Moon just kept moving ?

[johnb]

Hi

I was trying to image the moon last night but the image on the laptop screen was just racing across the screen, , when I set up I did a 3 star alignment but im assuming this effect was caused by not having a decent polar alignment ?

Regards

John B

[Breakintheclouds]

Possibly - or perhaps your mount was not on lunar tracking mode?

[johnb]

err Lunar Tracking Mode - does my mount have that facility ?

John B

[Merlin66]

If it was "racing across the screen" I wouldn't think it was just an alignment issue... sound more like a drive issue. Flat battery giving no RA drive?

When you use an eyepiece do you have the same problem?

Which camera were you using? - a webcam is the "equivalent" of using a 6mm eyepiece......

Ken

( I image the Sun using a very rough and ready alignment. With the DMK ( same size chip as a webcam) I'll get some north/ south drift during say a 3 min exposure, but nothing that can't be controlled with a quick press of the arrow buttons...)

[arad85]

How are you driving the EQ6? With EQMOD? If so, did you switch to moon rate from sidereal?

[johnb]

Ekk

Im not driving the mount with anything just its own internal stuff, it did not seem to be moving when using an EP. My cam is a Philips SPC 9000

Regards

John B

[barkis]

Errr!, you have locked in the clutch yes? Surprising how that can be overlooked..

Ron.

[Cornelius Varley]

err Lunar Tracking Mode - does my mount have that facility ?

John B

Yes it does. The Synscan HC can be set to sidereal, lunar or solar tracking rates.

Peter

[johnb]

I was unaware, will look it up

Regards

John B

[johnb]

The Synscan HC can be set to sidereal, lunar or solar tracking rates.

Can i do this without connecting the mount to a PC ie in standalone mode ?

John B

[johnb]

I found the tracking options

Sid. Rate: This activates tracking in Sidereal rate (R.A. Tracking).

Lunar Rate: This activates tracking in Lunar rate (R.A. Tracking).

Solar Rate: This activates tracking in Solar rate (R.A. Tracking).

PEC + Sidereal Rate: Sidereal rate with Periodic Error Compensation.

So I guess if Im imaging the moon I chosse Lunar Rate, how about mars or Saturn Solar ?

Regards

John B

[themos]

Mars and Saturn need sidereal, they are far away and don't go round the Earth.

[johnb]

Is Solar just for the Sun ?

Regards

John B

[themos]

I think so...

[Catanonia]

Answered my question too

Was imaging the moon and thought there might be a moon tracker mode, but couldn't be bothered to mess with my setup

Thanks guys.