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Finally nailed deep sky shots from my backyard in Phoenix
I kept getting washed out images of Orion and the Pinwheel Galaxy from all the city light. Tried a cheap UHC filter and it helped, but my tracking was still off on my 8 inch dob. Last week I used the SharpCap 4.1 polar alignment routine on my mount, and the difference was wild, stars stayed crisp for 90 second exposures. Anyone else have luck with software alignment tricks over the old drift method?
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james66126d ago
Yeah the SharpCap routine is a game changer for sure. My buddy down in Tucson was fighting the same washed out mess with his 10 inch, he tried drift alignment for months and could never get past 45 seconds before trailing. He finally borrowed my laptop and ran the software polar alignment last new moon, his subs went from blurry mess to tack sharp at 120 seconds. He was so mad he didn't try it sooner, we laughed about it for a week. I mean the old drift method is fine if you have endless patience, but software just removes the guesswork, especially when you're dealing with light pollution and a shaky backyard setup.
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