Well, I'm "officially" back into Astrophotography 📷
And I've never been more focused on trying to improve my captures, stacking, and results. As always, there is a lot more to learn...
Thanks to the generosity of a fellow named Sebastian, from the Cloudy Nights 🌙 community: I got a (motorized!) Barn door tracker. He only asked that I pay for Shipping.
I've actually owned a few different barn door trackers in the past... But this is the first time I've gotten one to work properly.
I assembled, tested, and adjusted the barn door tracker. And I got myself a (new) sturdy tripod, a good ball head mount, etc. And use it on every clear night now - It's like my best friend 👍
Since I can't see Polaris, from where I set-up (The Pantry Window Observatory): I'm getting up to about one minute exposures (without star trailing). I use a protractor for a (rough) polar alignment: Set altitude to 42° (here in NY) + an azimuth to true North (determined by compass, etc.).
For me, it's magnetic North + 14° West. So, my alignment isn't perfect, of course... I begin to get egg shaped stars in my exposures when I go above a 135mm lens.
But, 30 seconds with a 100mm or 135mm lens makes me very happy! I hope to write more about this in a future post.
Barn Door Tracker in action
In any case, these are some of the realities of doing astrophotography on a low budget.
View out of the Pantry Window Observatory
As for a future (dream) project, I'd like to hook up a one shot color CCD to a Canon lens 👍 I did it once, with a Meade DSI, years ago. It was fun; and some of the resulting images may be seen right on this blog (older posts). A low-cost achrochromtic (80mm) refractor would work as well. One with a fast F ratio, and a low price tag would be great...
I have recently discovered two great amateur astronomers, who actually discuss low budget astronomy equipment!
Many bloggers and YouTuber's claim to focus on affordable equipment...But these two gentleman are the only ones that I've found who do. I cannot recommend them highly enough!
I strongly urge all amateur astronomers to check out their YouTube channels:
There is a lot more that I'd like to write, but my chronic pain and Fibromyalgia has me stuck in bed today.
Clear skies!
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