Rant: Star tracker drift ruined 3 hours of astro shots before I found a quick fix

I was out at Cherry Springs last month trying to capture Andromeda, but my star tracker kept drifting after 10 minutes. Turned out I just needed to balance the mount better - I put a counterweight on and it held steady for the whole session. Anyone else struggle with this or have a better trick?

2 comments

2 Comments

maryh961mo agoProlific Poster

Counterweight isn't really the issue 99% of the time though. Most people's drift comes from not polar aligning perfectly or having a crappy tripod that vibrates in the wind. Slapping a weight on just masks a bigger problem. You probably got lucky with stable conditions, not the fix itself. Better off spending money on a stiffer tripod or learning drift alignment properly. That way you aren't relying on a bandaid solution that might fail when you really need it.

hugo2381mo ago

Whoa, hold up, you're acting like this guy just ruined astrophotography forever lol. I mean, yeah, proper polar alignment and a solid tripod are the real deals, but acting like a counterweight is some kind of dangerous crutch is a bit much. Plenty of people get good results just balancing their setup right, even on a wobbly tripod, it's not like it's gonna explode. Honestly feels like you're making a mountain out of a molehill for a hobby that's already hard enough without gatekeeping weights.