M42

[Iem1]

Happy new year guys,

Finally managed to grab some data on Orion, a massive....26 minutes worth to be exact!  

Tried the last two nights, but I have been betrayed by weather reports. Started snowing last night as I was setting focus...and tonight the clouds rolled in about 2 hours earlier than predicted. Still, first time actually imaging something in about a month, so I was happy to start collecting data for my Orion project. Or so i thought, but I think this data needs to be chucked out. The stars are drifting and the focus is out by a lot for sure, even though I was confident the focus on the b mask was looking good, I could tell something was off as the stars looked bloated in single exposures. So I will start again next time.

My rig is not balanced properly either, so anything too low in the sky gives issue, even with proper PA, think that is what has happened here with the drift. Typically works fine near the zenith. Not a problem I am going to correct as I will be ordering a new mount/ASIair/Guiding setup in the coming weeks (I will shortly post my shopping list in the equipment section for advice soon :D)

52 x 30 second subs, ISO 800 with a modded 600D.

Single 30 second sub at ISO 3200 on a different night for comparison