If you have a Goto Dob for observing and may want to dabble in some Astrophotography too

[Smiller]

Hi Folks,

I know this is the observing deep sky section, but I expect folks that have Goto Dobs (From Orion and SkyWatcher for instance) are probably only doing observing.  

Just a note that I have an Orion XT12G Goto Dob for observing, which I love, but I kind of fell into doing astrophotography with it and I found that it wasn't really that hard and I'm really enjoying that aspect too.

So for those that are interested in possibly trying, I typed up a "How to guide" for that type of scope.   It's here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IrL9-wdy6783PtPPElcP5u4r0IP6PbxA/view

If you do take a look at the guide, let me know if it helped!

Title page below...

Edited March 8, 2023 by Smiller

[CraigT82]

Wow that is a really comprehensive guide! Some really good DSO imagery in there too, very nice work. 

[malc-c]

I've not read through the book (at 125 pages it's a book IMO !) but there are lots of really nice images of DSO's featured in the book.   It does go to show that if you are prepared to target objects when they are less susceptible to field rotation, or with carful cropping of the stacked image field rotation, which is the biggest drawback with Alt/AZ mounts and scopes, can be overcome.  

I can see plenty of future posts along the lines of "can I use my Dob for astrophotography" being linked to this document.... Nice work

[Smiller]

On 09/03/2023 at 03:43, malc-c said:

I've not read through the book (at 125 pages it's a book IMO !) but there are lots of really nice images of DSO's featured in the book.   

Thanks for the kind words and, yes, I guess it did turn into a book.  I kept wanting to capture every question asked and get it down in writing and pretty soon it’s 125 pages! I guess it does show the general nature of the complexity.

With respect to field rotation, it’s an interesting factor.  Clearly short exposures freezes the rotation for each sub well enough, but the good news is the more capable stacking programs can easily stack all the rotated frames into a much larger frame and blend the edges well so it’s just a larger image… a bit of an “auto-mosaic” if you will.  Some cropping is required of course.  I cover that in the guide also.  

Edited March 21, 2023 by Smiller

[skfboiler]

I have the same Orion XT12G scope.  I downloaded your guide.  I'm going to have to give this a try.

[Ratlet]

I'm in the car just now, but I believe the astro imaging channel on YouTube have a comprehensive video on this too.

[bosun21]

All you need is an EQ platform to place your dobsonian on. Works great for EAA and short exposure AP.

[Smiller]

Yes, I gave a presentation on The Astro Imaging Channel on this and it is here:

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by Smiller

[Ratlet]

5 hours ago, Smiller said:

Yes, I gave a presentation on The Astro Imaging Channel on this abs it is here:

 

That was a fantastic presentation.  Felt you hit all the major issues and concerns and covered them really well.  I've not got a guided dob but felt there was some useful info in there for me regardless.

[Smiller]

3 hours ago, Ratlet said:

That was a fantastic presentation.  Felt you hit all the major issues and concerns and covered them really well.  I've not got a guided dob but felt there was some useful info in there for me regardless.

Thanks for the kind words.  I enjoyed doing it and learning over the last year.  I will admit that it was fun doing what everyone was telling me was impossible… I kind of felt like an explorer seeing what’s possible and around the next corner.  Meanwhile, I continue to improve my technique with it.  I need to update the guide as I continue to learn, that’s on my ti do list.  A few recent shots with this Dob:

Edited July 6, 2023 by Smiller

[GordonD]

Thank you so much for this.

I have been wondering whether I can do any useful photography with my SkyWatcher GoTo 12 inch. I will go through the book in detail and see if I can get there. But you deserve huge praise for making this available.

Thank you!

Gordon