5 replies to this topic

[SpaceHusky]

Hello astro ethusiasts,

 

I'm a beginner in astrophotography and certainly a virgin when it comes down to comet photographing.  I tried to photograph C/2022 E2, naturally bumped into some issues, any idea would be greatly appreciated.

 

Issue:  I ported comet rate from cartes du ciel into PHD2, enabled comet tracking, took a couple 2 min exposure images, it feels like the image camera is focused on the comet.  However, I also started to notice that for every sub I took, the position of the comet slowly drifts between shots, moving across the image camera's FOV.  It feels like PHD2 positioned the imaging FOV back to its original spot after a sub, ensured all the stars aligned before each sub was taken.  Ideally, I would want the position of the comet to stay fixed and let the stars to drift.  Is there a setting in PHD2 that deals with this problem?  I'm also not sure if this is a problem for post processing.  If the comet rate has errors, I would image comet will produce star trail, but most of the subs came out clean.

 

Setup:

ASI1600

Quattro 200P, F/4, 8"

Guide camera: SV305 pro

Guide scope: SV165

Mount: EQ6

 

Attached is L filter sub with exposure of 2 min, no post processing.

 

Thank you for any advices,

 

Clear skies

 

[SpaceHusky]

File was too big.  Resized it.

 

Also, any tips on how to photograph this comet is also appreciated.

 

Thank you!

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[JOEinCO]

These are all excellent questions for the Imaging Forum.  

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[SpaceHusky]

Sorry for posting the thread at the wrong place, wasn't sure if this is a beginner question or not.  First time posting.  Thanks for moving it to the right place.

[RedLionNJ]

The core of the comet's coma should be bright enough to permit PHD2 to track on it - did you identify the coma as the 'star' to be tracked?

 

And I assume you mean C/2022 E3, given the appearance in the image?

[SpaceHusky]

The core of the comet's coma should be bright enough to permit PHD2 to track on it - did you identify the coma as the 'star' to be tracked?

 

And I assume you mean C/2022 E3, given the appearance in the image?

I have thought about tracking the comet directly instead of using comet tracking tool, however the comet seems very dim on my guide scope.  Maybe I need to increase the exposure time or perhaps I wasn't looking at the right target in PHD.  The main issue is that the FOV of the imaging camera is different than my guide scope's FOV.  I may not be able to see the comet in PHD2 while it's positioned in my imagine camera.  But I cannot be certain until I try so, I will definitely try this idea when the sky clears up (hopefully tonight).

 

Yes, E3 not E2.  Thank you for the correction and the great idea.