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| Night Sky Photography - Page 6 | |
| An Equatorial Mount: My lucky day! | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Wed Apr 3rd, 2019 17:49 |
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51st Post |
Robert
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Thank you Chris! Yesterday I had an idea... I checked out the Go-Pro controls, they are accessed via an app on my iPhone or iPad, I seemed to recollect there was some means of controlling the exposure manually. I fiddled with the controls at home and managed to increase the sensitivity a bit, two stops I think, so I redoubled my efforts and made a small clamp to properly secure the tiny Go-Pro camera to the eyepiece of the scope. It worked fine in daylight and even poor light in my bedroom with the lights off and curtain closed, so I got some fish and chips, then headed for the local viewpoint, to await darkness. While I was exploring the track I attracted the attention of the local gamekeeper, who stopped and watched me for some time while I enjoyed my fish and chips! Eventually the parking spot near the bench came free and I moved down to set up before darkness fell, ready to test the Go-Pro camera. Gamekeeper still back and forth keeping an eye on me! lol Eventually it was almost fully dark, just about to test the Go-Pro the gamekeeper came past again so I stopped him and assured him I was just a mad photographer waiting for it to go really dark before I could take some photo's.  He seemed a bit puzzled, I explained you can't see the stars in daylight!!! He laughed, so I took the opportunity to ask him where the best viewpoint would be where I could get a full view of the Duddon sand-bar and the estuary. He was very helpful and showed me where I could go to get a the best view of the entire estuary. I am going up there this afternoon to check it out. I am hoping I can make a time-lapse video of an entire incoming tide on a very low to very high spring tide.Finally... It was dark. I powered up the Go-Pro and no dice. Just a black image, no sign of Polaris or any other stars. By shining my red lamp into the polar scope I could see the etchings to locate Polaris, so the camera was working. One thought was perhaps in the darkness the Go-Pro autofocus wasn't able to latch onto the tiny dot in the sky? Whatever the reason it's a No-Go-Pro! Turning my thoughts to an angle finder, will see what my buddy has...
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Mon Apr 8th, 2019 18:24 |
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52nd Post |
Robert
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OK so I have acquired a damaged DR-3 right angle finder for a pittance. I made the mount for the DR-3 over the weekend but cloud prevented testing. This evening with totally clear skies I took it out and was able to test the finder, the threads which attach the finder to the camera eyepiece were damaged, that doesn't matter for me because I have made a slip on adaptor to fit it to the polar scope. I still need to fine tune the fit but essentially it works. I have now made an adaptor to allow me to hold a red LED in front of the Polar scope to light up the etched markings in the Polar scope to assist aligning the stars. The forecast is for tomorrow and Wednesday nights to be clear skies, so with luck I will try to get some images tomorrow night. I will try the Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 too. If I can I will try to capture an image of the Orion nebula, the only possible issue may be the Moon because it's in the same area of sky as Orion at the moment. I might even be able to combine them in the same image.
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 9th, 2019 02:41 |
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53rd Post |
jk
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Well done. Seems like you are getting a really nice setup for a song!
____________________ Still learning after all these years! https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 9th, 2019 15:26 |
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54th Post |
Robert
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There seems to be a very slight mismatch between the Vixen Polar scope and the DR-3 right angle eyepiece which reduces the field of view but I still have enough to aim at Polaris and get three of the stars of Ursa Minor, which I am hoping to be able to lock onto tonight. Getting Polaris locked on is only half the story, the rotation alignment of the Polar scope has to be correct too. I am gradually gaining an understanding. The manual I have is for a newer model which has different markings and the various tutorials online seem to be aimed at people with 'Go To' mounts. This is an old fashioned, manually aligned mount which is a very different kettle of fish. Hoping to get some images tonight...  Taking the 300mm f/2.8 and the fisheye.The wind seems to have abated some, it was blowing hard last night, my eyes were watering because of the wind, which made it even harder to aim the scope.
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 9th, 2019 15:43 |
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55th Post |
jk
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Bon chance, mon ami. Look forward to seeing the results.
____________________ Still learning after all these years! https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 9th, 2019 15:55 |
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56th Post |
Robert
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Likewise! LOL
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 9th, 2019 17:22 |
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57th Post |
chrisbet
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Me too ... 
____________________ If it is broken it was probably me .... |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 9th, 2019 21:48 |
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58th Post |
Robert
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Well, I'm home and cold. Had to wait for the moon to set, I exposed a batch with the fisheye 16mm. I failed to lock onto Polaris properly but I now have a clear understanding of the issue. It's known that the earth's axis is wavering slightly which effectively means my scope from about 1986 is incorrectly calibrated. I have asked on several forums by what degree the relative location of Polaris has changed but nobody has given me a clear or definitive answer. However tonight I think I have cracked that one. While the camera was clicking away making exposures with the fisheye lens, I was thinking about the problem, it occurred to me that to swivel the Right Ascension movement around the Polaris axis 360º should reveal where it describes an imaginary circle with the hairline cross sight which denotes the celestial North pole. It *seems* that the little aiming circle which Polaris should be central in is about twice as far from the Celestial North as a it should be, however I gave up due to the cold wind. Pleased because I feel I am a step nearer. I will resume again tomorrow night if conditions allow, with additional clothing. The right angle finder makes it much easier to see what's going on. Pity the Go-Pro didn't work. I can see why people like these 'Go To' mounts but I ain't for spending a grand, or ten of them... Just to save a bit of head scratching. What's the fun in that?
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Wed Apr 10th, 2019 01:43 |
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59th Post |
chrisbet
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No fun at all and they are the poorer for not understanding how it works. That's one of the reasons I like old cars rarher rhan the comurers in wheels - I can fix them when they go wrongðŸ˜
____________________ If it is broken it was probably me .... |
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| Posted: Wed Apr 10th, 2019 02:20 |
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60th Post |
jk
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Well it seems that you can fix computers as well Chris. The buttons on the Splash screen and the green down arrow seem to be working perfectly. Very well done.
____________________ Still learning after all these years! https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none |
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