Image of M42 & M43 from Chile

[theskyhound]

I've had trouble getting my reservations on the iTelescopes & using ST4i to set up a Plan takes me a while. I've had folks grab a scope while I was preparing a Plan before & didn't want to miss this opportunity.

What I do is make the reservation first, then add the plan later. But you can't do that, you say? You used to be able to do that without attaching a plan. In fact, you used to be able to make a reservation and then show up and run things more or less manually. Anyhow, the trick is to always have a plan available for that scope. Any plan. I attach that one temporarily, and then when I have a new one ready I open the reservation and attach the final one.

Thanks for your explanation. I know how one can be in a hurry. Sometimes opening the Exposure Calculator can give you quick answers. My guess is that longer exposure may have had a better result. That's the way it usually goes under dark skies. But I haven't used T71 much.