First attempt at Andromeda

[simondodd]

So here is my first attempt at capturing Andromeda. Moving onto the next attempt I'm going to take a LOT more light frames and use the guider as well. I'm pretty happy with it so far though...

130PDS - HEQ5, No Guiding (this time), Nikon D5000

48 Light, 20 Dark, 19 Flat, 16 Bias, ISO 1000, 25s. 

[Knighty2112]

I agree. An excellent first attempt! Well done!  

[bottletopburly]

Worth getting APT working though you need a shutter cable  read this first https://ideiki.com/astro/usersguide/canon_nikon_shutter_cables.htm

[Mad Taff]

Excellent picture. Well done.

[des anderson]

A real beauty, a great first image. What`s the second going to look like.......!!! Des

[JohnSadlerAstro]

That's a really strong start--a lot better than my first!

You could try taking flat frames--cover the end of your scope with a white T-shirt and point it at a screen open in notepad (i.e. plain white screen). You can add these in Deep Sky Stacker, and they will go a long way to removing the dimmer corners!  

Be glad you have those go-to motors.  

John

[simondodd]

40 minutes ago, JohnSadlerAstro said:

That's a really strong start--a lot better than my first!

You could try taking flat frames--cover the end of your scope with a white T-shirt and point it at a screen open in notepad (i.e. plain white screen). You can add these in Deep Sky Stacker, and they will go a long way to removing the dimmer corners!  

Be glad you have those go-to motors.  

John

Yep, my next attempt will have a load of flats properly aligned as well as the guiding scope plugged in so hopefully it will be much better!

[simondodd]

2 hours ago, bottletopburly said:

Worth getting APT working though you need a shutter cable  read this first https://ideiki.com/astro/usersguide/canon_nikon_shutter_cables.htm

Yeah I've got all the right cables but haven't had a proper session with it yet. Hopefully next time I will have it properly setup with guiding and APT and I should get some much better results!

[AstroKane]

Great start! Look forward to the next attempt.

Clear Skies

[AstroAndy]

It's got shape, detail, and a bit of color, I'd rate this a success, my first M31 image was greenish haze with dust lanes.

[simondodd]

Well last night I went for it with over 2 hours of subs, however I got my camera in the wrong orientation Missed the sides of the galaxy I've not finished processing it yet but here is a glimpse at what I've got so far...