Got told my star trails looked like spaghetti and it stung

Posted a 30 minute exposure of Orion last month, really proud of it. A guy in the comments said my polar alignment was off and the stars weren't sharp points, just messy lines. He was right, I'd just eyeballed it. So I spent last weekend actually learning to use the polar scope on my Sky-Watcher mount properly. It took three tries to get it dialed in, but my test shots are way cleaner now. Anyone have a good method for checking alignment in the field without a computer?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameronp479d ago

Try drift aligning with a camera live view, it's a pain but works.

king.val8d ago

Drift aligning is just busy work, @cameronp47.

logan5619d ago

Yeah, that "spaghetti" comment would have wrecked me for a week. Been there. My first tracked shot looked less like stars and more like a toddler's scribble. Good on you for actually learning the polar scope, that's the real fix. What @cameronp47 said about drift aligning is solid, it's just the most tedious way to get perfect. I use an app on my phone now to get close before I even look through the polar scope, which saves a ton of time in the field. It's all about finding what stops your stars from looking like a messy plate of pasta.