What to shoot for the first time?

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miyan9 avatar
First time long time…So, I've had these tools for over two years now. I did what everyone says not to do (spend tons of money on all the equipment before taking your first shot), and I lost interest before starting. The spark is back with a better mindset about my goals with this hobby…but where do I start? 

I'll start here with a list of the current equipment I have that I'd like to use to begin this process:

Canon EOS R5 w/ Optolong L-Pro clip filter
iOptron Skyguider Pro
William Optics RedCat 51 Telescope

All of this while in a Bortle 8 area and limited with time, as I do not have my backyard to spend all night doing this (not yet, at least), and from what I've gathered, this is more than enough to shoot some basic milky way or simple stars photography. 

My question is, am I going in the right direction with this, and what tips does anyone have on techniques with this equipment? Can I do more than simple stargazing and Milky Way shots? Andromeda, maybe?

Again,…first time, long time, and I've had a tough time putting this post together, so apologies in advance.

Thank you!
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Christian Koll avatar
Miyan,

regarding your sky conditions I would suggest one of the brighter and larger nebulae, like the North America Nebula or the huge nebula IC1396.
You may also try the Andromeda galaxy.

Assuming you are living in the norther hemisphere, these will be positioned perfectly at the moment.
These are also no difficult targets, so you will have a great reward for your effort!

My first astrophotograph 7 years ago was of the North America Nebula, also using a DSLR and telephoto lens.

Good luck & best regards!
Chris
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Markus R. avatar
My first object was the orion nebular. It looked, well, shit… but I got an instant reward and learned how much actually is possible. I used a APS-C Sensor on a 400mm scope, so I got a bit more magnification, but your setup should be fine too. There are a lot of nice nebular in this region and a wider field of view is nice there. Tools like Stellarium can show you how your FOV is when you put in your camera/scope data.

Depending on where you live, it might take some month to get higher up in the sky. It's more of a winter object, but maybe you keep it in your mind. 

Clear Skies :-)
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EdFromNH avatar
If you haven't already, get on telescopius.com.  You can search and sort by object type, size (in degrees, what fills your scope FOV), brightness, and when its best seen (highest in the sky). 

You can then test framing with your scope and sensor combo (if you create an account, it can save your setup).

You can also use planetarium apps like SkySafari or Stellarium and many others to which have "what's up tonight" sections.  I also have no backyard, so when its cloudy (which is very often lately), I plan ahead and save my plans in lists by month in telescopius. 

Also, browsing this site is a great source of inspiration.

CS

Edit:  Also, your scope is good for much more than simple stargazing.  The RedCat is one of the most used scope on this site.
https://app.astrobin.com/equipment/explorer/telescope/650/william-optics-redcat-51
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Quinn Groessl avatar
I almost always recommend Andromeda (M31) when someone asks for their first ever target. It doesn't really matter your equipment at all, as long as your location is somewhere that you can see it. It's big, bright, and forgiving enough for people even with just a tripod and no tracker to take a shot at. Then if you stick with it, it's one of those that are easy to come back to a year or two down the line and really compare your progress.
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Tomvp avatar
My first objects when I started with a simple tracker, a DSLR and my DSLR lenses:
  • Orion nebula
  • Pleiades
  • Andromeda


So then you have a nebula, stars and a galaxy, none of which need many hours of exposure to start of with. Start stacking, editing, make sure you publish here, and ask for feedback, and then you will find out what works for you and what doesn't. Clear Skies!
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Greg Mason avatar
You can do some amazing imaging with that setup.  Pick any of those recommended targets, and go to work on it.  My first were with a canon, 200mm lens and a tripod.  I was able to image all of the ones listed above.  They improved greatly when i got a tracker.  Then, I got a full blown goto mount.  Then a telescope.  Then a cooled astrocam.  With each step, my images got better, but they all started with those first ones.

you just have to get out there and get started.  Good luck and clear skies.
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Jo avatar
I would say m31 Andromeda galaxy.   With your set up.   I also suggest to look up Astrobackyard on YouTube.  Trevor has some awesome stuff with small portable setups.
Erlend Langsrud avatar
I also think Andromeda is a rewarding starting point. You will allways get something to impress your friends. It's another galaxy!

M33 is a nice alternative if tou want to stray a tiny bit more out of the beaten path.
miyan9 avatar
Being that this was my first post after lurking for close to two years, I am super grateful for everyone's comments and suggestions! I already feel like i am part of this community.

I will jump on this setup and aim towards some of your suggestions to shots in (as soon as the clouds leave my area).

I did have a follow-up question for those who will see this, and it's more on the technical side of the shots I am planning on taking. Once everything is set and I am about to press the shutter remote button for that first shot, should I focus on getting single shots in, or should I plan on taking multiple images to go in then and stack them?

I searched for the details a shot of M31 (screenshot) was done using the iOptron Skyguider Pro, and I'm seeing the amount of shots on various days being from 275 x 45" to 54 x 60".  On top of that, the confusing part for me when it comes to these details are the "Darks", "Flats", "Dark Flats", and "Bias" shots. Is there a guide somewhere I can dig deeper as to when these are needed and how to take them?

I know software programs will come into play after these are taken, but if someone can point me in the right direction, my life will be much easier (lol).

Again, thank you for your comments and suggested targets, tools, and websites! :-)
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Tomvp avatar
Multiple shorter shots is the way to go, in general. Especially with a ‘simple’ tracker like the iOptron, which does not let you correct the movement as a normal equitorial mount would. I hope you have a remote control for your DSLR which lets you take multiple shots, they come in very handy on those cold, long nights.

As for software to stack those multiple shots, there is plenty out there that doesn’t cost too much like DSS or Siril, no need yet to invest in stuff like PixInsight or Astropixelprocessor. Having said that, Astropixelprocessor is very easy to use and I never regretted buying it. 

Darks, flats, dark flats and bias calibration shots is a whole chapter by itself, and you do want to take these, as they will improve the quality of your images. Somebody already mentioned Astrobackyard, it is a great place to start to learn if you start out like you do now, and you can find a good explanation and a ‘how-to’ for these calibration frames.
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Matthew Proulx avatar
Just get out there, shoot the moon, shoot andromeda. I too started with the most basic modest equipment and within the first clear night I was imaging the moon, then orion and andromeda. 4 years later I have yet to miss a clear night. 


Think too much and you'll lose interest to the point where you wonder if you actually had an interest at all.

Joe Linington avatar
Many short images (under 1 minute) and stack. Follow a youtube tutorial for DeepSkyStacker or Siril or ASTAP to stack your images (all free). You can stack without calibration at first. It won't be as good but it will make an image. GIMP is a free image editing app you can use with the above free software if you don't have (or want) Photoshop or Affinity. Now, on to calibration frames (optional at first but necessary as you advance)

With your setup, flats will be most important, darks and biases can come later but will improve your shots.

At the end of an imaging session, leave all of your settings the same (image length, iso etc) put the lens cap on and shoot 10-15 more images.  These are darks.

Leave your lens cap on and set your exposure time to 1/4000 or 1/8000. Everything else the same. Shoot another 10-15 frames. These are your Biases.

Take off your lens cap, switch to Av (Aperture priority mode) and hold an iPad with a white screen or some other even light (many people use a t-shirt over the lens and the early evening or morning sky). Shoot another 10-15 frames. These are flats.

Both DSS and Siril (and other many other programs) can use these calibration frames and they will improve your images but you can still get something to work with without them, so like Mathew says, go shoot, make many mistakes and a few messes and learn. Don't get discouraged. My first shots were messy, out of focus, off target, bad or no calibration and on and on. But every attempt improved something. AP is fun because it is difficult.

Astro Backyard and Nebula Photos both cover using basic equipment and early processing on their YouTube channels.
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Marc Monarcha avatar
Andromeda would be my go to. The Orion nebula, Rosette, North American, and California are also good options. But depending on where you want to take the images from, I would suggest checking with an app like sky guide where those objects would be in the night sky when you can image them.
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Darren avatar
If you can setup plate solving with ASTAP, a licensed version of APT can send your coordinates to Cartes du Ciel or Stellarium. With the filter and your sky glow, getting on to target is not trivial. I used that combination with a tracker when going for targets like M31 - which is not that easy under light pollution.
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