After getting my AM5 tracking mount I was pretty much looking forward to my first night of real astrophotography. I had all my tools installed on laptop, NINA for running the session, PHD2 for auto guiding, I was all set.

I tried to image the California Nebula, what I got clearly wasn’t. However, using astrometry.net I was able to plate solve the image and establish I was several degrees off. So better luck next time! However, it was still a great experience to get started. I was able to get the cameras connected, scope focus, polar aligned. Now I’m ready and waiting for clear skies for my next session!

Here’s a short video of my experience over 3 nights getting everything working and our first images.