m42: this is my first attempt at some astrophotography . Ive seen some beautiful images posted here on this forum, that is the main reason for my continuing down this path. Im hoping...

gekko11 Loc: Las Cruces NM

this is my first attempt at some astrophotography
. Ive seen some beautiful images posted here on this forum, that is the main reason for my continuing down this path. Im hoping for some C & C here . Thank you

majestros Loc: Miami, FL

I like it, there is a little bit of star trailing that could be avoided with shorter exposures. Color is great. Could possibly use some re-composition, cropping, etc. Currently the subject is small (relative to the picture size) and in the center, not a great combination.

(Know that I say all of this having never taken anything anywhere near this good)

Thanks for sharing.

I would be interested in knowing what equipment you used to take this image.

gekko11 Loc: Las Cruces NM

majestros wrote:

I like it, there is a little bit of star trailing that could be avoided with shorter exposures. Color is great. Could possibly use some re-composition, cropping, etc. Currently the subject is small (relative to the picture size) and in the center, not a great combination.

(Know that I say all of this having never taken anything anywhere near this good)

Thanks for sharing.

I would be interested in knowing what equipment you used to take this image.

Thank you Majestros, the centering of the subject is a result of the center of the field of view in newtonian telescope is sharpest,, it didnt occur to me to crop off center ! I'll work on that!
The exposure is 4 stacked @ 30 sec ea.
10 " reflector telescope with an atlas EQ-G mount, prime focused with a canon 5D MKIII
I appreciate your comments

adamroutley Loc: Wolverhampton, UK

Tried to get a few last night (without a scope). Gonna have another go tonight with shorter exposures!

Looks EPIC

Algol Loc: Georgia

gekko11 wrote:

this is my first attempt at some astrophotography
. Ive seen some beautiful images posted here on this forum, that is the main reason for my continuing down this path. Im hoping for some C & C here . Thank you

Very good but the image does have a few issues. First, it appears you have a bit of coma around the fiels of view, cropping your image will suppres this. I must assume this is a short focal length telescope say f/4 or so? They usually have a lot of coma unless one invests in a highly corrected instrument (expensive).
Second, try more images to stack. I typically stack 40 or more 30 second exposures and sometimes I have been known to stack 60 exposures of 5 minutes each resulting in a 5 hour exposure, but that takes several days to do, lol.
Third the focus seems to be soft, try using live view on your camera and zoom the star images in, focus on a star that you can see easily but not so bright it is difficult to get a pin point image.
I hope this helps. Clear skies and welcome to the wonderful world of astrophotography.

gekko11 Loc: Las Cruces NM

Algol wrote:

Very good but the image does have a few issues. Fi... (show quote)

Thanks Algol! I will definitely try more exposures to stack, I didnt realize that many should be used. I'm using a 10" reflector f4.7 , and an atlas EQ-G mount, with my canon 5d mmiii , coma is a definate problem... I just set up a guidescope, have yet to have opportunity to use it . struggling with focus , I think achieving good focus is the biggest challenge for me. I very much appriciate your help and input . the images you post here have inspired me to continue down this path.

majestros Loc: Miami, FL

Have you tried a Bahtinov mask? They are very useful for focusing.

gekko11 Loc: Las Cruces NM

majestros wrote:

Have you tried a Bahtinov mask? They are very useful for focusing.

not yet but it's definately on my list to try, from what i read it seems pretty simple,

janko Loc: coastal Maine

Algol,
Could not help but notice your Cav patch. My brother was in the same group back in the day. He is currently president of the Garry Owen House in Liberty Maine. GO is a group of veterans (who ride motorcycles) advocating for veterans and raising money to provide housing for homeless vets.
Though a 4F myself, I engrave firearms for the group to auction off.
Please email back, I am sure my brother would be glad to hear from you. I can be reached at johnhrichak@gmail.com

satcomsta Loc: SoCal

gekko, I use APT and is excellent to do images. My area is heavilly light polluted as I get glare from Los Angeles, San Diego, even some from Las Vegas and my images are a challenge to process. Overall,get a ParraCorr, it will take about $500.00 but images will be flat to the edge. Besides what Algol stated, man you are on the right path.

here's the link, hope it helps.

http://www.telescope.com/Tele-Vue-Paracorr-Type-2/p/8897.uts?keyword=paracorr

gekko11 Loc: Las Cruces NM

satcomsta wrote:

gekko, I use APT and is excellent to do images. My area is heavilly light polluted as I get glare from Los Angeles, San Diego, even some from Las Vegas and my images are a challenge to process. Overall,get a ParraCorr, it will take about $500.00 but images will be flat to the edge. Besides what Algol stated, man you are on the right path.

here's the link, hope it helps.

http://www.telescope.com/Tele-Vue-Paracorr-Type-2/p/8897.uts?keyword=paracorr

Thanks satcomsta, sorry, I just noticed your reply... what telescope do you use that teleview paracorr on ? I have a 10" orion newtonian f4.7 and there is substantial coma closer to the edge of field . thanks for the link