RE: [APML] Horsehead, M45 & M42

["Jon Kolb" <jkolb@datawest.net>]

Hi Aike,

> last weekend we finally had some good conditions in Germany 
> to start some astrophotography. For me it has been the first 
> time out with my EQ6 mount and my 8" f/4 reflector, a Vixen R200SS. 

It's good to hear from you!  Nancy and I were wondering how you are
getting along.
 
> Here are some of my results:
> 
http://www.geocities.com/astroike/hhead.htm

http://www.geocities.com/astroike/m45ss.htm

http://www.geocities.com/astroike/m42ss.htm

These all look pretty good to me!  The color in M42 is very nice.  It
would really help if you can increase your exposure time to 30 or 40
minutes on that film at f/4.  You will be amazed at how much more you
get on the slides.  Still, it looks like your system is working fine.
Your focus is right on.  I'm glad to see you enjoying the new equipment!

> After reading so many bad things about the EQ6 mount, I am very
pleased with the 
> results, keeping in mind that I didn't really spend a lot of effort in
polar 
> aligning properly! (I just aimed Polaris through the polar finder, and
was set 
> in five minutes!) I am sure that with a good polar alignement results
can be 
> even better!!!

I think the polar finder on most mounts is not good enough for
astrophotography.  The finder in my G-11 is way off, but I'm afraid of
cracking the reticle if I adjust it, so instead I spend about an hour
doing drift alignment, and I now I get excellent polar alignment every
time.  You should really learn to do this - it's actually very easy once
you do it a couple of times.  Just write down which direction to turn
the knobs/screws on your mount to move the polar axis east/west and
up/down.  Then use your guiding eyepiece and your guidescope to do the
drift alignment procedure - you can print the directions from the
Sky&Telescope website and make your notes right on the page.  Good luck!

I still haven't found a job yet, but there are some possibilities I'm
working on.  In the meantime, we are conserving our money and I am
getting a lot of things done around the house in addition to learning
Java software programming (can't hurt to have another skill).  

Take care,

Sincerely,
Jon Kolb
Adventures in Astrophotography
http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/
jkolb@datawest.net




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