I’m a Moron Sometimes
I added a couple of 8 tooth spur gears on the left and right side of the 24 tooth gear being driven by the worm gear which added just a touch of stability to the system. Another clear but cool night and I was all set to get testing. But a lack of focus led to, well, a lack of focus.
I’m happy to report that I had another good night of tracking. However, when I got back inside and took a closer look at the RAW files, I realized I was tracking donut stars. After focusing, I wrapped a dew heater around the lens and obviously knocked my focus way out of whack. Either that or the temperature drop really messed things up.
So… Here’s a plate of 60-second yumminess!
I’m surprised I didn’t notice that on my screen, but apparently I wasn’t paying enough attention. Who can blame me, I was still riding that high from my last session. I got a little ahead of myself in my eagerness. I’ll say this though, for what it is, it’s a neat little photograph. And this of course is all part of the learning process.
Lesson Learned
One of the things I’m still trying to figure out is how to most effectively use the dew heater. It’s a bit clumsy with the USB cable and the power bank I’m using. The problem is that on the Canon 50mm lens, I have to wrap the heater over the focus ring. A little black electrical tape probably could have solved this problem. And I’m planning on incorporating a couple of other setup techniques that will require that I figure out a consistent way of using my dew heater.
Ok, better luck next time.