Thank you @Stargazer123 !!!
Happy new-year everyone 
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Can anyone pls help me learn more about astrophotography ? I am interested to do so but i am really confused of these terminologies like dark frames, bias and etc. Also i completely dont know anything on these filters used for photography. Pls anyone help (not urgent but just for knowledge).
Hi CAC members, This is my first post to this group. Not sure if this is the appropriate topic. I will be visiting Chennai with my family between July 7- Aug 7. We are thinking about bringing our astrophotography equipment, so that we can photograph southern hemisphere objects that aren’t visible from where we are located. We would love to meet up with other group members while we are there, if possible.
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Will be looking forward to meeting you in one of our events!
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Not sure “Southern Hemisphere” objects are visible from Chennai. 
Can an expert clarify?
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Hi @astroparent, I am located at latitude 37° N, so objects in the southern celestial hemisphere which are at declination lower than -53° never rise above my horizon. On the other hand, Chennai is at latitude 13° N, and so objects with declination down to -77° would theoretically rise above the horizon. In practice, visibility below altitude of 20° is poor. So I think the main difference will be that the objects between declination -35° to -60° are practically invisible from here but should be visible from Chennai because they will be 24° higher in the sky.
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Any info regarding the star party ?
Hey @Thiyagarajan , we are thinking of one this month. I personally wanted to go to a location other than Kavalur which we’ve been to last 2 times. So any suggestions are welcome!
It might be a bit costly and logistically challenging to organise this. However, I guess, it might be just one of the best experiences we could hope for. India’s first Dark Sky Reserve to come up in Ladakh soon | India News,The Indian Express. If you guys are keen on this and plan for this, I’ll surely fly down there.
Intriguingly, came across this video from the sky at night magazine here in UK.
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@Gnana I think some of our members have been to Handle before, in the pre-covid times.
Lets see if we can combine Hanle, Ladakh with the new Devasthal observatory in Uttarakhand. That’ll make for an interesting trip.
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I’m planning to travel to Chennai / Coimbatore from July 9 - Aug 9. I was planning to haul my astrophotography equipment along, but it seems like the forecast is cloudy for the next several weeks with no breaks. I am wondering now if there is any point in lugging all that equipment. What is the probability of clear nights in the next month?
Hi ! , does anyone have or use their equatorial platform or mounts to make their dobsonain telescope (ota) automatic (goto) ?
Hello @Thiyagarajan, I do not personally use an eq platform, but a friend of mine does. Howerver, it is not Goto in true sense. All it provides is tracking for about an hour or so after which you would have to reset you platform & get the object again in view. However, if you are using it for your photography (I have seen the pics you have taken, they are very good), then you can do a decent 50+ mins of tracking with it. Never come across anyone trying their Dob on a EQ mount. But, guess, that could be because, of the need for balancing. If you consider most of the newtonians on an EQ mount are smaller and lighter than your XT8 OTA.
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Thanks @Gnana ! So is your friend using a EQ base or a EQ mount ? If base , can you pls enquire him about the base regarding its making and price details ? Because, as of now i am not doing any DSO photography , but just planetary . So for that, i am actually really struggling to handle a 12kg ota on one hand and operating a laptop on other.
Hello @Thiyagarajan, his is an EQ platform, I guess you are referring to it as EQ base. He bought his from firstlinghtoptics here in UK at about £280. I don’t want to be a spoil sport but, am not sure if you would get any ready made one for your latitude. You may have to get the designs (there are many sites from where you can get them) and calibrate the measurments to your latitude and build one yourself I guess. But, please let us know if you find a ready made one somewhere or if you end up making one yourself. I’m sure, everyone here would be keen to know.
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