Ad Astra Observatory

For some reason, I have always had trouble trying to shoot objects to the West (with the mount tracking things as they are setting). I have tailored my whole astrophotography psyche to shooting to the east (as they rise) because of this.

It’s happened with every mount I’ve owned, and doesn’t seem to matter between Newtonian or refractor main scope, although I admit that I haven’t really tested it often.

When I first got the NJP, I was firing off 20m subframes at both 400mm and 1000mm without a hitch.

At some point, I decided to start shooting galaxies, and I also wanted to test this whole east/west thing.

…and predictably, the wheels started to fall off the bus. All of a sudden, anything over 5m subframes is starting to trail.

I’ve tried a number of things, but I think that essentially, I have to keep shooting east. Hey, maybe the next house can be west of the yard. (: