Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos

[bruha]

Pardon Hyperion 8 mm

 

[DennisN]

Stars, the Moon and Northern Lights... and beautiful landscapes.

Iceland under Full Moon

 

[davenn]

Stars, the Moon and Northern Lights... and beautiful landscapes.

Stunning huh !
Iceland is still on my bucket list, just so expensive to get there from my part of the world

 

[bruha]

Hi, it is really amazing ! and very impressive, fot me it is as well very expensive to get there :)

 

[Andy Resnick]

Andromeda and the Pleiades are in good viewing positions for me this time of year:

400/4 lens, about 3 hours @ ISO 1250. Stopping down the lens gives the brightest stars a 'starburst effect' and also flattens the overall field enough so I don't need to correct. A nice visual feature is the contrasting coloration of the central pair of stars... which is actually a group of several (1:1 crop):

Here's Andromeda, looking like a Hellmouth:

400/2.8, 6h @ ISO 1000. The noise reduction step brings out the dust pattern, but some of the detail may be processing artifacts - here's a 1:1 crop:

Orion should be in a good position in a month or so... stay tuned!

 

[Andy Resnick]

I realized I hadn't posted my recent ISS flyover timelapses; one was on 9/19, the other on 10/8: each frame was taken with my 800/5.6 at 1/2000 s, ISO 320 (IIRC). Both times I had 'equipment problems' partway through, so I didn't get the full pass:

 

[DennisN]

I realized I hadn't posted my recent ISS flyover timelapses

That's definitely an IFO. Identified Flying Object.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Constellation Orion is in a good position (for me) this time of year, and it contains a lot of spectacular nebulas to image. I accidentally 'discovered' NGC1999 when I was examining an image of M42, and last night I got a chance to view and image it at 800mm. This is a 1:1 crop [800/5.6, 37m @ ISO 1600]:

The dark patch is not dust, it's a hole through the nebula. If you look carefully, I think was able to partially extract one of the two nearby Herbig-Haro objects, probably HH2, at about the 5 o'clock position in the lower half of the image. I'd probably need at least 4h of integration time to really pull out both HH1 and HH2

 

[Tom.G]

Here it is with the exposure stretched 5x, i.e. brightness 0 to 51 is now 0 to 255.
Since the original was .JPG format, a lot of the compression artifacts are showing.

 

[bruha]

Hello,
very impresive ! Last night I did my first attempt of Orion Nebula image M42 so I attach it (done just with sony compact putted on Hyperion eyepiece 8 mm.
Lot of succes !

 

[Andy Resnick]

Here it is with the exposure stretched 5x, i.e. brightness 0 to 51 is now 0 to 255.
Since the original was .JPG format, a lot of the compression artifacts are showing.

View attachment 255079

In the future, if you choose to manipulate one of my posted images, please ensure that you explicitly mention ('properly cite') the original source, thanks.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Another clear night; even though seeing was bad and the waxing gibbous moon was about 40 degrees away from NGC 1999, I was able get 'good enough' images to pick up another 35 minutes of integration time, here's what 1 hour of viewing reveals:

Compare this with a screen shot from Google Sky:

Both HH1 and HH2 are now visible, which I think is pretty amazing.

 

[bruha]

Hello, last night I take photo of Venus- when aplly magic wand click countour emerged -could be Venus (with atmosf) iself which was o origin image hidden in glowing..?

 

[Tom.G]

That looks like an optical effect in the optics. I suspect chromatic aberration from an off-center lens.

 

[bruha]

Hello and thank you for reaction. Yes.. you probably mean this unregular shape around approx. "half-circle" yellow contour-its surely optics defect.. (Just if you magnifice image, inside yellow approx. half-cirlce contour there is inner "half circle" blue contour which emerged with magic wand click... I just wander if it could reflect some real object or shape...:)
Have nice day

 

[bruha]

Hi , I attach next Venus image, now with erased (darkened) glowing surrounding.
lot of succes

 

[bruha]

Hello, here is from yesterday Moon (little sharpened) and Venus (with darkened surrounding)
Lot of succes

 

[bruha]

Hello, here is little beter moon image (little sharpened)

 

[davenn]

Hello, here is little beter moon image (little sharpened)

looking better, keep practicing

 

[bruha]

Hi thanks, - I would like to get Andromeda galaxy.. (as I get Orion nebula in my countryhouse) do you think it is possible with Newton 600*150 and Hyperion 5 or 8 mm?

have nice day

 

[davenn]

Hi thanks, - I would like to get Andromeda galaxy.. (as I get Orion nebula in my countryhouse) do you think it is possible with Newton 600*150 and Hyperion 5 or 8 mm?

have nice day

for sure it would be possible

 

[bruha]

Hi, these images are corrected by Gimp ( or )

Lot of succes

 

[bruha]

Hello, I send still moon pictures by Registax..(made just from 3 images)

Hello

 

[bruha]

Hello, it is my next attempt- Moon detail by registax...

 

[bruha]

Maybe this one looks interesting...

 

[bruha]

and coloured...

 

[bruha]

Hi, this is Venus from yesterday- stacked and sharpened ( I am not able to get really planetary (circular) shape... )

 

[davenn]

I am not able to get really planetary (circular) shape..

well Venus isn't a full circle at the moment, it looks like a gibbous phase moon

 

[mfb]

NASA APOD, March 1. The hole has a diameter of 35 meters and is about 20 meters deep (hole to surface, not counting the crater depth).
Craters like these show us things that are normally below the surface.

 

[bruha]

Hello, very impressive image ,:) -its Mars?

 

[mfb]

Yes, it is Mars, see the link for details.

 

[bruha]

Thanks (there is written "in representative colour" ...it means nature col. or image is additional coloured?

Hi and lot of succes :)

 

[TaurusSteve]

The moon is quite clear tonight!

 

[davenn]

The moon is quite clear tonight!View attachment 258261

Good effort
Tell us about the photo. gear used, scope, camera, lens, settings etc ?
That way we can suggest things for you to improve, particularly with the focus cheers
Dave

 

[TaurusSteve]

Good effort
Tell us about the photo. gear used, scope, camera, lens, settings etc ?
That way we can suggest things for you to improve, particularly with the focus cheers
Dave

Cheers.
My settings were: 1/125 sec. f/5.6 300 mm
ISO : 100.
My camera is a Canon EOS 350D.

 

[TaurusSteve]

Slightly better!

 

[davenn]

Cheers.
My settings were: 1/125 sec. f/5.6 300 mm
ISO : 100.
My camera is a Canon EOS 350D.

OK :)

some hints
1) hopefully you were using manual focus
2) up the shutter speed at least 1/500th - 1/1000th sec and increase the ISO as needed to
compensate for a slightly dimmer image. A higher shutter speed helps to overcome any
camera motion/vibration etc
3) focussing can be tricky, most of us seasoned nightsky photographers use the rear LCD
viewscreen in live view ( not sure if the 350D had that) and use the magnify ... it really helps
my canons ... 700D, 6D and 5D3 all do

Slightly better!

much better

full moon is difficult to image well, it's just so damn bright !
and the details get washed out somewhat. earlier phases ... around first quarter to gibbous are the best for lots of crater detail along the terminator ( day/night line)cheers
Dave

 

[TaurusSteve]

Cheers!

 

[bruha]

Hello, I send moon from yesterday, little sharpened and saturated (and sky with some stars.. not sure which ones..) Unfortunately full moon therefore no condition for any object capturing..

Hi and lot of succes

 

[bruha]

Hi still two moon images...

 

[davenn]

Hi still two moon images...

Those are the best two so far

keep up the good work, concentrate on getting the images sharper and clearerDave

 

[bruha]

Hi and thanks

 

[bruha]

Hi, I send two images which I obtained when attempting Orion Nebula .. (just for opinion..) I have just small simple compact Sony and Newton 600 x 120 mm with Hyperion 8 mm.

 

[davenn]

Hi, I send two images which I obtained when attempting Orion Nebula

A start, at least there is something recorded

I am assuming the camera was handheld ?
I am assuming the telescope doesn't track ?

As with a long time ago, I still suggest you purchase a second hand DSLR camera and assoc T-ring adaptor
It's going to improve you astrophotography no end

Take lens off the camera and the eyepiece out of the telescope and mate the camera, t-ring and scope together
Any decent DSLR as long as you can get a T-ring adapt to suit it

For deep space objects, timed exposures are essential, 30 sec or more. Or a bunch of 30 sec images stacked.
and a ISO setting around 1000 - 3000. Else you will capture very little. And this requires a scope that can track across the sky. It's very different to photographing a big bright moon

Keep experimenting and posting
Ask questions on things you don't understand, it's what we are here for

cheers
Dave

 

[bruha]

Hello and thank you for information. Yes I surely understand .. it is obviously question of money. Have you
not by chance some tips for suitable second hand camera ? ( I have t-ring adapter as one year ago I bought old Nikon body for cca 3500,- Kc (120 eur ) which showed to be suitable just for moon .
Have nice day

 

[bruha]

Hi its my GIMP work (but in fact just saturated and sharpened) of some older images ...

 

[Andy Resnick]

Argh! So, since our state has closed down a lot of stuff, the night skies are measurably darker- for the past few nights I've gotten excellent viewing of the Rosette nebula, the Leo triplet, M44, and M51.

Except my stacking computer is at work and thus inaccessible. Even worse, new anti-virus software that was installed last month plays havok with apps using disk swap space, meaning that DSS won't run- and it could be weeks before the anti-virus stuff can get uninstalled. I'm considering installing Astro Pixel Processor on my replacement (Mac) laptop and when I am able, retrieving the hard drive with all my astro images and going from there... anybody use that software package?

 

[chemisttree]

Somewhere on the moon. Taken through my 9.25" SCT with an adapted webcam. AVI frames stacked and stuff with Registax 4 (I think). Exposure by slider using a long forgotton (Windows 95 compatible!) program that wasn't all that. Seeing was terrible so I could only use a few hundred frames of so-so quality.

The main crater is Copernicus showing the central uplift peaks at sunrise. At 9 o'clock just to left is crater Gay-Lussac showing a tiny central uplift and the Rima that also bears the name Gay-Lussac at the 8 o'clock position relative to Copernicus. The larger crater to the right is Reinhold just showing its central peak.

 

[chemisttree]

The baby moon through my 80 mm Astrotech ED using an adapter just like the one @davenn mentioned. This was my first DSLR picture that was not afocal. Camera was a Canon 30D so focusing was a bit maddening as it had no LCD viewer. Used a simple tripod without tracking. This is directly out of the camera with whatever noise reduction Canon applies. I believe the exposure was about 1/200". Telescope is about F6. The color fringing at the limb is from atmospheric refraction (I keep telling myself).

 

[davenn]

The baby moon through my 80 mm Astrotech ED using an adapter

A couple of awesome posts. Didn't know you were into astronomy and astrophotography
welcome to the growing list of PF members that are

You mentioned a 9.25 scope in your first post. I assume a Celestron CPC925 ?

I have had my CPC925 since Jan 2012

cheers
Dave