Andromeda (M31)

JonaBeth Russell

I decided to take the plunge into deep sky imaging, so I picked up a tracking mount and had a go. I'll admit, the first few attempts were silly, but this one felt decent enough to share. It's a single frame, as I haven't yet gone through the stacking door, but it's coming soon. Already scoping out which stackers can do what I need and work with Sony files.

As it stands now, my lens is the definite weak link in the system. I'm capturing with a Sony a7riii, with a Canon EF 75-300....literally a hundred dollar lens. It's a lot like driving around with hubcaps on a Cadillac, which blows, but it's the only 300mm lens I own right now.

Anyhow, here it is, single shot, 270 sec exposure @ 300mm, ISO 640.

Mahalo for viewing!

David_S85

For a single exposure, I'd say you did a fantastic job. Looks dead on for a white light exposure with no filtering or stacking. Very jealous.

pathfinder

Nice image .

What are you tracking with?

JonaBeth Russell

@David_S85 said:
For a single exposure, I'd say you did a fantastic job. Looks dead on for a white light exposure with no filtering or stacking. Very jealous.

@pathfinder said:
Nice image .

What are you tracking with?

Mahalo to you both!

I'm using the Skywatcher Star Adventurer Pro kit. No tracking aid, just the mount itself, so it's somewhat limited, but I think it should be a great start.

jerryr

very cool !!!

pathfinder

I understand - I own a Star Adventurer pack as well - and while it is not a guided mount, it does match the stellar rotation around the polar axis, if I'm phrasing things correctly.

I am impressed that it does that well with a 300mm lens which I suspect is getting near to its maximum weight allowance isn't it? But it looks pretty good for a 270 sec exposure.

Are you using the Polar Scope Align Pro app to help with polar alignment?

I am in the midst of rain and cloudy weather locally so mine is not getting much use yet. I keep hoping.

JonaBeth Russell

@pathfinder said:
I understand - I own a Star Adventurer pack as well - and while it is not a guided mount, it does match the stellar rotation around the polar axis, if I'm phrasing things correctly.

I am impressed that it does that well with a 300mm lens which I suspect is getting near to its maximum weight allowance isn't it? But it looks pretty good for a 270 sec exposure.

Are you using the Polar Scope Align Pro app to help with polar alignment?

I am in the midst of rain and cloudy weather locally so mine is not getting much use yet. I keep hoping.

The 300mm lens I'm using is extremely lightweight. It's Canon's old classic clunker, that is literally about a hundred bucks new. That coupled with the lightweight mirrorless camera make for a reasonably portable long range rig. Of course, I'm saving up for a much more robust Sony G Master 100-400, but it'll still work on this tracker.

Love using Polar Scope Align Pro. If you use the little illuminator in the viewfinder, you can dial that sucker in ever so finitely, and it seems to track quite well.

I think we might finally be set for a clear sky tonight, so I'll see what I can do with the Orion Nebula. Results to come soon (if it's clear)!

Stumblebum

Congrats JBR! Your courage knows no boundaries! HNY!

JonaBeth Russell

@Stumblebum said:
Congrats JBR! Your courage knows no boundaries! HNY!

Thank you, Taz!!!