Expert Astrophotography Tips & Discussions | Share Your Photos!

In summary, this thread is for those who are interested in astrophotography. It provides a forum for members to share their expert knowledge with other PF members. It also provides a space for members to share pictures of their astrophotography.
  • #246
Hi here is my rendition of Orion, Jupiter, and part of Taurus imaged Sept 23/2012 from approx 49n 97w. 0900UTC. I used a Canon P and S G-12 with CHDK hacked onto flashcard. I was able to bump my ISO up to 10,000 and had my lens at 6mm. f4.0, approx 35 secs.
(there is also a link to view it in larger format)

Orion 10 k iso 2.JPG
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49843779@N08/8301509367/
 
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  • #247


Nice Spark!
 
  • #248


thanks drak!
 
  • #249


NGC 3372, The Carina Nebula.
Shot in narrowband. Red-Sulfur II, Green-Hydrogen Alpha, Blue-Oxygen III

9x300s - HA
10x300s - OIII
14x300s - SII

Edit: Didn't realize it would be so big in the post. Forgive me as I have no idea how to make a small thumbnail and the file is too large to upload. (Had to shrink it down 50% just to upload it to imageshack)

http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/3316/ngc3372hubblepalette6re.jpg [Broken]
 
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  • #250


Nice image Drak!... Rich color, lots of detail.

Dave
 
  • #251


That's pretty awesome.
 
  • #252


russ_watters said:
That's pretty awesome.

I second that !

well done drakkith !

Dave
 
  • #253


Wow.
 
  • #254


Thanks guys! BTW this nebula is home to Eta Carinae, an extremely luminous blue supergiant, with a mass of at least 100 solar masses and shining with at least 1 million times more luminosity than the Sun.
It is only one of a handful of stars of this size known to exist in the Milky Way. A little history of the star:

When Eta Carinae was first catalogued in 1677 by Edmond Halley, it was of the 4th magnitude, but by 1730, observers noticed it had brightened considerably and was, at that point, one of the brightest stars in Carina. In the middle of the 18th century, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille mapped and gave the stars of Argo Navis Bayer designations. He assigned the then second-magnitude star the Greek letter Eta.[9]

Subsequently Eta Carinae dimmed, and by 1782 it appeared to have reverted to its former magnitude. In 1820, it was observed to be growing in brightness again. By 1827, it had brightened more than tenfold and reached its greatest apparent brightness in April 1843. With a magnitude of −0.8, it was the second brightest star in the night-time sky (after Sirius at 8.6 light years away), despite its enormous distance. (To put the relationship in perspective, the relative brightness would be like comparing a candle (representing Sirius) at 14.5 meters (48 feet) to another light source (Eta Carinae) about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) away, which would appear almost as bright as the candle.)

That's one heck of a bright star! As of April 2012 it's around magnitude 4.6, much dimmer.
 
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  • #255


That is spectacular! Nice work.

Damo
 
  • #256


Finally a nice clear night to try out my new XT8.

skecQkQ.jpg


fTxP2RS.jpg


K5IONjb.jpg


I took these with my Canon EOS 20D by just holding it up to the eyepiece. I didn't have the exposure set very well though, Jupiter was much too dim. In the view it was extremely bright and I could see 6+ moons quite clearly.
 
  • #257


hey QuantumPion

well done for your first efforts :)
You will always find imaging the moon when it is full or near full to be difficult
The details always get washed out
The only time I photo the full moon is during eclipses :)

wait for try again during the earlier phases like first quarter and you will be amased at the detail in the craters and mountains you can get along the day/night terminator line

pretty good on Jupiter too, some of the bands are easily visible :)

Dave
 
  • #258


hey Drakkith, i see you used narrowband filters, but what camera and telescope did you use for the Carina Nebula shot?

TIA,
Eric
 
  • #259
Madness!

Mv5I16a.jpg


p.s. I do have on order a T-adapter for my camera so I can bypass the camera lens and directly attach the EP to it. Not sure which method is better though. Just waiting for some clear weather now!

p.p.s. I think I'm going to need a counterweight for this thing. :eek:
 
  • #260
My frist Astropic

Early this year I took my first photographs of the moon I did it with a friend's telescope and my iPad
 

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  • #261
Jokmal said:
Early this year I took my first photographs of the moon I did it with a friend's telescope and my iPad

very nice considering the equipment you had to work with :smile:
 
  • #262
M101 with new 6" imaging newt

Heres my Messier 101 with my new Astro-tech imaging newt (6")and Canon 550, shot thru a laptop with BYEOS. April 13/2013.
 

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  • #263
spark802 said:
Heres my Messier 101 with my new Astro-tech imaging newt (6")and Canon 550, shot thru a laptop with BYEOS. April 13/2013.

Not bad. All you need is more exposure time. Take more subs!
 
  • #264
Drakkith said:
Not bad. All you need is more exposure time. Take more subs!

Hey Drak...yes i went through the stacking process with DSS and saved as fits per advice from an AP friend. All i could get was grey scale after stacking, so i may stack my 15 subs again and save as tifs...


Dave
 
  • #265
After stacking DSS automatically applies a contrast curve but you need to manually increase the color saturation before saving the image if you want more than just a tiny amount of color.
 
  • #266
Ngc 7000

Here's my rendition of ngc 7000, I left the exif data in if you want to look.
 

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  • #267
spark802 said:
Here's my rendition of ngc 7000, I left the exif data in if you want to look.

nice one :)
Had to think for a moment about what object I was looking at then remembered that NGC 7000 is the North American Nebula, in you photo lying on its side ;)
Maybe there's been a huge tectonic shift haha

Dave
 
  • #268
What was that?

I was out trying to catch some shooting stars and seen a flash 2 times once while the camera was resetting and then caught the second flash with the camera, was it an Iridium flare?

8712080863_dc92607153_b.jpg

Look to the left and down from the last 2▼ stars in the dippers bowl.
8712082347_9997df0163_b.jpg
 
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  • #269
Drakkith said:
NGC 3372, The Carina Nebula.
Shot in narrowband. Red-Sulfur II, Green-Hydrogen Alpha, Blue-Oxygen III

9x300s - HA
10x300s - OIII
14x300s - SII

Edit: Didn't realize it would be so big in the post. Forgive me as I have no idea how to make a small thumbnail and the file is too large to upload. (Had to shrink it down 50% just to upload it to imageshack)

[Broken]

Why would you even apologize? I just made that my background picture for my laptop. Thanks.
 
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  • #270
sas3 said:
I was out trying to catch some shooting stars and seen a flash 2 times once while the camera was resetting and then caught the second flash with the camera, was it an Iridium flare?

The Iridium Flares I have seen generally tend to be short bright streaks rather than the faint pinpoint you have caught there.
Maybe it was a rotating satellite that you caught its bright side reflecting the sun ?


Dave
 
  • #271
davenn said:
The Iridium Flares I have seen generally tend to be short bright streaks rather than the faint pinpoint you have caught there.
Maybe it was a rotating satellite that you caught its bright side reflecting the sun ?Dave
I do not know what is was, it did not move, the flashes were in the same position both times, very strange...
Both pictures were 30 second exposures, don't know if there are any stationary satellites in that area.
 
  • #272
Iridium flares look like that:

iridiumflare00.jpg
 
  • #273
Borek said:
Iridium flares look like that:

yup exactly, often difficult to tell the difference to a meteor


Dave
 
  • #274
Unless it is a bright one (this one was "only" magnitude -7.7) when it looks more like this:
 

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  • #275
What I caught did not move, any ideas of what it was?
 
  • #276
Could be anything slow moving, a blimp, helicopter, high orbit satellite (depending on where you live even a geosynchronous satellite), etc.

If you know the date, time and location you can do a search here. Limit the search to say 10 degrees around RA 9h 32m, Dec +63deg40min and increase the magnitude cut-off as far as it will let you.
 
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  • #277
glappkaeft said:
Could be anything slow moving, a blimp, helicopter, high orbit satellite (depending on where you live even a geosynchronous satellite), etc.

If you know the date, time and location you can do a search here. Limit the search to say 10 degrees around RA 9h 32m, Dec +63deg40min and increase the magnitude cut-off as far as it will let you.

Thanks, I think it was the Chandra X-Ray Observatory that I seen.
 
  • #278
davenn said:
nice one :)
Had to think for a moment about what object I was looking at then remembered that NGC 7000 is the North American Nebula, in you photo lying on its side ;)
Maybe there's been a huge tectonic shift haha

Dave

Yes I am really happy I got it...my power supply to my laptop and mount was starting to drop so I got right at the end of the imaging session.
 
  • #279
There was an Annular Solar eclipse path across part of Australia this morning ( Oz time)
I didnt travel for this one... I knew this one was coming up but kinda snuck up on me didnt realize it was going to be today till I heard a news item on the radio.

Fortunately I always carry my camera in the car ... tho I didnt have my big telephoto lens and I had to hurriedly make a solar filter out of one of those silver mylar survival blankets.

From my home area of Sydney City, SE coast of Australia, there was a reasonable chunk bitten out of the sun much like the Apple logo ;) of a partial eclipse.
Started at the upper left side of the sun and went anticlockwise around to the lower right of the sun where the moon finally left the solar disc.

I will post some pics when I get home tonite

Dave
 
  • #280
As promised , a couple of pix :)

Pentax, K5, 55mm f/l, F10, 100 ISO, 2 layers of silver mylar across the front of the lens
The pix were ~ 20 - 30 minutes apart

attachment.php?attachmentid=58624&stc=1&d=1368186126.jpg



attachment.php?attachmentid=58625&stc=1&d=1368186126.jpg


now had i traveled to Queensland state, ~ 1400km to the nth of me I would have seen the sun looking like this...

attachment.php?attachmentid=58626&stc=1&d=1368186126.jpg


This is a pic of an annular eclipse I took in Jan, 1991 from the city of Blenheim, at the top end of the South Island of New Zealand

cheers
Dave
 

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<h2>1. What is astrophotography?</h2><p>Astrophotography is the art and science of capturing images of objects in the night sky, such as stars, planets, galaxies, and nebulae. It involves using specialized equipment and techniques to capture long-exposure images of these celestial objects.</p><h2>2. What equipment do I need for astrophotography?</h2><p>To get started with astrophotography, you will need a camera with manual settings, a tripod, and a lens with a wide aperture. Additionally, you may want to invest in a telescope, a tracking mount, and various filters to enhance your images.</p><h2>3. How do I find dark sky locations for astrophotography?</h2><p>The best locations for astrophotography are areas with minimal light pollution, such as national parks, rural areas, and high elevations. You can also use light pollution maps to find dark sky locations near you.</p><h2>4. What are some tips for capturing clear and sharp astrophotography images?</h2><p>To capture clear and sharp astrophotography images, it is essential to use a sturdy tripod, a remote shutter release, and a low ISO setting. Additionally, taking multiple exposures and stacking them together can help reduce noise and improve image quality.</p><h2>5. How can I share my astrophotography images with others?</h2><p>You can share your astrophotography images on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, or on online forums and communities dedicated to astrophotography. You can also participate in astrophotography contests and exhibitions to showcase your work.</p>

1. What is astrophotography?

Astrophotography is the art and science of capturing images of objects in the night sky, such as stars, planets, galaxies, and nebulae. It involves using specialized equipment and techniques to capture long-exposure images of these celestial objects.

2. What equipment do I need for astrophotography?

To get started with astrophotography, you will need a camera with manual settings, a tripod, and a lens with a wide aperture. Additionally, you may want to invest in a telescope, a tracking mount, and various filters to enhance your images.

3. How do I find dark sky locations for astrophotography?

The best locations for astrophotography are areas with minimal light pollution, such as national parks, rural areas, and high elevations. You can also use light pollution maps to find dark sky locations near you.

4. What are some tips for capturing clear and sharp astrophotography images?

To capture clear and sharp astrophotography images, it is essential to use a sturdy tripod, a remote shutter release, and a low ISO setting. Additionally, taking multiple exposures and stacking them together can help reduce noise and improve image quality.

5. How can I share my astrophotography images with others?

You can share your astrophotography images on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, or on online forums and communities dedicated to astrophotography. You can also participate in astrophotography contests and exhibitions to showcase your work.

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