NGC7331 Galaxy in Pegasus

On Tuesday I had a major breakthrough with my astro-imaging. For years I have been struggling getting my guiding sorted out, I began to give UP as I wasn't really getting the results which I had hoped for, when I bought my Losmandy G11.

Then two weeks ago I decided that I would try again, only this time use my CCD, an Atik 16ic and drift align my already reasonably aligned mount. This I did, and I managed to take a series of one minute test exposures of NGC7331 in Pegasus. Everything was looking very good.

On Sunday I decided to dig out and restore, my fifteen years old 60mm finder scope, that has been modified and now has a rack and pinion focuser, to use as a guide scope.

The biggest advantage in using this scope is it's small light weight design, and whopping field of view, which will make finding guide stars easier.

On Tuesday during a spell of very sunny weather, I came home to a clear sky and started to get everything ready.
Shortly after sunset, I was happily slewing and synchronizing on Beta and then Epsilon Pegasi, then onto NGC7331. This galaxy was visible near the centre of the CCD chip, and it was only a matter of seconds before I had it in the middle.

The next test was the guide scope, and would it focus with my QHY5 guide camera!

I attached the camera and powered up the guiding software that I use, PHD.

I didn't have to worry, because I was able to focus on a faint guide star in the area, so I begin my calibration run to get the guiding ready.

I am happy to say that I can auto guide, and at the moment I can take guided exposures of 3 minutes with know trailing.

To prove this, here is an image of NGC7331 with  a cluster of m+14 background galaxies.

The exposure length is 1hr 45min guided with PHD and QHY5 and short focal-length 60mm guide scope, and imaged through my Orion Optics SPX 200-800 F4 with an Atik 16ic and IR block filter.