To all the astronomy guys out there

[CptTrips]

I don't have your exact mount but if its anything like mine, not only must you set the Lat, Lon, but make sure your date and time and DST settings are accurate.

And I assume you have to mount mode set to polar not alt-az.  Don't laugh, I had that problem once.

I assume you've walked thru the steps in the manual?

Doesn't that mount have a polar alignment scope built into the RA axis?

Another thing I do is after I think I am set, I've have it navigate to a bright star I know and if its slightly off I'll have it adjust with the hand set and then "Sync" on that corrected position.  It remembers that correction and applies it to future Go-To's.

However, I've been on a permanent mount for several years so life is easier for me.

Wab

[mbailey]

Any new pics Wab?  Love the shots u take sir 

[ink]

Wab~ thats very cool...I had a 4" once I lived on top of a mountain in NH,man I had crazy clear skys, I want to get a huge one like a 10" mirrior......I want to see andromada for some reason just lookin at anouther galexy shows you how small we are lol.   the rings of saturn I could see....well I could see them but it look solid, I truly love checking out the night...you ever see moving stars? I did it was messed up. Lots of times, a small star would move from one to another at a extreme rate of speed,cover an inch or more of sky, in a less then a second.

[CptTrips]

Any new pics Wab?  Love the shots u take sir 

Thanks.

I'm ashamed to say I haven't taken a single picture all last year.

I've had too much crazy watermelon going on in my life lately and besides had some minor damage to the scope drive I need to fix.  I've used it visually a couple of times ok, but I need to replace some marred gears before doing an precision work again.

One of my goals for the year is to do some more photography.  I might concentrate more on planetary/solar stuff this year instead of deepsky.

,
Wab

[CptTrips]

Wab~ thats very cool...I had a 4" once I lived on top of a mountain in NH,man I had crazy clear skys, I want to get a huge one like a 10" mirrior......I want to see andromada for some reason just lookin at anouther galexy shows you how small we are lol.

If you can get out to some dark country skies, on a Moonless night, before the air humidity gets to humid and hazy in the Summer,  you can view Andromada quite nicely with a descent 7x50 pair of binocs.

Its a reasonably bright, extended object.  It doesn't need much magnification.  I can usually pic it up with the naked eye from my site when there is no Moon.  Its actually pretty big.  If it was bright enough, you'd see it extends, end to end, about twice the width of a full moon from our vantage point. Binocs just help pull in more light and a tad of mag.

you ever see moving stars? I did it was messed up. Lots of times, a small star would move from one to another at a extreme rate of speed,cover an inch or more of sky, in a less then a second.

I've seen satillites and aircraft pass in front of my view at the scope, but not what your describing.  Sure it wasn't just the scope vibrating?   

Clear Skies,
Wab

[Jack16]

I don't have your exact mount but if its anything like mine, not only must you set the Lat, Lon, but make sure your date and time and DST settings are accurate.
And I assume you have to mount mode set to polar not alt-az.  Don't laugh, I had that problem once.
I assume you've walked thru the steps in the manual?
Doesn't that mount have a polar alignment scope built into the RA axis?
Another thing I do is after I think I am set, I've have it navigate to a bright star I know and if its slightly off I'll have it adjust with the hand set and then "Sync" on that corrected position.  It remembers that correction and applies it to future Go-To's.

1.)Yes, date and time are asked during setup.
2.)No idea, I guess it is.
3.)Yes, I tried following the manual.
4.)Yes, there is a polar alignment scope in the mount.
5.)I understand if the stars are slightly off, but when I say way off, I mean way off (The star could be on the horizon, but the scope would point upwards. lol)

Any new pics Wab?  Love the shots u take sir 

Here are a couple of mine:
1.)Bad pic of M42(Orion Nebula)


2.)


3.)A composite of 103 single-frame exposures at 30 seconds each.

Wab~ thats very cool...I had a 4" once I lived on top of a mountain in NH,man I had crazy clear skys, I want to get a huge one like a 10" mirrior......I want to see andromada for some reason just lookin at anouther galexy shows you how small we are lol.   the rings of saturn I could see....well I could see them but it look solid, I truly love checking out the night...you ever see moving stars? I did it was messed up. Lots of times, a small star would move from one to another at a extreme rate of speed,cover an inch or more of sky, in a less then a second.

Wab is right. Andromeda is a reasonably bright object. But were I'm from, I can't see it with the naked eye and it only looks like an extremely faint blob of grey through a really small scope.
As for your moving stars, they are most likely satellites. They look like airplanes, but without the blinking lights. They also vary in magnitude(brightness) as well. Every so often you might come across a "Satellite Flair", which is when a satellite with a dim magnitude crosses the path of the sun at a certain angle and it gradually gets extremely bright, then it dims again.

Here is a pic I took that shows Cassiopeia and  Andromeda galaxy(circled in red in second pic) (Sorry, for small pic)

[CptTrips]

2.)No idea, I guess it is.

I'm not complete sure which one you are refering to here.

If its wether the AutoStar is set to polar or alt-alz mode, then thats important.  If you are using the wrong setup mode it will completely calculate the wrong position for stuff.

Don't ask me how I know this.


Wab

[CptTrips]

Those are very nice pics.  I especially love the Moon and star trails.


I can't remember.   I think I've given you my link before so I'm probably repeating myself.

But just in case you can find some of my photos and setup here:

http://jasonirby.net/Astronomy/

Clear Skies,
Wab

[CptTrips]

I want to see andromada for some reason just lookin at anouther galexy shows you how small we are lol. 

Yep, it certainly helps give you a different perspective.

Here is a shot I did of Andromeda a while back:

http://JasonIrby.zenfolio.com/p557407765/e164fb67b

Of course don't expect it to look this way in a telescope.  It took a couple of hours exposure to gather enough light to look like this.  Expect more of an elongated gray smudge visually.

I might be making myself look stupid, but notice how one half is more redish and one half more blueish?
I believe this is caused by the rotation of the glalaxy. 

The one half is rotating towards us, slightly blueshifting the light from those stars.   
The other half rotating away from us, slightly redshifting the light from the stars on that half.
Sort of like the doppler effect of a train whistle transitioning from high frequency (blue) to low frequency (red) as it passes by.


Wab

[Jack16]

I'm not complete sure which one you are refering to here.

If its wether the AutoStar is set to polar or alt-alz mode, then thats important.  If you are using the wrong setup mode it will completely calculate the wrong position for stuff.

Don't ask me how I know this.


Wab

I beleive it's set to polar.

[CptTrips]

I beleive it's set to polar.

The other question I'd have, is it significantly off in both axis, or just the axis that rotates around the pole star?

Wab

[Jack16]

Hmmmm. Haven't thought of that. I'll check it out next time I go out.

[CptTrips]

Hmmmm. Haven't thought of that. I'll check it out next time I go out.

Another thing you might want to try is determine if its a mechanical alignment issue or an AutoStar issue.

Get things basically setup.  Tripod base leveled.  Polar axis scope lined up correctly on Polaris.

Then skip the calibration part.  just manually slew over to a bright star and center it in a med mag eyepiece with the tracking motor running.  Make sure the star basically stays in the field of view for at least 5-10 minutes just due to the tracking motor.

If that basically works, then I'd say you getting the mechanical axis of your mount properly aligned with the Earth's axis of rotation.  If not, work on that first or the Auto star will never work properly.

Once that is proven, if you still have problems we know if must be the Autostar calibration or settings.

Clear Skies,
Wab
 


 

[Jack16]

Another thing you might want to try is determine if its a mechanical alignment issue or an AutoStar issue.

Get things basically setup.  Tripod base leveled.  Polar axis scope lined up correctly on Polaris.

Then skip the calibration part.  just manually slew over to a bright star and center it in a med mag eyepiece with the tracking motor running.  Make sure the star basically stays in the field of view for at least 5-10 minutes just due to the tracking motor.

If that basically works, then I'd say you getting the mechanical axis of your mount properly aligned with the Earth's axis of rotation.  If not, work on that first or the Auto star will never work properly.

Once that is proven, if you still have problems we know if must be the Autostar calibration or settings.

Clear Skies,
Wab

ok I'll try that as well

[ink]

I cant see crap with my eyes unless upclose, good thing I do tattoo's :-)     others told me its satelites, If they are im shocked at how fast they move.