Smoky nights

 There are currently a number of large wildfires burning in Colorado.  The smoke density here in Creede varies from day to day depending on wind direction.  Thursday night was clear but with some light smoke in the air.  Outside lights blazing on some neighborhood cabins presented a challenge because of the scattered light in the smoky air.  The views toward the northeast and overhead were the best options for astrophotography.  

In spite of the challenging conditions, this was an opportunity to test an old equatorial mount (purchased in 2019) as a star tracker for wide-field photography.  The mount is identical (I believe) to an Orion EQ-1 mount.  It came as part of a package sold by Celestron as the Powerseeker 60EQ.  The package included the mount and a 60mm f/15 optical tube and accessories.  I had been considering buying the mount separately from Orion for a retail price somewhere above $100 (I don't recall the exact amount).  However, the Celestron package from Amazon was only $73!  So I got the same mount PLUS a telescope for $30-40 cheaper than the mount by itself.  Orion is now defunct.  The Powerseeker 60EQ package is still listed on the Celestron web site, but I can't see it offered for sale anywhere.

The camera for these tests was an OM-5ii + Panasonic Leica 15mm f/1.7 lens.  The mount was driven by a motor that had been purchased many years earlier for use with an Orion mini-EQ tabletop mount.

The sky brightness was measured as 21.60 (pointing away from the neighbor's lights), and the transparency was good in spite of the smoke.  I could easily see 7+ stars in the Little Dipper. 

The Summer Triangle: Deneb, Vega, Altair

 

Arcturus (bottom) and Corona Borealis (above center)

 Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere and the fourth brightest star overall.  The constellation Corona Borealis is the location of the "Blaze Star", a recurrent nova that is expected to erupt sometime soon, based on previous cycles.  When it does it will probably be similar in brightness to Alphecca, the current brightest star in Corona Borealis.  The cropped image below shows the location of the nova (T Coronae Borealis or T CrB), which is currently a dim magnitude 10, and Alphecca.

 

T CrB is circled.  Arcturus is at the bottom of the frame.

The mount and camera