Portable Affordable Observatory and the Orion Nebula

[@tomcroskey8994]

Thanks for sharing!!!

[@hovlandbound]

And thanks for viewing! So much fun.

[@woody5109]

Cool, enjoy

[@hovlandbound]

Thanks. Having a lot of fun with the Portable Affordable Observatory. Need it here in Mn. USA!!

[@markteach]

I built your observatory and it is everything you said it would be. I have not been able to use it yet because of many unforeseen circumstances. I am also a "rookie" at astrophotography and have a few questions. 1. What is some of the software you use (stacking, exposure, etc.) I am trying to avoid using Photoshop or Lightroom because of the learning curves and don't intend to use them for my photo work. 2. I am using a pretty good DSLR I can hook up to my computer. Have you had some experience with that? 3. Any good KZbin videos you can recommend for a rookie astrophotographer? The ones I've watched had some tremendous learning curves. Thanks again for everything you've done. I'm from Minot, ND so we both have some nasty weather coming up. I'll see if I'm hardy enough to do some of this during the winter. If nothing else, I can work with my camera and practice with any suggested software. Again, thanks!

[@hovlandbound]

Hi Mark and thanks so much for the kind words. You just made my day. (Or days :) Nothing for satisfying than hearing back from someone with success. I like things simple and easy. I know what you mean about to much of a learning curve. Keep it simple is what I like. Like the observatory. Simple! So given that, I use a good camera called ZWO 1600. But it’s the MC cooled COLOR camera. Now the experts don’t use this camera but I like to keep it simple and let the camera and software do the color and work. The camera does the color for me and I get some very good results. For pictures of our solar system planets I use the free software RegiStax 6. This is a great program and the price is right, FREE. There is many good videos out there showing how to use it but let me know if you need help. It’s simple. Have I said yet I like things simple? :) For deep space photography I use a combination of a couple programs. Sometimes 3. First, I use DeepSkyStacker and then I use AstroPixel. AstroPixel has a annual fee I think but I bit the bullet and bought it and it was well worth the price. Foreget how much, maybe 100 bucks or so. I took notes on how I process the pictures and that is not all that simple. I can email the notes to you if you want. My cheat sheets. Keep looking up Mark! Always something new to discover. Pete