Things to do when there might be clouds and stars

[TiffsAndAstro]

As an eternal optimist and total noob I think there will be an hour or so this evening with some stars.

Having very expertly and sensibly focused all my telescopes ( ) on the moon last week and then electrician taped them down, my plan is to try them out, at various f stops and sub lengths on m51 (cos it's always visible) then post examples to see any problems.

Is there anything else I could do in between rain frying my camera and laptop?

Edited March 27 by TiffsAndAstro

[Budgie1]

I would check that focus again before you start because there's likely to be a difference in the temperature & humidity between when you focused on the Moon last week and tonight. That could be enough to throw the focus off and it would be a shame to loose the night's images.

You may find you have to refocus as the temperature drops during an imaging session.

Also get the scopes outside well before you want to start. This gives them time to cool down, especially if you keep them in doors normally. This cooling will also effect the focus and you may find you'll have moisture on the mirror/lens when they're first taken outside.

I hope you have a clear night.

[TiffsAndAstro]

1 hour ago, Budgie1 said:

I would check that focus again before you start because there's likely to be a difference in the temperature & humidity between when you focused on the Moon last week and tonight. That could be enough to throw the focus off and it would be a shame to loose the night's images.

You may find you have to refocus as the temperature drops during an imaging session.

Also get the scopes outside well before you want to start. This gives them time to cool down, especially if you keep them in doors normally. This cooling will also effect the focus and you may find you'll have moisture on the mirror/lens when they're first taken outside.

I hope you have a clear night.

Ty but no chance of a clear night. 90 minutes at most but that will do.

I'll test focus again, but I doubt it will be worse than redoing via live view and Nina's display

if it looks ok I'll try and get an hour on hh nebula. If it's too patchy  cloudy I'll test my 500mm SCT lol