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Tonight i was attempting some unguided shots using the LX85 mount and 70MM APO Quad.
With my scope on M51, I took numerous 90 second subs with no star trails, and felt very good about my alignment.
I then moved the scope to M81 and found that even with 10 second subs I had severe star trails.
I would appreciate any ideas on what would cause the differences moving from location to location.
Well, did imaging M81 cause you to point your scope straight at the celestial pole? I think unlikely but usually when you are imaging right near the celestial pole, PA is more sensitive.
Did you go back to M51 and see if you could still do the 90 second subs?
M51 was in the northwest sky and somewhat high. M81 was also in the northwest sky but much lower to the point that it was lower in altitude than Polaris. I did not go back to M51, but that would have been a good excercise. Might do that tonight, conditions permitting.