The discussion focuses on sharing the beauty of the Universe through photos, videos, and animations, emphasizing the aesthetic appeal of space alongside scientific information. Participants are encouraged to post clips and images that comply with mainstream scientific guidelines, avoiding fringe theories. Notable contributions include time-lapse videos from the ISS and clips related to NASA missions, such as the Dawn and New Horizons projects. The thread also highlights the emotional impact of experiencing the vastness of space through visual media. Overall, it celebrates the intersection of art and science in showcasing the wonders of the Universe.
#1,171
Devin-M
1,073
765
Speaking of filters, just ordered one of these clip-in Narrow band pass (6nm) Hydrogen Alpha filters for Nikon full frame cameras so I can image nebulas in moonlight or with light pollution... hopefully works well, was over $500US...
Hi, thank you for answer, I have sun baader folie over full telecope aperture. So I mean if I should apply cap with small opening after I put baader folie on telescope it will be OK?
Thanks
Hi, thank you for answer, I have sun baader folie over full telecope aperture. So I mean if I should apply cap with small opening after I put baader folie on telescope it will be OK?
Thanks
I don’t think the cap will work with the full aperture foil filter but if you can... it will work. If you do that, you will be observing through a small opening in the cap and the light would go through both the foil filter and the green filter. It will be much dimmer but you should have much better resolution.
#1,175
bruha
389
513
Thank you, I will try it (eventually I wil put foil just over small opening if its will not work)
#1,176
Devin-M
1,073
765
according to this a full moon is equivalent to a bortle 7...
apparently there will be a couple hours of moonlessness by wednesday...
#1,177
DennisN
Gold Member
2,170
9,862
Two more cool links regarding NASA:s Perseverance on Mars:
NASA captures FIRST SOUNDS on the surface of Mars
(where a Martian wind can be heard) NASA’S Perseverance Rover’s First 360 View of Mars (Official)
(a scrollable 360 degree panorama; click "Play" and then "Pause" and then close the "More videos" popup. Then you can start scrolling around the panorama with the mouse (while holding down the left mouse button) )
Finally, a clear night- first one in 4 months. Cropped and 50% downsized image of Horsehead and Flame nebulae @ 400/2.8, 3.9 hours integration @ ISO 500:
#1,179
bruha
389
513
Hi, it is really beautiful... what is cca app. diameter of this objects (arcsec..?)
Thank you and lot of succes!
Two clear nights in a row! I tried imaging Orion @ 105/1.4, 2.5 hours total integration time @ ISO 64. Full frame:
Unfortunately, it looks terrible at 100%- shooting wide-open is indeed best for low light but also maximizes lens aberrations. I probably need to stop it down to about f/2 to really clean everything up... maybe next time. Regardless, I'm pleased with the 'efficiency' (2.5 hours represents 70% of the total time spent outside, and 90% of the acquired frames were acceptable) using this lens.
#1,183
Devin-M
1,073
765
Looks like perhaps you had a bit of local light pollution such as from a street light shining on the lens a little bit on the left side of that frame.
I’m eagerly waiting for the sun to go down to try out this 6 nm narrow band hydrogen Alpha clip in sensor filter for nikon full frame cameras on a nebula in a moonless cloudless bortle 2 tonight. It looks interesting... almost a mirror finish but takes on a reddish tinge when held up to the light.
Looks like perhaps you had a bit of local light pollution such as from a street light shining on the lens a little bit on the left side of that frame.
I’m eagerly waiting for the sun to go down to try out this 6 nm narrow band hydrogen Alpha clip in sensor filter for nikon full frame cameras on a nebula in a moonless cloudless bortle 2 tonight. It looks interesting... almost a mirror finish but takes on a reddish tinge when held up to the light.
Looks like perhaps you had a bit of local light pollution such as from a street light shining on the lens a little bit on the left side of that frame
Not exactly- it is an artifact, but not from that. It's from post-processing to fine-tune field flattening, resulting in what can be thought of as out-of-tolerance stack-up along the edges. I was able to crop off the effect from 3 of the 4 sides.
Have fun with the new filter!
#1,186
Devin-M
1,073
765
Heart Nebula - IC 1805 - Sharpless 2-190 - 7500 light years
45 minute exposure - 9 x 5min - 6400iso - 600mm f/9 - Moonless Bortle 2 (3/3/21)
Nikon focal 300mm f/4.5 + Nikon TC-301 2x teleconverter
Nikon D800 w/ Star Adventurer 2i Equatorial Mount
Astronomik Narrow Band (6nm) Hydrogen Alpha Filter For Nikon Full Frame DSLR
I'm quite happy with the hydrogen alpha filter. Well worth the $500 when comparing to the previous shot with just the Rollei Astroklar filter in a moonlit bortle 2. It was a moonless, cloudless bortle 2 area. I'll probably end up compositing both shots together.
Center (RA, Dec): (38.250, 61.296)
Center (RA, hms): 02h 33m 00.048s
Center (Dec, dms): +61° 17' 46.914"
Size: 3.07 x 2.05 deg
Radius: 1.848 deg
Pixel scale: 1.68 arcsec/pixel
I thought this was somewhat interesting... I've always heard that sensor noise is temperature dependent. Well after my last imaging session, I was shooting dark frames in the car on the way home (10 shots x 5 minutes @ 6400iso with the lens cap on). For those that don't know, the dark frames are taken to subtract the non-random sensor noise from the final astrophotography image. The interesting part is the camera was heating up the whole time I was shooting the dark frames from the outdoor temperature of about 35 deg fahrenheit to the cozy temp in my car (70 degrees f?). I made a animated gif showing the dark frames. I have increased the brightness of all the individual shots all uniformly so the sensor noise becomes visible, but what can clearly be seen from this is as the camera heats up, the sensor noise obviously increases. No surprise here but it's interesting to see it visually none-the-less.
#1,191
Devin-M
1,073
765
focusing on the north star through bahtinov focusing mask and 6nm narrowband hydrogen alpha filter (cropped 30sec @ 25600iso test shots)
This is last night's attempt at the Wizard Nebula with the narrow band hydrogen alpha filter under heavy light pollution (bortle 6 surrounded by street lamps)... I think my effort was hampered by only getting 7 x 5 minute exposures at high iso (8063iso) resulting in significant noise remaining in the final image.
Wizard Nebula - NGC 7380 - 8500 light years
35 minute exposure - 7 x 5min - 8063iso - 600mm f/9 - Bortle 6 w/ heavy local light pollution (3/6/21)
Nikon focal 300mm f/4.5 + Nikon TC-301 2x teleconverter
Nikon D800 w/ Star Adventurer 2i Equatorial Mount
Astronomik Narrow Band (6nm) Hydrogen Alpha Filter For Nikon Full Frame DSLR
Center (RA, Dec): (341.716, 58.101)
Center (RA, hms): 22h 46m 51.916s
Center (Dec, dms): +58° 06' 03.161"
Size: 48.7 x 73 arcmin
Radius: 0.731 deg
Pixel scale: 1.68 arcsec/pixel
detail...
#1,193
DennisN
Gold Member
2,170
9,862
Devin-M said:
This is last night's attempt at the Wizard Nebula
What's that big device mounted on a tripod on the grass?
Is it your camera gear or an anti-aircraft gun? Hard to tell...
#1,194
DennisN
Gold Member
2,170
9,862
Here's a black thing I picked up from a store yesterday:
Finally, after years of angst deciding on a suitable camera for me, I decided to give this one a shot,
since I wanted a better low-light camera (than my LG G4 phone), combined with a decent allround camera, since I did not want to buy two cameras. I need the remaining funds for lenses, a scope and a guider.
Fellows, I'm finally getting a bit closer. :)
(though I have not decided on a decent scope and guider yet, I have had really trouble making
my mind up!)
Now, does anyone of you know which camera the above is?
The first one who guesses correctly will win a free, used lens cap from me.
It's the Sony A6000 mirrorless system camera (24 MP), which has a Sony APS-C sensor
with pretty good low light performance. It has also got great autotracking and pretty
decent video capabilities.
I will also buy a couple of more lenses to it (e.g. wide, ultrawide and portrait lenses),
since I intend to use it as a normal, non-astro camera too.
I already have some tele- and zoom lenses at home so I will probably get mount adapters for them.
(and, yes, you are seeing correctly; the thing to the right of the camera is the ship
that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. It's a model project of mine.
I haven't gotten around to paint it with airbrush yet, and put LEDs into it, which I intend)
Edit:
Oh, I forgot to say that one very cool thing is that the camera can be remotely controlled via a computer, tablet or smartphone (incl. taking photos, setting ISO, shutter speed etc).
That is a great added benefit that I had not anticipated nor even looked for.
This of course means I don't need a dedicated remote shutter control for it.
It also supports uncompressed video out via HDMI to a computer/recorder, and it's got WiFi and NFC connectivity. It is truly remarkable for the low price. I paid ca $580 for it (brand new), which included a standard lens and some minor accessories.
Things are going to get very interesting for you now!
#1,196
Devin-M
1,073
765
DennisN said:
It's the Sony A3000 mirrorless system camera (24 MP), which has a Sony APS-C sensor
Some Sony mirrorless cameras have been known to have issues with noise reduction that can't be turned off even in raw files which has led them to be referred to by some astrophotographers as "star eaters" ... hopefully you won't have the same issue.
Things are going to get very interesting for you now!
Yes, and not only with respect to astrophotography, also normal photography. I've tried the camera briefly and it clearly and visibly beats my LG G4, which actually has a quite good camera on a phone.
But not all is that peachy... I'm a complete newbie when it comes to system cameras, and I had a real shock when I discovered how incredibly expensive many lenses can be. :)
I thought telescopes was rather expensive (which they can be) , but if anybody has got a ton of money to spend, go for a couple of high-tier tele- or zoom lenses, and you'll see your money disappear faster than Millennium Falcon. :)
Therefore I will go for some decent budget lenses from budget brands and/or maybe some vintage lenses with manual focus. There are a lot of interesting sites and videos with reviews on good budget lenses.
#1,200
DennisN
Gold Member
2,170
9,862
Devin-M said:
Some Sony mirrorless cameras have been known to have issues with noise reduction that can't be turned off even in raw files which has led them to be referred to by some astrophotographers as "star eaters" ... hopefully you won't have the same issue.
Luckily the camera isn't a "wallet eater" :).
And I 've got 50 free days to test it, and I can return it if I'm dissatisfied.
And actually I consider astrophotography yet as a secondary photo hobby. I spend much more time doing normal photography. But who knows, that may change. :)
