How can I avoid star trailing when imaging deep-sky objects without a tracking mount?
Asked 11/5/2017
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2 answers
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I’m trying to photograph deep-sky targets like Andromeda and the Orion Nebula, but exposures longer than a few seconds show star movement. I’m currently around ISO 3600 and 4 seconds. I’m using a telescope on an equatorial mount without a motor drive, and adding a Barlow seems to make the problem much worse.
I’d like sharper, more detailed images. Are many short exposures a practical workaround for stacking in DeepSkyStacker or similar software? Also, could some of what I’m seeing be camera shake rather than normal star trailing?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
3
This isn't a direct answer to your question, but something that really needs to be pointed out about your example photograph.
The symptom you show in your example is NOT "star trails" in the usual sense, meaning they are caused by the earth's rotation during the exposure. Note that each star appears as two distinct points. This was caused by camera wobble, which is something you can fix.
In this example, the camera wobbled in such a way that with the earth's angular change superimposed, it first held fairly steady in one direction, then moved quickly, then held fairly steady again in another direction. The usual cause of such wobble is the motion from pressing the shutter button. A simple way to avoid that is to lock up the mirror, then use the self-timer to trigger the shutter. You only need a short self-timer delay, like 2 seconds. That gives the wobble from you touching the camera time to die down before the actual exposure.
Another thing to do is to hang a normal towel over the camera, of course being careful to not obstruct the light into the lens. The towel will dampen wobbles more quickly than they would on their own.
So to summarize:
- Drape a towel over the camera.
- Lock the mirror up.
- Close the shutter on the view finder. Your picture doesn't seem to suffer from lack of this, but this is a good thing to do for long exposures.
- Use the self-timer, 2 seconds minimum.
Originally by user7603. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user7603
8y ago
0
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Yes—without tracking, shorter exposures plus stacking are the main workaround. A useful rule of thumb is that visible trailing starts around 400 ÷ focal length (in seconds), so increasing focal length with a 2x Barlow roughly halves your maximum usable exposure. A Barlow also spreads light out more, making deep-sky imaging harder on a non-tracking setup.
Many short exposures can work well, and stacking software can align the stars from frame to frame. People do get decent results this way, but it usually takes lots of frames. A tracking motor on the equatorial mount would make things much easier.
Also, your sample may not be pure star trailing from Earth’s rotation: double-looking stars can indicate camera wobble. To reduce that, avoid touching the camera during the exposure—use mirror lock-up if available, plus a self-timer or remote release.
If you use a compatible Pentax DSLR, an Astrotracer system is another option. Otherwise, try short exposures, careful triggering technique, and stacking/alignment software.
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