MY FIRST AUTO GUIDER

SkyWatcher SynGuider
SkyWatcher SynGuider

I have now made some tests with the SkyWatcher SynGuider autoguider I have recently acquired along with a Celestron 80mm guide scope attached to my good old Meade 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. My experiences with it so far are pretty good. It can take a long time to find a good guide star to lock on to (up to 1 hour so far) but since the ratio of usable light subs is increased from 10-30% without autoguider up to 100% with the autoguider, it definitely pays off using it. However the added weight of the guide scope and autoguider required me to also purchase a third counter weight for my mount and I’m afraid I’m now at the limit of the mount’s specified carrying capacity.

M52

M52
M52

2012-12-13 19:30-00:30
Cold (-16 degrees C), faint fogs followed by clear, no moon

M52
Exposures:
10x180s LIGHT
8x90s DARK
15 BIAS
16 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide scope
Software: PixInsight

M33

M33
M33

2012-12-13 19:30-00:30
Cold (-16 degrees C), faint fogs followed by clear, no moon

M33
Exposures:
10x180s LIGHT
8x90s DARK
15 BIAS
16 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide scope
Software: PixInsight

M57

M57
M57

2012-12-08 18:00-19:30
Faint clouds, Milkyway invisible, no wind, no moon

M57
Exposures:
16x90s LIGHT
6x60s DARK
15 BIAS
16 FLAT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide scope
Software: PixInsight

M39

M39
M39

2012-12-01 20:00-21:30
Faint clouds, full moon, no wind

M39
Exposures:
1x60s+1x120s+1x180s+1x240s+1x300s LIGHT

Camera: Canon EOS-600D, ISO800
Lens: Meade Model 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain + Meade Focalreducer 6.3
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Skywatcher SynGuider auto guider and Celestron 80mm guide scope
Software: PixInsight