A USB tethered, 14-bit Canon EOS 4000D DSLR was placed at the prime focus of a 102mm, f/4.5, ED refractor mounted on a HEQ5 Synscan GOTO Mount.
The scope and mount
The camera was controlled by AstroDMx Capture for Windows. 150s exposures were captured of Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) and a stack (made in Deep Sky Stacker) of 3 exposures was used to show the un-trailed comet.
Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for Windows capturing data on Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)
The resulting image was post processed in the Gimp 2.10 and Neat Image
Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)
Thirty 60s exposures were captured of M81/M82 with matching dark-frames. The images were stacked in Deep Sky Stacker, and post-processed in the Gimp 2.10.
Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for Windows capturing data on M81 and M82
M81 and M82
USB DSLR tethering enables the DSLR camera to be controlled as a regular astronomy camera, with the images being save to disk rather than to the camera SD card. It is a far more convenient and controlled way of gathering data than using a manual capturing system such as IR controller.
