Best DSOs for imaging by beginners with very limited setups

[Nerf_Caching]

Hello again! I come up with this post as I have just acquired the SkyWatcher evostar 72ed refractor. Seeing that all I have is a motorized alt az mount (eq mounts are certainly unaffordable ATM) and a canon 650D dslr, are there some decent deep sky objects I could try imaging, though the results may not be the best? Thanks.

[DaveS]

Given that you'll have to keep your exposures short I'd be looking at something fairly bright, M13 perhaps. It won't be very big on your sensor, but will be a start.

[Paul73]

M81/82? You can see them on 30second subs, so you can be sure that you aren’t imaging empty sky!

I’m in a similar position. ED72 and Driven EQ5. Yet to produce a worthwhile image...

Good luck.

Paul

[bobro]

For nebulae: M8 and the smaller M20 could be worth a try as they should peak at 45 degrees elevation (M81 will be very low in the sky from Hong Kong).

[cletrac1922]

Nerf

Welcome from Australia

Considering Hong Kong is closer to the equator, than most of people in here from northern Europe/UK

A lot of DSO's will appear overhead, rather than low on the horizon

Currently, been south of you, just after sunset have Jupiter just above the horizon, Saturn following not long after

Something like SkySafari or Stellarium be good starting point for finding DSO's

I also use HeavensAbove

With HeavensAbove, save your GPS location, prior to added to favorites on Google Chrome, or what ever other browser you are using

You should also have  a nice view of Scorpio, and the nebula's contained within currently

Most important, what is your light pollution level, as this will determined what you able to observe  

John

[Nerf_Caching]

13 hours ago, cletrac1922 said:

Nerf

Welcome from Australia

Considering Hong Kong is closer to the equator, than most of people in here from northern Europe/UK

A lot of DSO's will appear overhead, rather than low on the horizon

Currently, been south of you, just after sunset have Jupiter just above the horizon, Saturn following not long after

Something like SkySafari or Stellarium be good starting point for finding DSO's

I also use HeavensAbove

With HeavensAbove, save your GPS location, prior to added to favorites on Google Chrome, or what ever other browser you are using

You should also have  a nice view of Scorpio, and the nebula's contained within currently

Most important, what is your light pollution level, as this will determined what you able to observe  

John

Where I am, the LP level is quite high actually. With a 4 inch newt, I can just barely make out the swan and eagle nebula with averted vision.

[rickwayne]

I would recommend picking up a copy of Charles Bracken's The Deep-Sky Imaging Primer. In addition to a wealth of information that really helps bring your imaging up to snuff, he has a great list of targets in the back of the book grouped by size. Best forty bucks I've spent in astrophotography.

[happy-kat]

Hi

You'll likely enjoy the No EQ DSO Challenge thread as the majority of mounts are tracking altaz mounts. A related read for your setup:

Astrophotography on the Go, Using Short Exposures with Light Mounts, Author: Ashley, Joseph

Enjoy.