Story behind my first deep sky image

The Orion Nebula.

It’s my first time filming a deep sky object!

I am really surprised with the result because the conditions were not ideal at all. The 97% full moon didn’t set until 5:00 in the morning; the place was quite windy the whole night; clouds were obscuring the Octantis for polar alignment, and not to mention the lockdown limiting me to a Bortle 6 sky.

It was a really, really fun night though. It took me nearly 3 hours to get the polar alignment right (I blame the clouds). I didn’t have the dew heater straps, so I improvised and wrapped some hand warmers on the telescope. The place was so windy and chilly that I was dancing the whole night to stay warm.

I was thrilled when I saw the Orion Nebula on my camera screen for the first time. Even more thrilled when I saw the stacked image. It really surprised me what a cheap camera and tiny telescope can do nowadays. I remembered the first Orion Nebula photograph taken in 1880, and it was fascinating to experience how much humanity has advanced in technology.

Equipment and settings:

Mount: skywatcher star adventurer pro 2i

Camera: Astro Modified Canon 2000D

Telescope: Redcat 51 250mm f4.9

Filter: Optolong L Pro Filter

Settings: 30s at iso 1600

Integration: 116 Lights, 20 Darks, 30 Flats, 50 Bias Frames

Total integration time: 1hr16m

Edited in DeppSkyStacker, Ps, Snapseed

Location: Boora Point, Malabar, NSW 2036