Fought with my cheap star tracker for 3 hours last night

I was out near Flagstaff trying to get a good shot of the Orion Nebula. My little Sky-Watcher star tracker kept drifting off target every 15 minutes. I spent more time realigning it than actually taking photos. Has anyone else dealt with a finicky tracker that just wont hold steady?

2 comments

2 Comments

gibson.seth7d ago

Yeah, 15 minutes is actually pretty normal for a cheap star tracker honestly. That Sky-Watcher you've got isn't great for anything longer than 30 second subs because the gears just aren't precision machined. Orion Nebula needs longer exposures though, you'd want at least 60-90 seconds at f/2.8 to really get the dust lanes. Have you tried stacking shorter frames instead? Even 30 second subs stacked can give you a decent result if you take enough of them.

davidh887d ago

Guess I better start setting up camp next to my telescope if I'm gonna get enough 30 second frames for a decent Orion shot. Sounds like my tracker's more of a "wish tracker" than a star tracker at this point. At least my backyard isn't running out of time anytime soon, right?