far as you can if your camera allows it and then adjust focus, tighten the screw on the focuser and don't touch this part anymore for the rest of the session.

Good luck!

HJ

[theghettostylus]

It was mainly because I found the object with the eyepiece in then put the camera on and didn't want to move to a visable star to focus on in case I couldn't find it again. Now I know where it hides I can focus first then take a few test shots to make sure its in view. But I will make sire I lock the focus next time. Nothing would show up on live view so had to take a photo then focus and so on.

I'm using the 1000d so can only go as far as 1600 iso.

[stevewanstall]

I can appreciate your excitement.  I have just got hold of a secondhand 8" reflector and took my first deep sky object on Friday night (5th June). I was so excited when I saw I actually had something on the camera!!

[stevewanstall]

Re reading your post abut the long time  to find an object, I have a pair of Nikon binoculars 8 x 42 that are great for 'browsing'.That was how I found the globular cluster since my GOTO didn't , or rather did, but somewhere else!

[theghettostylus]

I was using stellarium on my phone and that was showing Hercules the other way around. Can't rely on technology some times. May have to invest in a pair of binoculars or failing that a better finder scope than my red dot and the very low mag one I have.

[BeanerSA]

Well done, it's awesome when you find something. I do find half of the fun in the hunt. It took me a couple of nights to find 47Tuc, and at least a week to find M104!

[glowingturnip]

+1 for a pair of bins, it's amazing what you can find just by browsing up and down the milky way

[brrttpaul]

Great pic, I have found using a DSLR on my scope to switch to live view and focus using that its much easier also as has already been said make sure you are in manual focus.

[laudropb]

Well done

[theghettostylus]

I've ordered a bahtinov mask as on live view I can't see any of the lower mag stars so will have to focus on a bright one and keep taking test shots to find the object.

Went out for another try last night but the setup needs a tweak as I would get trails with the scope in certain positions and others I wouldn't get any.

[brrttpaul]

Just a thought but I,m guessing you dont have synscan then, what I did when I was in your situation was focus using live view on say Vega or the moon etc then when I pointed it at whatever it was I wanted I whacked the ISO right up 32000 or even 64000  took a shot see whats there and if im happy adjusted the ISO back down and done it that way, might be an idea for you 

[theghettostylus]

Thanks, that's the way I tried last night.

My ISO only goes up to 1600 but that does work on say a 30 sec exposure, gets me in the ball park. I'm just using the Ra and Dec motor, can you guide with synscan? Been thinking of saving up for that upgrade.

[brrttpaul]

It tracks the stars as for guiding I think that is something else, I,m only a beginner myself but for the moment I have the HEQ5 synscan and it does enough for me. I do a three star alignment and then all I do is type in the handset what I want to see and it slews to it and tracks it. I think guiding is where they mount another camera on the scope which is connected to a laptop I presume and with whatever programme they are using they can lock onto a target. ( I could be way wrong though lol)

[theghettostylus]

Have you taken any images with your setup? Someone told me the tracking of a synscan wouldn't give better or longer exposure over say my eq3-2 RA and Dec drives.

I hope this is true as I opted away from the better synscan mount.

But you live and learn I guess.

[mahakal4355]

Good start.

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