Finally caught the Horsehead Nebula after 3 cloudy weekends in a row

I've been trying to get a decent shot of this thing since September. Every time I set up my gear, the clouds would roll in within 20 minutes. Last Thursday I got a clear sky from 2am to 4am and it finally worked. I used my DSLR on an old tracker I bought used for $150. The image has some color noise but I can actually see the dark dust shape. Has anyone else had a target that just refused to cooperate for months?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jessica22d ago

At least Adam's neighbor floodlight doesn't track the sky while it ruins shots.

adamk9521d ago

Yeah but @the_jessica is right though my neighbor's floodlight stays on a timer. Goes off at 10pm sharp every night like clockwork. At least it's consistent. I spent three months fighting with M42 last winter. Clear skies for like 15 minutes then poof. Clouds again. I had to stack like 60 subs just to get anything. The hobby is a grind no doubt.

adamthompson22d ago

Oh man, I feel this so hard. I spent like four months last year trying to get a half-decent shot of the Andromeda Galaxy. Every time I thought I had a clear night, I'd get set up and then my neighbor would turn on their stupid backyard floodlight at 11pm. Like, thanks for ruining my 30-second exposure, Karen. I finally got something usable in January, but it's still too noisy to even post anywhere. At least you got the dark shape visible, that's more than I got on my first few tries with the Horsehead. I swear this hobby is 90% bad luck and 10% actually getting a picture.