Hi Jay,
Now try it with a 910mm refractor instead of a wide field.

Let's compare Apples to Apples.

Oh, no need to be jealous. I have my original Orion ED80T CF, and my Astrotech 130mm EDT.
Just two telescopes with widely varying FOV.

Yep.

Heck no, I've got enough troubles with my inside out and upside down refractor.

I think Brian's was taken with a left-handed refractor....

Oh, I'm terrible.
I use things like 5 minute exposures, then stack them. 20 images each.
HA7nm, SII, OIII, Darks and Bias frames.

I basically look in Stellarium, find a victim and click on it, then open a pre-made sequence in NINA and click on this little Icon to get the object from Stellarium.
I use two pre-made sequences the most, a 240 second, and a 300 second. Then adjust the file by turning on or off the filters to use.
I've all but gotten away from my L-R-G-B filters. But will use them for whatever details they might impart. Takes two nights, usually, to do Narrowband, then the skittles.

I was worried I might get bored, being so automatic and all. But to me, I like the method more than the result.
Auto focusing, auto Plate Solving, auto by NINA

I don't just set it and forget it though. I like to see the pictures coming in. Sometimes I watch the automated Meridian flips. This is stuff I only dreamed of when I started out.
Yep, this AI is kinda fun to me.

But not the processing. Nope, not the processing.

Thanks Brian.

I am tiring of the tiny faint fuzzies already though.
Think I'll start looking South again.

Uh, yeah.
No.
That is bullshit.

You do know that AI stands for Artificial Idiocy, don't you?

We used to use crayons when I was in school.

Another Internet rendition.

Ahh yes, the Internet - Alice's Restaurant.

I donno.
Some of this stuff just eludes me.
Casper the Friendly Ghost Nebula? I mean, come on!

Anyway, to make up for aperture, I download it, then zoomed in, and there is a resemblance to a birds head that to me looks more like an eagle's beak.

Like I said, I don't name them, I just take picturds of them.
Most of these lately are really stretching the reach of my current telescope.

Hi Navywife,
Do you have any particular direction you'd like to persue?
Mine is Nebulae for example. So I looked into how to image those.

By going after a certain interest, you can save buying the wrong equipment.

But I agree with Brian (bwana). But refractors work very well for beginning Astrophotography.
I'm still a refractor nut.

But figure out what you would like to image, then find out how others are doing that.

I decided my telescope was going to be a camera lens specialized for space. Toward that end, the telescopes are fairly specialized. AP scopes are not visual scopes. But they can be used for visual.
But generally Triplet and even Quadruplet telescopes. (Lens configurations)

The Garland Galaxy. aka: NGC 3077
Just a little speck near Bode's Galaxy.

Saw it, thought I see what I could get of it.

One of those faint fuzzies. But who knows? Might be somebody's home.

As the camera gave it, stacked.

(Download)

Zoomed 51%, minor adjustments.

(Download)

Well, it looks great to me, Brian.
Much better than what I can do.
You brought out the nebulosity that is so faint.

Great Brian! You popped them right outta there.

Not sure I can do this right. But I'm trying.

I downloaded it, then did a markup on it.
Looks kind of like a birds head.

Anyway, I didn't name it, I just reached out and grabbed the picture.

If you download it it might be easier to see.

Yes. Download, then click in the circle with your curser. Should zoom in on the image.

Markup of the Seagull's head.

(Download)

Last night I got a flare going in what I was trying to image, I blame the Moon.
So not to be dismayed, I quickly found the Cigar Galaxy near Bode's Galaxy, and decided to make it my nights object. At least it was North of my location and away from the Moon.
Nothing to write home about, But something for the mount to chew on most of the night.

Oddly enough, I stopped by on my way to bed to check on things, and a Meridian Flip was under way. So, I sat down to watch NINA and the mount figure it out. I love to see things run.
Mustering my patience, when it finished the cycle, I almost tottered off.
But it began another meridian flip. The mount didn't flip as far as I could see. But NINA went through the entire Meridian flip cycle. I sat and wondered.
About when I thought things were moving along normal, NINA did a 3rd routine. I almost aborted it, but waited while it did what appeared to be a carbon copy of the 2nd cycle.
Finally, it finished the third routine and went on imaging, Cigar Galaxy centered and rotated to match the earlier gatherings.
Normally, if a Meridian Flip occurs, I'm busy sawing logs under my CPAP mask. And I don't know if such multiple flip cycles occur or this was a private show it was performing just to keep me glued to the computer.
Here is the end result, lightly adjusted for subject content, cropped, and mild retouching's.

Cigar Galaxy

(Download)

So I've grown to like my B&W images.
I still use multiple filters. But not here, just HA7nm, OIII, SII, Darks and Bias.

When I look into this image, I can see what appears to be a bird flying out of it, with what looks like a string of poo trailing behind.
I imagine that was why it was named the Seagull Nebula.

(Download)