Was at a huge star party the week before July 4th, with 250 other amateur astronomers. I was using a new drive mount (CGEM) and my 2001 Celestron 8 Deluxe scope.

Polar alignment is critical for good astrophotography, and with some new alignment cameras (as a bit of help from a friend) I got perfect alignment.

This photo of the Eagle Nebula (and you can see the Eagle pattern in the clouds) is a long exposure, at ISO 6400. All the others were 60 images, each at 60 seconds, and an ISO of 800. The lower ISO and shorter exposure will be helpful to create an even clearer and sharper image in the near future.

But, this came out so nice, I decided to share this image.

All the photography I did was between 9:45pm and 3 am (yes... 3 am).