My first image of the M42

[Milliways]

This is my first attempt at the M42 nebula with my christmas prezzy

I dont think my scope tracks very well cuz of the trails and then the clouds moved in (of course)

Hope you like it!

http://ukastronomers.com/milliways/image/11199_normal.jpeg

[Psychobilly]

Hi Millways ...

How was it taken? D60 at Prime on the ETX?

Billy...

[CELESCOPE]

Looks like movement to me , was there a wind , or maybe you kinda tapped the mount .

Rog

[Milliways]

I took it it with 30sec exposure 1600 ISO (found it had better colour) at prime focus Any help on the trails?

No wind or joggin or anything.. i get it to take the image on a 10 sec timer so i didn't have to touch it.

Dave.

[CELESCOPE]

Dave do you use the hat trick , for the shutter release , as this does still lok like movement, if i am telling you something you already know ,i,m sorry , but if not hold a black card over the front of the scope, release the shutter after few secs then take the card away , the shutter will cause movement , so holding the black card in front of the scope lens whilst the shutter is being released will stop this .

But just make sure of course the polar alignment is pretty good ,

Try 15 secs first, if ok , build it up a bit more

Rog

[Milliways]

Dave do you use the hat trick , for the shutter release , as this does still lok like movement, if i am telling you something you already know ,i,m sorry , but if not hold a black card over the front of the scope, release the shutter after few secs then take the card away , the shutter will cause movement , so holding the black card in front of the scope lens whilst the shutter is being released will stop this .

But just make sure of course the polar alignment is pretty good ,

Try 15 secs first, if ok , build it up a bit more

Rog

I didnt know that Do i wait for the camera to start taking the exposure and then remove the cover? wont i get the streak from the cover being removed?

[MartinB]

Great Christmas pressie. What Rog means is, hold a card or something in front of the camera but not in contact with it, release the shutter and then take the card away.

[Psychobilly]

Imaging with a DSLR on an ETX is "challenging" not impossible just "challenging" the long focal length makes it really sensitive to vibration...

Billy...

[Milliways]

Thanks very much for the advice I think i found the problem.. I had the scope aligned in alt/az not polar, so maybe that would result in the streaks on my photos?.

[thing]

Polar (equatorial) is certainly better but that def looks like vibration to me. Don't be put off, as anyone here will tell you, for every astounding image you see on here from someone, there will be another half dozen consigned to the recycle bin.

[Milliways]

Can i polar align the scope using the "one star alignment" in polar mode... will that be ok for astro photography?

[George]

Looks like a vibration problem to me too.

[Greg]

Looks like mirror slap..

In the set up menu is there a custom function for mirror lock up? If there is then use this, you click the shutter release button once to raise the mirror then again to release the shutter..

Do you have a remote for the camera? Again you can get around this by using the self timer mode.

HTH

Greg

[Milliways]

I polar aligned my scope last night and gave it another go.. The results where astronomically better!! I took this image exactly the same way as i did the other but polar aligned and was low on the horizon and lots of light polution..

http://ukastronomers.com/milliways/image/11277_normal.jpeg

[Psychobilly]

you might find another improvement if you try to balance the OTA better on the mount...

I used to use a DSLR on an ETX 105... The problem is teh mount cant really cope with the imbalance caused by adding the extra weigth to the rear of the OTA... Tryy addign soem extra weight to the front...until the ota is just slightly out of balance... thei will greatly reduce the strian on the drive train and mount whilst still keeping a posiitve mesh in the gearing...

tape some fishing weights to the front of the tube or use some of those wrap roung ankle weights just to try it out...

Billy...

[Milliways]

you might find another improvement if you try to balance the OTA better on the mount...

I used to use a DSLR on an ETX 105... The problem is teh mount cant really cope with the imbalance caused by adding the extra weigth to the rear of the OTA... Tryy addign soem extra weight to the front...until the ota is just slightly out of balance... thei will greatly reduce the strian on the drive train and mount whilst still keeping a posiitve mesh in the gearing...

tape some fishing weights to the front of the tube or use some of those wrap roung ankle weights just to try it out...

Billy...

I think i got an anckle waight around here somewhere Thanks for the advice mate!!

Dave.

[Psychobilly]

You can adjust the balance by moving the weight back and fore along the OTA...

If you persevere with Polar alignment then it will ultimately give you the best results..

Also see if the camera has a mirror lockup function although the hat methos works well...

Billy...