The End of the Fixed Observation

 

At left, the Lowell Observatory in snow as shared by Nancy-pics on wicommons. Thanks, Nancy-pics!

And there we have it. The Lowell Observatory and for me the connection to the discovery of Pluto who now is a minor planet. 

I've been doing fixed image photography of various night objects as I realized this year that I have neglected a knowledge of general astronomy for too long. Physics? Yes. Astronomy and certainly any applied astronomy: neglected and so, no.

Today, I ordered a sky tracker and guide scope as well as the AsiAir Pro. 

I need more light.

I've wandered in the dark framing wide-field images and later trying to stretch what for me is excessive noise. Using a DSLR, a short exposure to prevent trails coupled with a limiting ISO of 1600 on an f/4 aperture lens results in too little S/N ratio for solid processing in my hands. 

My two and three second exposures even when stacked by the hundreds leave me wanting. 

The possibility of three minute images guided, focused (Bahtinov mask on the borrowed 18-200mm Nikkor lens), and well-processed is just more than my heart can resist. Shooting at an ISO of 400? Incredible! I must try it!

I reason that for beginners astrophotography requires image capture and very short exposures possess too little for competent processing by the rank amateur. Guiding is the key for longer exposures and while I would love a GEM,  a simple star tracker is portable and guide-enabled.

Back-country images are in my future. Keys include gear which allows me to apply remotely those techniques I master in my meadow.

 I fish for trout. 

It turns out trout live in the same places as the stars reside: far from the madding crowd. 

I am off to find them: trout and stars.

I'm glad the trout keep bankers' hours. I'll need the sleep.

Clear Skies All.