Since my last blog I had ordered and received a new camera and auto focuser. I originally planned on waiting to order these items next year but I've never really been a patient person when it comes to getting new toys.
Even with the clouds I'm still able to spend time installing and learning how to use the new equipment. Just the past couple of days I was able to get my first pictures from the new setup. I'm still learning how best to focus and how long of an exposure is necessary. I also have started with only B&W photo's. Color will come later once I have more experience with the control programs.
The photo's shown below are labeled by their standard catalogue numbers. One is Messier 2 (M2) which is a globular cluster, a densely packed region of stars in the outer fringes of our Milky Way galaxy. The other is a galaxy from the New General Catalogue 6946 (NGC 6946). They turned out OK for my first try. I was mainly just making sure I could hook things up correctly and get some sort of image.
Globular Cluster M2
Galaxy NGC 6946
