Skipping polar alignment ruined my nebula photo session

I thought I could get away without proper alignment for a quick shoot. All my frames of the Orion Nebula had star trails and were unusable. What basic thing have you learned not to skip the hard way?

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3 Comments

hollym297mo ago

Wait, you tried to skip polar alignment on the ORION NEBULA? That thing is so bright you need those super short subs to not blow it out. Any tiny drift just wrecks everything. I learned the same lesson trying to image Andromeda without checking my balance. The whole thing turned into a smeared mess after like twenty minutes. Never again, now I check both like my life depends on it.

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sarahm187mo ago

My first Orion attempt used 45-second exposures on a cheap tracker. The whole frame had star trails after about fifteen minutes because I rushed alignment. What saved me was getting a decent polar alignment app on my phone, it walks you through the process step by step. I now budget an extra half-hour for setup before I even think about taking shots. That patience pays off with crisp data, no more wasted nights.

7

jenniferowens7mo ago

Orion's bright core needs short subs, but drift kills longer ones too.

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