First attempt at astrophotography (fail)

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Mack41
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First attempt at astrophotography (fail)

#1

Post by Mack41 »


Hi all
First clear night here in sunny Manchester since I bought a cmos camera so I was really excited,
I aligned my scope and thought I’d give the m42 nebula a try
I’m still a beginner and to tell the truth this was the first time I’ve actually viewed it so I was particularly
pleased with myself
Anyway I fired up my laptop attached my brand new bresser full had deep sky camera and......nothing
No matter what I tried I couldn’t get the camera to work, gutted
After hours of shouting and swearing at it I decided to try it on a different laptop that my wife uses and
sure enough it worked great but by this time it had clouded over so I’ve ended up with nothing
Except I’ve seen the m42 nebula by myself and that alone was worth it
Hopefully I’ll have better luck next time
Scopes: skywatcher evostar 72ed, Altair Starwave 152
Mounts: skywatcher eq5 pro, celestron advanced gt
Camera’s:Altair hypercam 183m, Altair hypercam 183c, Altair gpcam 178c, celestron starsense


So long and thanks for all the fish
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bladekeeper
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Re: First attempt at astrophotography (fail)

#2

Post by bladekeeper »


Welcome to Astrophotography! :D

If you don't know how to swear and curse at the beginning, you become an old pro soon enough. :lol:

But, one thing to always keep in mind, whether a good night or a bad one, you always come away having learned something, and every minute logged is a notch of experience on the belt.

It does get better, you just gotta whack the gremlins as they appear and be mindful of repeat appearances by the same gremlins. :D

And congrats on observing M42!
Bryan
Scopes: Apertura AD12 f/5; Celestron C6-R f/8; ES AR127 f/6.4; Stellarvue SV102T f/7; iOptron MC90 f/13.3; Orion ST80A f/5; ES ED80 f/6; Celestron Premium 80 f/11.4; Celestron C80 f/11.4; Unitron Model 142 f/16; Meade NG60 f/10
Mounts: Celestron AVX; Bresser EXOS-2; ES Twilight I; ES Twilight II; iOptron Cube-G; AZ3/wood tripod; Vixen Polaris
Binoculars: Pentax PCF WP II 10×50, Bresser Corvette 10×50, Bresser Hunter 16×50 and 8×40, Garrett Gemini 12×60 LW, Gordon 10×50, Apogee 20×100

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Ozypic
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Re: First attempt at astrophotography (fail)

#3

Post by Ozypic »


Damn computers , how can something that fails so often become so popular ! Its all part of the fun. It might be a good idea to get it all working in the daytime when you aren't keyed up and running out of time. Best of luck on the next outing . Good luck Phill
Phill. Dreaming of Clear Skys .... :D :D :D
SCOPE : Skywatcher 120X600 ST Achromatic Refractor. 
EP's : 25mm & 10mm Plossl , Celestron 8/24mm Zoom EP,
Filters : Solar filter, Badder Fringe Killer & Moon/Skyglow. 
MOUNT : Skywatcher Star Discovery goto Mount.
CAMERAS : ZWO 120 asi MC. / Sony HX400V 50X Zoom.
Binoculars : Saxon 10x50
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sdbodin United States of America
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Re: First attempt at astrophotography (fail)

#4

Post by sdbodin »


Well, welcome to the curse of Microsoft. Every once in a while my imaging computer likes to throw a fit too, last time out it decided the my guide camera would work better on a USB2 port, trouble was it WAS on a USB2 port.

Just throw up your hands and bow towards Bill G. and calmly re-boot!

Kodak always worked,
Steve
Scopes; Meade 16 LX200, AT80LE, plus bunch just sitting around gathering dust
Cameras; Atik 460ex mono, Zwo ASI1600MC-cool, QHY5L-II color and mono
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XCalRocketMan United States of America
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Re: First attempt at astrophotography (fail)

#5

Post by XCalRocketMan »


Happens to the best of us. Part of the 'fun' they tell me :) Anyway, don't give up just keep moving forward. Waiting to see your results.
Scopes Celestron EdgeHD-11; William Optics GT102; William Optics ZS61; Criterion Dynamax-8 SCT
Mounts AP1100GTO mount w/APCCpro; iOptron iEQ30 Pro; Criterion Dynamax-8 SCT
Lenses Hyperstar-III; Celestron 0.7x FR; WO Flat/Reducer 0.8x
Guiding Celestron OAG w/ASI174mm mini; WO 50mm; Orion ST80
Cameras and Filters ZWO2600mm Pro w/Optolong 3nm NB and RGB; ZWOASI1600mm Pro (ZWO LRGB and Astrodon Ha-5nm, Oiii-3nm, Sii-5nm), QHY10, Canon 50D; ASI174mm mini; ASI462MC; ASI120MC
Misc Moonlite focuser on Edge - Feather-Touch focuser on GT102; ZWO EAF on ZS61; ZWO 2" and 31mm FWs; Kendrick Dew System, Temp-est Fans
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Blog at: SkyAndRockets
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Juno16 United States of America
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Re: First attempt at astrophotography (fail)

#6

Post by Juno16 »


Hi Mack,

They are right. Astrophotography will try your patience for sure. The rewards are well worth the frustration though.

Phill is right. I have set up my equipment many times for imaging, but I still power everything up to check to make sure all is well before waiting for it to get dark. You will run into new problems on a regular basis and the same gremlins will return often as Bryan said. If it wasn’t a challenge, it wouldn’t be as much fun!

Looking forward to seeing your image and reading your observation reports!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), Orion 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, Orion SSAG, IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
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TCampbell United States of America
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Re: First attempt at astrophotography (fail)

#7

Post by TCampbell »


Mack41 wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:35 pm ...
After hours of shouting and swearing at it I decided to try it on a different laptop that my wife uses and
...
I laughed as I read this. I've been doing astrophotography for ... well a few years now. Anyway, there's this REALLY LONG list of all the things that can (and do) go wrong. It's a learning curve. But it's kinda like playing golf... swearing is part of the game.

Each fall the astronomy clubs in my area all combine resources to put on one REALLY big public outreach event (which typically draws around 5000 people per year).

Each year we have a "scavenger hunt" for the kids. They collect a sheet with what they need to find, and go from scope to scope to see if they can find that object in a telescope (it could be the moon, a planet, a galaxy, a cluster, etc. etc.)

Anyway... last year they expanded the content and added the category of "find an astronomer doing astrophotography" (and I'm doing astrophotography). But a parent comes up to someone at a nearby scope and I can overhear the question / answer as they ask that person "The sheet says I have to find an astronomer doing astrophotography. How will I know if they are doing astrophotography?' ... and the answer was just the BEST ... "Just look for guys who are swearing. That'll be them."
Scopes: PlaneWave 12.5 CDK - Meade 14" LX200-ACF - TeleVue NP101is - Lunt LS80Ha
Mounts: Losmandy G11 - Losmandy GM8 - Losmandy StarLapse
Cameras: Canon 60Da - ZWO ASI128MC-Pro - ZWO ASI174MM-Cool - ZWO ASI174MM-Mini
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JayTee United States of America
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Re: First attempt at astrophotography (fail)

#8

Post by JayTee »


Not only do you swear out at the telescope, but you also swear during the post-processing when you see all the other mistakes you made! It really is a swear-fest!

Cussedly,
JT
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
∞ Cameras: #1: ZWO ASI294MC Pro #2: 662MC #3: 120MC, Canon T3i, Orion SSAG, WYZE Cam3
∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

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