This is my real first deep sky photo that is completed without any external help!
Originally, Windy says it is clear all night at Nanhuizui near the coast of Shanghai. My father drove me for two hours to Nanhuizui, only to find Polaris blocked by think clouds and I could not complete polar alignment. So I set up the equipment and wait for my dear god to open their eyes, but the longer I waited the more clouds I found
So we drove for another 1.5 hours to Fengxian. The instant I got out the car, I realized that downtown Shanghai lies to the north of Fengxian, which means Polaris was drown in light pollution. So I gave up polar alignment. I used a technique similar to lucky imaging, take hundreds of 1-second exposures and combine them in the end. In the overwhelming light pollution, I took a gallant move to use LRGB to photo the nebula, resulting in significant white balance issues in the final picture. Dark frames, bias frames, and flat frames are all missing.
Now I feel that "astronomy is an adventure of constant disappointment". Every time before photoing the stars, I check the weather, cloud atlas, and moon phases, determine five or six targets, and set out a detailed schedule. However, problems will always appear in unexpected places. After all the problems were eliminated, only one hour of exposure time remained for the entire night. But every time there is improvement, so I am happy! Also a satisfying experience to spend time with my father overnight.
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