Collimation or mount issue when imaging?

[Johns22]

Hi all,

Having spent last night collecting data on M42 as my beginner project, I have noticed that even on 10 sec exposures at ISO800 using a Canon 600D camera, a Skywatcher 200P scope and an EQ5 Goto mount I still appear to have star trailing. A single image included below. I haven't yet collimated the scope since I purchased it second hand - I'm taking it to my local astro society on Saturday to learn how to do that. Would this make a difference? The camera was focused on the scope with a Bahtinov mask last night but the moon pictures also look out of focus?

I did install the goto upgrade kit on the mount myself, could I have done something wrong? I aligned via ASCOM and Stellarium on my laptop last night and did notice some alignment issues afterwards whereby stars intermittently didn't centre in the eyepiece.

Any help/advice much appreciated!

John.

 

[tooth_dr]

Look like a collimation issue rather than tracking. Why don’t you give collimation a go, as the scope is out of alignment already, and there isn’t anything to lose in trying 👍🏼

Edited March 2, 2020 by tooth_dr