Stargazing Expert Astrophotography Tips & Discussions | Share Your Photos!

[Phobos]

Looking for advice?
Willing to share your expertise with other PF members?
Brave enough to share & discuss your own astrophotos?
Then this is the thread for you.
Enjoy!

In all our cosmological discussions, let's not forget to actually go stargazing once in a while!

Thanks to member check for this suggestion!

 

[check]

I figure I'd post this. It's a mosaic I made of the moon one night. Took a bunch of photos (I thought I had covered the whole moon, but as you can see I missed some spots).
In this mosaic the moon is about 80cm across. There’s a 15 cm ruler next to it for a sense of scale. Not huge, but it goes to show you one of the many neat things that you can do if u have a printer, a telescope and a digital camera.

 

[turbo]

Here is a little picture of the Lagoon Nebula. I did the same thing with it as the Orion Nebula picture - imaged a 5x7 print with my Olympus, then unsharp-masked it in Photoshop to bring out fine detail in the nebulosity.

 

[sol2]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0409/catsEye_hst_c1.jpg




Rings in the Haloes of Planetary Nebulae
http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0401056



One has to know, in what context the challenge is being made and answered. Those "rings" to me, look like tree rings?

http://web.mit.edu/8.03/www/walter-ring-sm.jpg

This is a picture of me, by me. Have you ever seen anything like it? Any idea of what causes the colored rings? If you do, send me a note and you may earn some extra course credit. If you want to find out, make sure not to miss my lecture on December 7! \\/\/////@lter Lewin

http://web.mit.edu/8.03/www/

If one is studingthe physics and approach of what is taking place inthe cosmos with such views to its quantum nature, it is hard not to be drawn to these beautiful events. It is even more difficult, to refrain from offering a explanation , if it is offered as a challenge. You just should known what context this is being offered, it was not offered for the general public. But someone did make it so.

So why would anyone not rise to occasion?

 

[turbo]

http://web.mit.edu/8.03/www/

If one is studingthe physics and approach of what is taking place inthe cosmos with such views to its quantum nature, it is hard not to be drawn to these beautiful events. It is even more difficult, to refrain from offering a explanation , if it is offered as a challenge. You just should known what context this is being offered, it was not offered for the general public. But someone did make it so.

So why would anyone not rise to occasion?

You have taken a very nice underexposed picture of your reflection (probably on a shiny icy surface) surrounded by an ice halo. Solar ice halos can be very beautiful in these higher latitudes, and even the fainter lunar halos can be stunning if your eyes are properly adapted to darkness. I don't need the extra credit (unless you could boost my 1972 grade in my initial-[and gut wrenching!] - philosophy course in Meta-ethics), but could you get me a discount on my prescription medications? You're not Canadian by any chance, eh?

 

[Twistedseer]

How about solar Art?

Is this just for astrophotography?


Twistedseer

 

[tony873004]

3 pics from tonight's eclipse
http://orbitsimulator.com/orbiter/CRW_4806.jpg
http://orbitsimulator.com/orbiter/CRW_4814.jpg
http://orbitsimulator.com/orbiter/CRW_4851.jpg

 

[Aether]

Venus Transit June 8, 2004

Here is a picture that my girlfriend, Anne, and I took of the planet Venus as it made a rare transit across the face of the Sun on June 8, 2004.

The other photo is of me on the beach at Assateague Island in Virgina while shooting some video of the transit.

The telescope we used for this was a Meade ETX-70, and a hand-held Sony Cybershot digital camera.

 

[check]

Here is a picture that my girlfriend, Anne, and I took of the planet Venus as it made a rare transit across the face of the Sun on June 8, 2004.

The other photo is of me on the beach at Assateague Island in Virgina while shooting some video of the transit.

The telescope we used for this was a Meade ETX-70, and a hand-held Sony Cybershot digital camera.

Looks good! Much better than the pics of teh transit that I churned out. lol

 

[Aether]

Looks good! Much better than the pics of teh transit that I churned out. lol

Thanks check. I'm glad to hear that you got a chance to see it for yourself!

Here is a link to a page with the original photo which is about 3MB in size:

http://aetherodynamics.com/Transit_of_Venus06-08-2004.htm​

 

[tony873004]

Here's an eclipse picture I toon in January 1992 from San Diego. Astronomy Magazine published it in their Viewer Photos section and paid me $25
http://orbitsimulator.com/orbiter/1024_eclipse92.jpg

 

[turbo]

Here is a really nice webcam image of the Jupiter/moon occultation. Makes me think I should try webcam photography.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1403_1.asp

 

[guevara0001]

hey ...i never thought this board have this important threads!
hey man believe me!
i had a digi cam... how can i have some good astro pix?

 

[russ_watters]

i had a digi cam... how can i have some good astro pix?

You mean a regular point and shoot digital camera? Dunno - I just bought a mount for my Nikon Coolpix 3100 and hopefully in the next few days I'll see what it can do through my scope. Since it doesn't have manual exposures, its probably only good for planets and the moon. If you have a digital SLR, you can take some outstanding high-res pics of galaxies and nebula. Do you have a telescope? Big lens? Binoculars?

 

[zanazzi78]

Sorry I missed this before... What kind of camera/mount did you use for that? I recently bought a nice upper-mid level digital camera with 10x zoom and a big lens (like F2.8 even at 10x zoom) and up to 15s manual exposure. I'm hoping for some wide-field shots like that, but summer weather in PA means I haven't had a clear night in months...

I can’t afford such luxuries as Digital camera.

I used my Canon EOS 50E; It was loaded with a colour 200ISO film and a 28mm – 80mm telefocus lens set to 30mm and stopped at f4. The film was exposed was for 5 min.

The camera was piggybacked on my telescope, a basic Celestron 114EQshort on an equitorial mount.

The photo has been heavily shopped! I took out the colour first and then just played around with the levels until I got some thing that looked good.

I’m going to try the same shot (as soon as the weather clears) with an ISO 400 and attempt a 10 min exposure, as I’ve seen some pics recently on the net of the Summer triangle with some great colours in it.

 

[Turbot]

Another issue, my scope got progressively sloppier over the summer as grease migrated from the gears to the clutches, to the point where no amount of tightening (short of breaking something) would keep the drives solidly locked.. I cleaned it up last night, and it feels a lot better. I can't imagine someone who is afraid of taking it apart being able to use it.

I was afraid that would happen after you posted the pictures of the guts. Those nested nylon gears are a grease-pump, designed to make that goo migrate everywhere except perhaps where it's needed most. I'm afraid that on really cold nights, the grease will firm up, and those little nylon gears on their skinny shafts will deflect and cause guiding errors as globs of the grease feed into tight places. It's good that you have the mechanical aptitude to tinker with that rascal. If the gearbox was properly isolated from all electrical parts, I would recommend cleaning out the grease with carb-cleaner (available at auto-parts stores) and lubricating with powdered graphite instead, so the nylon gears would last longer, but conductive lubricants are not an option when electronics are in the neighborhood. Maybe you could lubricate with a high-quality oil like Break-Free (available at all good gun shops). It's got good film strength and doesn't evaporate and leave gummy residues like some lubricating oils. Another good choice would be Royal Purple synthetic lubricant or perhaps even some Mobile 1 - that stuff stays fluid at 30 below and has better film-strength than any petroleum-based lubricant that I have tested.

 

[turbo]

By all means, join the Seattle Astronomical Society. They have a number of members who have volunteered to help people learn about aspects of astronomy:

http://www.seattleastro.org/resources.html

They also have a "library" of telescopes that can be "checked out" for up to a month at a time by members. Taking advantage of this service might help you figure out what kind of telescope might be right for you, and save you from making a potentially expensive mistake.

http://www.seattleastro.org/telescopelibrary.html

 

[RedScout]

What is the most affordable process to take digital pictures with a telescope and also get decent quality pictures? I was wanting a digital telescope for christmas but it is out of my price range.

 

[Amergin_West]

Wow..cool stuff guys. I'm new to this. :) anyone want to give me some starter tips, maybe tell me what I should have to start?

 

[russ_watters]

Well...do you have any equipment now? What is your experience level, pricerange, etc?

 

[Labguy]

Not bad for a Beginner

Yo, Guys;
Maybe just lucky for a day, but look at the top left of:
http://www.space.com/amazingimages/?page=best&cat=s&term=all
under Space.com site.
If you vote, please don't give me a "1" on that photo...
It was harder to get than you might think..

 

[russ_watters]

It was a terrible winter for astronomy here - warm and humid. We went weeks on end without clear skies when usually we go weeks with clear skies almost every night. I only got out two or three times.

Anyway, attached is a half-decent photo of the moon occulting the Pleaides on April 1. Taken with a regular 10x zoom digital camera on a tripod, 1s exposure. Maybe I'll try to brighten the tree branches - they frame the picture pretty nicely (image is cropped a little close to see much of it, though).

Sometime, I need to take a series to show the moon's motion through the backdrop of stars. Most people don't realize just how fast the moon moves - it passed entirely through the constellation/cluster in the 3 hours it was up. But it was Saturday night and I had things to do...

 

[Vincent Vega]

I've been wanting to splurge on a CCD camera cooled by a OCZ Cryo-Z with a nice scope. I saw your site Russ. Do you have a site too Labguy? What is your handle over there, astroden?

 

[tony873004]

I had a nice view of the clouds occulting the Moon occulting the Pleadies. I wanted to see this one. So, thanks Russ. That's as good as it gets for me.

 

[Knavish]

Hi again,

I ended up getting the StarBlast: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000XMT38/?tag=pfamazon01-20. I reasoned that even if I do get a bigger scope someday, I'll be able to keep this one for its portability.

 

[russ_watters]

Wow, that's a great pic - an impossible pic. It must be a composite with the night sky laid on top of a photo taken at dusk. They may have even had to shade the camera from the town lights to get the long exposure of the sky.

 

[Astronuc]

What one can do with a solar filter -

http://www.astrophoto.fr/iss_atlantis_transit.html (talk about timing!)

and more -

http://www.astrophoto.fr/index.html

 

[russ_watters]

Neat - most photos of satellites suffer due to poor lighting of the spacecraft - silouetting it ensures you get a good view of the shape.

 

[sas3]

Here is a picture of comet Hyatake that I took from my back yard in Tichigan Lake Wisconsin. I think it was taken with a 80mm and about 45 seconds. 35mm SLR AS400 Film if I remember corectly.
Hope you all enjoy it.


http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9688/comtc5.png

 

[russ_watters]

Very nice pic.

 

[zanazzi78]

March 3rd lunar eclipse

 

[Kurdt]

Here is one of my shots of the Lunar eclipse. I posted it in the general discussion forums but obviously it belongs here aswell.

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/2113/lunareclipse030307hb7.jpg

 

[russ_watters]

Nice. It was hazy and I was out to dinner. Though I could see it through the clouds when I was finished, I didn't try to take any pictures of it.

 

[bigzul]

New Saturn from last Friday attached. Only marginally better quality, but it is twice the magnification (Barlow lens). That's about the magnification limit (400x or so) and light gathering limit of my scope with my quickcam. Sky's could be better though (over Xmas, I'll drive up to the Poconos...). The image was dim enough its starting to look grainy. I'm working on a long-exposure mod for the quickcam. You can't see anything at all deep-sky with it at 1/5 second exposures.

HEY NEED HELP

i am and first timer in all this but i have purchased a konus 70 telescope it has a focal lengh of 900mm aperture of 70mm

can somebody tell me how i view planets with this what lenses do i use to give me a good view of the planet like saturn and Jupiter help please

 

[russ_watters]

Saturn is up right now, Jupiter is not (until early morning). Start with your largest eyepiece (I'd guess they gave you a 15mm or so), then put a barlow lens on it after you get the planet centered.

 

[MadScientist 1000]

Saturn is up right now, Jupiter is not (until early morning). Start with your largest eyepiece (I'd guess they gave you a 15mm or so), then put a barlow lens on it after you get the planet centered.

What if you just have 1 and half of an eye? Any suggestions there?

 

[bigzul]

Saturn is up right now, Jupiter is not (until early morning). Start with your largest eyepiece (I'd guess they gave you a 15mm or so), then put a barlow lens on it after you get the planet centered.

hey i didnt gt a barlow with mine but how much magnification is required to see Jupiter like in ur pics a 900mm focal divided my a 10mm eye peiece shoudl give me 100* mag

 

[bigzul]

Here is one of my shots of the Lunar eclipse. I posted it in the general discussion forums but obviously it belongs here aswell.

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/2113/lunareclipse030307hb7.jpg

hey what telescope did you use

 

[Kurdt]

I didn't use a telescope. I used a 300mm lens on my camera.

 

[sas3]

There are some pictures of lightning that I took the other night.
In my Blog
They are not astro photos but I figured you would like to see them anyway.

 

[Digz]

Hello

Hi Guys, I am new here and there appears to be some really great stuff going on.

Ive been into astronomy for a few years and I am recently beginning to take it more seriously. I've got a Celestron 675 Telescope and I am looking to upgrade it soon.

Im also an amateur photographer and want to extend my skills into the world of astrophotography and this looks like a great place to start.

So to start I thought I would attach a couple of photos. One from the recent lunar ecplise and one from my second attempt at astrophotography. The first is a series of 4 images of the various stages of the eclipse. The second is a 27 image stack looking towards Orion.

 

[russ_watters]

Very nice. I like the wide-angle shots, but don't have the equipment for that right now.

 

[russ_watters]

I've made a lot of recent updates to my website. Here's something that took me forever to take. It is 8.5 hours of exposure (at f 7.5), taken over about two weeks. I think, Astronuc, that you are right about my skies being a severe limiting factor. At 8.5 hours, even at f7.5, I should have a whole lot better s/n ratio. Still, not too bad...

 

[russ_watters]

This one's better. It doesn't have the dim outer arms of a spiral galaxy, so it doesn't need quite so much s/n ratio.

 

[Burnsys]

I took this one with a borrowed Galileo Reflector, D:114 F:7.9 , 20mm eyepiece
I just placed a Sony DSC H5 on the eyepiece.

I am going to an astronomy club and i am considering to build a 150mm reflector to use for astrophotography.
I was also looking for an ecuatorial mount, the EQ4, i eard it can be motorized, i can get one for $300 without motors, what do you recomend??

 

[neutrino]

Here's some beginner astrophotography: Crux and Alpha and Beta Centauri. This is the first time I have actually "processed" an image (followed a set of cookbook instructions to remove LP, online). Didn't bother to remove the noise. I think the unprocessed one shows more stars.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1098/525227250_27cdce84c2_b.jpg

 

[Brinx]

I've made a lot of recent updates to my website. Here's something that took me forever to take. It is 8.5 hours of exposure (at f 7.5), taken over about two weeks. I think, Astronuc, that you are right about my skies being a severe limiting factor. At 8.5 hours, even at f7.5, I should have a whole lot better s/n ratio. Still, not too bad...

It's still a nice pic, indeed. I have one question regarding combining the separate exposures: did you have to re-align them, or were they all in the correct orientation already (requiring just a translation to match up)? I'm asking this in relation to fixing relative rotations between the different exposures: rotating them to mach orientations would inevitably mean that you lose some detail.

 

[lanman]

I have a Celestron C4.5 reflector telescope, and a Minolta XR-5 (I think) camera. I got the parts to connect the two, but found that I couldn't get it to focus. To make the connection, first the lens assembly must be removed from the camera. How can it be focused once it's on the telescope?

 

[russ_watters]

Some Newtonians don't have enough in-focus travel to focus some cameras. You can try modifying the focuser assembly (ie, getting a shorter one) or using a focal reducer or barlow to alter the focal length.

 

[sas3]

Has anyone here tried the new version of Google Earth with Google Sky, just wondering what you though of it.
One very interesting thing about it is you can create and share your own imagery.