I managed to get out with my telescope on a few clear nights this June, to practice my astrophotography. I set up Angela's laptop so that I can record 1:1 resolution videos from my camera, which I can then process using software like PIPP and AutoStakkert! (with some final processing in Photoshop).

I got some OK photos on the first two nights that I was out, but I didn't really spend much time trying to get everything set up perfectly. Then someone at the office asked if he should buy some Celestron 25x100 binoculars so I offered to get together for a socially-distant star party so that he could try out my pair. He was really keen to try them out, and said he had never been stargazing before. So myself and another guy said we would bring our telescopes as well to have a proper stargazing party.

The three of us met at a local spot used by the KW Astronomy Club, and wound up staying up until dawn looking at various things. In total I had my telescope set up for around 5 hours, which is about 4 hours longer than I usually do. The guy that had never been stargazing before was amazed, and said he was now totally hooked on it. I think he is going to start researching telescopes now instead of binoculars.

Since I was there for such a long time, I spent extra effort to try to make sure I was focused as accurately as possible before trying to take pictures. I think it paid off, since these are by far the best photos I have taken through my telescope.

Technical Details: These photos were processed from videos taken with my 5D Mark II + Meade LX90 at 2000mm, f/10 (I didn't write down which ISO or shutter speeds I was using).