Buckinghamshire widefields

[Ludd]

I've been in this village for seven months now and at last I am reassured that the skies are OK.  I had been spoilt by a very dark place where we lived for the second half of 2017 but last night I put the new place to the test with a modded 1000d and an old Takumar lens on an astrotrac. 

 

[davew]

The starscape image looks really encouraging. The sky doesn't look bad at all.

Tracking looks good too,

Dave.

 

[Ludd]

20 minutes ago, davew said:

Tracking looks good too,

 

Thanks Dave. Yes, even with a very rough and ready polar alignment on the astrotrac it seems to track well for up to 7 minutes. Mind you, this is a wide lens so quite tolerant. 

[happy-kat]

You've picked up the MW very clearly in your first image. You can probably see it by eye. 

[Ludd]

Yes, quite clear view of MW from Perseus across to Aquila, a bit lost in LP and haze down in the south though. 

[Ludd]

Haha, today's APOD prompted me to look again at the photos I took on the night of 16/17 August. Lo and behold, even on my tiny phone screen I spy 21P/Giacobini-Zinner to the left of the Heart nebula. 

[laser_jock99]

Very nice images.

[Ludd]

I had another hour out in the garden with the Astrotrac and my modded 1000D.

Eagle and Swan, and Veil are through an 85mm Samyang, the extreme wide angle milky way is through a 10mm Samyang.

Clouds in the north east were hiding the comet, alas.