M33 -- Triangulum Galaxy & the Sun
10/29/2022 - Target -- M33 -- The Triangulum Galaxy. Clear skies, no moon, no wind -- excellent night for observations. Indi Allsky Charts for 20:30-24:31 on 10/29-10/30. Started setting up before sundown. Configured the LX10 with the Meade 0.63x focal reducer and inserted the Astronomik CLS filter in the Canon T3I. Initial polar alignment error (dead reckoning) 327'. Ended up ~-4.5'. Ultimately ~94x3 minute frames were collected. On 10/30, placed white tissue paper over the OTA with it pointed to zenith, placed the Canon T3I to aperture priority & measured correct exposure. Dialed this into manual mode and collected 25 flat frames for use in calibration. Later in the afternoon, collected a range of photos of the sun with solar film in place. Sadly, didn't notice at the time the opportunity to use several sun spots to update focusing (set the previous night in cold conditions). A single 180s frame with some background suppression processing and star color calibrat