Ah, a new year is here. It's time to be re-inspired. Take on new goals and chart new adventures. Most of the time, and especially with cold nights, I'm content with a few minutes outside. I'll check the cloudiness, spot a few constellations and other naked eye visible objects; M31, planets, satellites, etc. Lately taking the time to set up and take down my observing equipment has been a bit off-putting. The solution to this is going to be better organization. I'm consolidating accessories into a single box, I've purchased a new finder scope (the
Orion 9x50 RACI) for easier spotting and a green laser (which I may or may not mount, but will be great for pointing with others present), I also plan to put together a new observing chair.
Tonight's sky was pretty clear, so I got myself excited to head out. I decided I'd take another stab at shooting the Orion Nebula with my DSLR. I set the camera on a tripod with a 210 mm lens and connected it to my laptop via USB in order to use a remote shutter program called SM Tether. This software allows me to do a much better job at adjusting the focus and shutter speed since I can preview each image on the laptop immediately after taking the photo. So here's my official first shot: 1:48 exposure time from 54 frames.
