Taking calibration frames at the beginning of an imaging session

[Bigfoot 9907]

Dear all, I am planning to image a DSO, which for the first hour and a half of darkness is behind a tree. Could I use this spare time to take my darks, bias, flats etc.?

Cheers

 

[Ibbo!]

yes a good use of your time as long as you have focus for the flats

you can do the darks and bias of course as focus does not matter

[Bigfoot 9907]

Thanks Steve!

[carastro]

Yup, good plan, agree about flats.

 

Carole 

[ollypenrice]

Yes, but you will, as the others say, need to know your focal point for flats. I don't do darks on the scope. I do them with the camera off the filterwheel and its full blackout metal cap in place. Cameras are very sensitive and if any light gets in they will find it... If I compare darks done properly with darks done on the closed scope there is a big difference. I find this very surprizing given the lack of obvious points of leakage but that's how it is.

Olly