Help me choose my first deep sky target

[CraigT82]

Hi all, I'm going on holiday to Provence in a couple of months, to a cottage out in the country with reputed lovely dark skies.  I'm planning on taking a scope and mount with a dslr to have my first crack at DS imaging.

The main issue is that the moon will be 70-80% illumination whilst I'm there so I need some help choosing what's best to try and shoot.  I'm currently thinking of bright objects on the opposite side of the sky from the moon, maybe M13 or Bode's pair? I'm completely new to imaging so not sure if it will be possible at all! Perhaps I should just take Az4 and do some visual? 

Scope is AR90s achro (90mm/500mm). Mount is CG-5 with RA motor. Camera is Sony a290 un-modded. 2.1" per pixel. No filters. 

Any and all suggestions gratefully received ?

[aparker]

I'm fairly new to the imaging game as well, but with a moon out I'd say M13 is your best bet - it's so bright that you will definitely get a picture of something.  If you had a mono CCD and H-alpha filter then you could pretty much ignore the moon and shoot any emission nebula you wanted, but the DSLR is going to be so much less sensitive at H-alpha that I'm afraid you'd get nothing without exposure lengths that aren't realistic for an unguided tripod-mounted CG-5. 

[ollypenrice]

80% moon here in Provence is really quite like mid day in Manchester! I think it will have to be bright clusters, as the others have said. Ha is the usual antidote to the moon but requires a camera which lets that wavelength through. Do you have a solar filter for your scope? The cheapest is a home made one using Baader solar film. If there is sun spot activity you should be able to get an excellent view of it. Soon after sunrise usually has the best seeing even though the sun is low. The ground and the air cools during the night.

Have a good trip.

Olly

[CraigT82]

Good tip with the solar filter! I shall get one ordered, thanks Olly. 

I think I'll aim at M13 then , at least I should have half a chance of getting a picture of something... I'm not expecting to get much (probably for the best!)