Machholz with NexStar 11 GPS & Nikon D70

Hello all,

I took an image of Comet Machholz the other night using a Nikon D70 at prime focus on a Celestron NexStar 11 GPS. It was a two-minute exposure at ISO 1600. I seem to have suffered very slightly from vibration of the scope, but otherwise it's not bad considering I only took delivery of my T-ring that day!! It's my first attempt at imaging through the telescope.

www.mythicalireland.com/astronomy/astrop...s/comet-machholz.php

That''s a fairly decent image, especially for a first attampt!
It really is amazing to see the images amateur astronomers can now produce on their first night of astrophotography.

Thanks Michael. I tried the Orion Nebula too but the images were blurred even though I felt I had a sharp focus through the viewfinder.

Also, the telescope seemed to suffer from vibration. It was a bit windy that night.

I've noticed that astroimaging is very sensitive to the wind. All it takes is one small movement of the camera to ruin the image.

Well done on the cometary image,
Were you running the scope in altaz or polar mode ?
Like Michael said, its very good to see that many people starting are making great images, my first images were laughable. :lol:
Only 2 or 3 years ago its was very rare to see images as good as that from a starter.

I was just contrasting your image with the one I took the previous night, I cant see any hint of a tail in your image but there is evidence of a bow shock from the lower right hand side, did you use a filter?