February began with me finding a new astrophotography group on Facebook. It's a great place to share tips, techniques and just chat with likeminded astro nerds, and I've certainly gained a lot from the short time I've been a member.They run a monthly "Object of...
I feel like I'm starting to get somewhere with the new scope now!Imaging at twice the focal length of my original setup is definitely a harder task, requiring everything to be much more precise, especially with regards to the autoguiding setup that keeps my mount...
Pretty much obligatory to do a close-up Horse when you live in Newmarket, right?Still getting to grips with the new Askar glass - but this is a target I've wanted to image close in for a long time. It's a little short of 6 hours...
January is annual bonus month, YAY! I've spent mine already, BOO! I've wanted a new scope for a while (I think it's an addiction that I have, when it's cloudy I spend my evenings reading equipment reviews and watching YouTube videos on the latest astro gadgets). I...
The first of three images from a single night.When shooting with my One Shot Colour camera, I often use a dual-narrowband filter - for certain targets it can mimic the effect of shooting narrowband with a mono camera.I've owned a couple of Optolong dual narrowband...
I very much have a love/hate relationship with the Moon. Whilst I can appreciate it's stunning beauty I tend to find it mostly frustrating! Astrophotography whilst the moon is bright can be challenging - especially if you're not imaging using narrowband filters. I'm no lunar/planetary imager -...
When stuff works fine this hobby can be wonderfully relaxing. When stuff doesn't work fine, it tends to feel more like a job at times!I've had issues with my last two consecutive nights of imaging. The first night I was attempting to build a mosaic...
This one I had to work hard for! Dealing with winds gusting to 30mph (which plays havok with the guiding system I use to keep my mount pointing at my target very accurately), I spent two nights capturing the data for this target.I then spent 2 full...
The weatherman had promised me a clear night. The weatherman broke his promise!What I'd hoped would be a full night acquiring data on this target was truncated by the sudden appearance of a bank of heavy cloud. I only managed to capture the Hydrogen Alpha...
One of the most iconic targets in the night sky, and one that I've never had the chance to capture before.Normally imaged in broadband, I've had to image this in Narrowband whilst I await the delivery of a new filter wheel and some RGB filters.Presented...