Lost with the varity

[Fusion]

Hello.

I've been taking some photos with my C8 and am pleased with the result for the most part but am finding out quickly that there is a limit to what I can shoot.

Very small FOV and ALT/AZ mount is limiting. I can barly fit M51 in the FOV with a 6.3 reducer and lets not even mention Andromeda with it.

I know my scope isn't "designed" for astrophotography but it's what I have to work with. I want to use another scope piggybacked for the wider field shots and have no idea where to start. There are so many different kinds.

What size/type do I need?
Autoguiding?
Software?
Setup?
Cables?

Everything I see or read says "this is the best"

I'm on a lower end budget but I'm not looking for "Hubble" pics either. I just want more information so I don't make a bad choice and regret it.

For example: With my current setup I shot the Running Man and it took 8 frames mosaiced togeather to get the final image and I have to sit with my finger on the control pad to keep the object in the FOV.

Any advice is appreciated.

[mjs]

The answer to your problem varies by budget, interest, and inclination. Oh, and technology! The C8 can be on any one of several different mounts as it came from the manufacturer; it is also possible that you or a previous owner (if any) could have mounted it on any one of numerous other mounts. This is important because any mount has a limit to what it will support and without knowing what you have, it's difficult for anyone to give you an answer which is guaranteed to work.

Having said that, today's preferred imaging solution in your sort of situation appears to be a small apo-chromatic refractor, either mounted on your C8 or in place of it on your mount (if possible.) Modern apo-chromatic refractors have wide fields and little or no false color, and many (if not most) of them are designed for wide-field astrophotography.

So, which small refractor is for you? Beats the heck out of me! How much do you want to spend, is your mount up to the job or do you need a new one of those, etc. Look around for reviews of small (66-80mm) refractors, see if you can find someone using one in a similar configuration to yours, see how it works for them. Good luck!

Mike

[JMS]

Hi, the AStro-tech 80mm and 60mm are nice scopes for the price. I have imaged with the 80mm and I am very pleased with it. That could piggyback with not too much dificulty while using the C8 as the guide scope. The problem is with the mount. I have an old 1985 B&L 8"sct on a fork with wedge and it was hard to get any length of time out of it for imaging. I ended up with a G-11, and I am afraid you might have to go that route also, with a German Equatorial mount. If the mount you have can take autoguider inputs than you will be OK with it.
That scope is good for galaxies and other objects that need good magnification, but with more magnification , the more error you will see, and the more accurate your set up has to be.
Hope I helped, Joe

[Fusion]

Thanks for the replies. I know that eventually I will be moving to a EQ mount but right now the one-armed mount will have to do. I have an Orion ST-80 piggybacked with a wedge right now and I can tell that the gears in my mount don't like it. Not overloaded just louder from the strain and I know this won't be good in the long run.

I know long exposure times are not going to happen with this setup but I haven't been able to determine what "long" is. I'm just getting the wedge setup for use. I've only had it for about a week and haven't had good weather so it hasn't seen first light yet. Currently with the ST-80 I can manage consistent 30 second subs in Alt/Az mode. What can I realistically expect with the wedge? I would be happy with solid 1-2 minutes right now.

My current mount has autoguider ports but I don't understand how all that works yet. I have MaxIm DL software and it won't even see my DSI when I plug it in so I haven't been able to even do capture with it. Right now I'm stuck with the Envisage software that came with the scope.

Eventually there will be a camera upgrade as well. The DSI-c for $99.00 is excellent for what it does and it has performed beautifully but like most people I want bigger and better. Someone told me something that made a lot of sense. You can have all the best equipment and still take bad pictures. Learn how to use what you have before going bigger and better. That's where I am now. The learning curve is steep and this hobby it too expensive for trial and error learning.

Thanks again.

[JMS]

By long exposures I mean 3 min or greater. I usually do 8 min subs. I would go longer if it weren't for air traffic that ruin exposures. I doubt you will get longer than 1 min with that mount, if that. To attach an autoguider, such as webcam, you might need the box from "shoestring astronomy" Orion recently came out with a cheap autoguider too. A webcam and PHD or guide dog are your cheapest autoguiding routes. The newer and larger cameras have built in guide chips these days. I use a ST-4 and like using 2 separate scopes to autoguide and image.

Joe

[Fusion]

Thanks for the clarification Joe. I'm currently working the kinks out of a polar and drift alignment.

The rough alignment is far more stable than what I was getting in Alt/Az mode as for as tracking goes. The problem is that with the wedge I'm getting trails at 15 second exposures because I haven't gotten the drift alignment down yet but am still learning.