Spent $250 on a used star tracker and it completely changed my backyard astro photos

I've been trying to get decent shots of the Milky Way from my yard for ages, but everything was just a blurry mess after a few seconds. Saw a used Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer on a local marketplace and pulled the trigger. Set it up last week during the new moon, and the difference is insane. Got a clean 2-minute exposure of the Orion Nebula that actually looks like something. Anyone have tips for polar alignment without a clear view of Polaris? My neighbor's oak tree blocks it.

3 comments

3 Comments

seth_shah1d ago

Classic backyard astronomy, where the real challenge isn't the cosmos but your neighbor's landscaping. My polar alignment routine involves a compass app, a lot of guesswork, and then just accepting that my stars will have tiny tails. Maybe try aligning on that oak tree and calling it "Polaris, but leafier.

jenny4721h ago

Polaris, but leafier" is my new favorite astronomy term.

anderson.piper21h ago

My old apartment had a streetlight that ruined every long exposure. I started using a compass app but then realized my phone's magnetometer was thrown off by the metal tripod leg. The trick that finally worked was putting the phone on the ground a few feet away to get a clean reading, then sighting from there. You still get those tiny star trails, but at least they're round and not egg-shaped.