I dismissed guiding errors as minor until a star trail ruined my Orion shot

I used to ignore small guiding corrections during my astrophotography sessions. After a four-hour exposure where drift turned stars into streaks, I've become meticulous with calibration. What's your tolerance for tracking inaccuracy before you reshoot?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_green525h ago

My buddy lost his Andromeda shot to a mount hiccup, now he recalibrates if stars even breathe wrong.

tara_robinson7216h ago

Hearing about your star trail ruining the Orion shot hits home. I wasted a whole night on the Pleiades before I started halting exposures at even a pixel of drift.

michael_robinson366h ago

Used to shrug off guiding errors, but now I stop everything at the first sign of drift.