2 more star trails

[rdking647]

the first one inclused a surprise meteor
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdking647/7955018600/][img][/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdking647/7955018600/]stackedImage[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/rdking647/]rdking647[/url], on Flickr

the second one is centered ear the north star
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdking647/7955018376/][img][/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdking647/7955018376/]stackedimage2[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/rdking647/]rdking647[/url], on Flickr

[Speck Tater]

1. The meteor and the satellite trail are cool! nt

[rDigital]

2. Very cool. How long was your exposure? nt

[rdking647]

3. first 1 is 200 15 second exposure

the second 1 is 100 15 sec exposures

[Callalily]

4. I am really enjoying these!

[alfredo]

5. Very good.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

6. I oughta strap my camera to my telescope with autotrack....

Then the stars will stay fixed.

[canonfodder]

7. Yes they will

A lot depends on the type of scope mount you run and its periodic error.
The lens focal length also has an influence.
Proper balance will also be important as well as a reasonable polar allignment.
It's kind of fun, and never hurts to try.
You might surprise yourself, and everyone here.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. For something like this I may consider my old Canon AE1,..

...talk about the old days,...actual FILM that you have to WAIT to see if it came out.

[img][/img]

Advantage: multi-hour exposures.
Disadvantage: Have to go someplace with nearly ZERO light pollution like the road to Vegas.

[canonfodder]

9. another disadvantage

Reciprocity failure in low light, long exposures.
Film is bad for that.
Would be fun, anyway.

Take the digital, too.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

10. Sure thing.

Andromeda is easy because it takes up a big chunk of the sky. It's just too faint to see with the naked eye.

[img][/img]

Relative sizes of Andromeda compared to the moon.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

11. Now you have me wondering if I should lock the iris wide open and shorten the time,...

....or lock the f-stop to max and increase exposure time. Focus shouldn't be an issue since it's set for infinity either way. I already assumed I'd need to get at least 800ASA and can correct for any color shift digitally.

[canonfodder]

12. Time is the enemy

Full open, back off one stop.

Edit to add.
M32 isn't that hard to spot with the naked eye.
Knowing what to expect, helps.
Under reasonably dark skys, it's just a faint fuzzy patch.
No detail what-so-ever.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

13. I wonder if it's visible with the naked eye in space.

I assume atmospheric scattering has a lot to do with it.