Astrophotography - Astronomy Central Forum

Solar Images

John_Brady — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 02:46:25 -0400

These are images taken with my Solarmax 60 hydrogen alpha scope, and DMK 41 mono camera on the 20th of April 2013. Images were stacked in Registax.
Click to enlarge in Flickr.

The full solar disk

Seething with activity, the huge active region 1726 showing lots of bright areas, and multiple sunspots.

Sunspot 1723 with long dark filaments and an active region snaking away from it.

Sunspot 1727 near the sun's north west limb.

This last one highlights some impressive solar prominences.

Saturn on camera - finally!

andyavery — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:52:47 -0400

My first attempt at Saturn. I couldn't convince my camera to take a photo so I had to use a video.

Still, I'm quite pleased as a first attempt.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ntousvgeke9dwx8/Saturn.wmv

HELP HELP !!

jack — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:02:38 -0400

I would really like to snap awsome pictures of Saturns rings , the moons of Jupiter and other wonders in the night sky . is there any specific equipment i should buy ? I'm totally new to this and don't have a clue where to start. help would be appreciated.

Moon Images, 19th April

John_Brady — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:31:09 -0400

Here are some images I took of the Moon on April the 19th with my Skywatcher 200p and DMK41 ccd camera. It was a good night for lunar observing as the crater Copernicus was highlighted right on the terminator.

Click to enlarge in Flickr.

The image below shows Copernicus, the Alpine Valley, & Montes Apenninus.

This one shows a closer view of Copernicus.

This is a shot of the lunar south pole.

..and this one is with Copernicus to the edge of the image, with the rugged 370 mile long Montes Apenninus mountain range.

This last one shows the crater Plato, with the Alpine Valley below.

At last a clear sky

djbozz — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:47:07 -0400

I thought I'd take advantage of the first clear sky for months & got a pic of the Coathanger M44.

Hope you like :D

Solar images 27th Feb

John_Brady — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 06:21:30 -0500

Here's an image of sunspot group 1682 taken in hydrogen alpha, using CCD camera DMK41 on a x2 barlow lens with my Solarmax 60 II solar scope on the 27th of February.

This one below uses the same set up but with prominences highlighted on the solar limb, with a detached prominence floating above the sun's surface by about the height of 2 Earths (near top of image).

This last shot is without a X2 barlow lens showing (nearly) the full disk, see the same sunspot region at left of centre from a more distant viewpoint.

Modified web cam pictures

nercw1 — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:41:50 -0500

Just started playing with a home modified webcam mounted straight onto my 102mm Sky watcher. Dont know if anybody on the forum has tried this? Been dabbling with telescopes for about 5 yrs on and off. Not had a lot of time over the last couple of yrs to get into it. Tried photographs 3 or 4 years ago direct mounting a digital camera and got some reasonable shots. Decided to try "live" images onto my laptop via a butchered webcam. These are my first efforts (also my first posts to any sort of forum ever!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nercw1/8487240796/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nercw1/8487191782/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nercw1/8487240874/in/photostream/

Beginners Moon Shots

andyavery — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:48:04 -0500

OK so they're not the best ever, but quite pleased as first attempts.

I'm doing these with a Skywatcher 130 and a Panasonic compact camera butted up to the lens with an eBay cradle.

Found a way to tighten up the tripod on the telescope as I've been fighting with a bit of wobble, I've also just ordered a moon filter, watch this space for some better shots!

Whole Moon:
http://flic.kr/p/dWbdkJ

From a Distance:
http://flic.kr/p/dWbdAd

Hydrogen alpha solar images 2nd of Feb

John_Brady — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:00:42 -0500

Here's an image taken on the 2nd of February of the Sun just before the clouds and rain arrived...ah the UK weather! It shows a large filament at middle left, and 2 sunspot active regions. The sunspots are usually about Earth size

...and here's one of the solar prominences highlighted

A few Pics from last night

djbozz — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 06:24:53 -0500

I got the webcam out last night & got a few images between the clouds

3 of our Moon, Betelgeuse without a IR filter & of course Jupiter. :)

Help picking a camera

jack — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 19:40:15 -0500

Greetings all, I am puzzled at what camera to buy. After hours of research I have a ruff idea on what options are available but know they will not be cheap. So after a further few hours of research I found: Fujifilm FinePix S4000
Nikon COOLPIX L810

Would any of these be ok to get me started?
If so do you have any tips to help me?
Can you recommend any cameras for me?

help would be great!

Jack

A couple more pics from last night 4th Dec

djbozz — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 18:27:49 -0500

I had another go with the new scope last night :D I like the winter
Heres Albireo Double Star in Cygnus

And heres NGC869 cluster

Hope you like :)>-

Sunspot region 1635

John_Brady — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 19:29:24 -0500

Here's an image I took on the 23rd of December of sunspot region 1635, with bright active regions, and Earth shown to scale

...and a close up of the sunspots

John_Brady — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:23:03 -0500

Here's another image from Tuesday showing the sunspot regions

Solar images from 11th Dec

John_Brady — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:30:19 -0500

Here are some images I took of the Sun on Tuesday, also posted in 'The Sun and Solar Observing' with explanations of features.

Scope upgrade on the cards

djbozz — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:56:06 -0400

Im thinking of upgrading my setup from a Skywatcher 150P with EQ3 & motors to a Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P (EQ5 PRO SynScan) Telescope
http://astronomia.co.uk/index.php/telescopes/sky-watcher-telescopes/explorer/sky-watcher-explorer-200p-eq5-pro-synscan-telescope.html

As I bought my setup from there they will give me what i payed for it against another scope :D

Should be better for astrophotography, any insight to this scope.

Webcam imaging

djbozz — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:57:25 -0400

had a go at webcam imaging, this is what i got, my favourite planet saturn
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/djbozz1/Astronomy/saturn05.jpg

M13 Hercules Cluster

djbozz — Sat, 12 May 2012 18:53:31 -0400

I thought I'd take advantage of a clear night & try to get a photo of this, here it is
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/djbozz1/Astronomy/Hercules01.jpg
slightly blury what do you think?

help

Stephen — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:58:51 -0400

ok so i am seriously thinking about this now. could somebody suggest a camera, scope, mount or any other equipment i would need. i am thinking of getting the canon EOS 1000D. my budget would be 300 quid for a scope. are reflectors or refractors better or not? the main thing i would want to capture are galaxies and nebula so i would need a 'fast' scope right?

Clear seeing tonight for Pics

djbozz — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:08:15 -0400

First I thought I'd have a look at Venus & Jupiter
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/djbozz1/Astronomy/DSC04155.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/djbozz1/Astronomy/DSC03824.jpg
I then turned my scope to Mars
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/djbozz1/Astronomy/DSC04203.jpg
I had another go at the Pleiades Cluster
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/djbozz1/Astronomy/Pleiades.jpg
I then found IC348 near the the star HIP17448A in Perseus
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/djbozz1/Astronomy/DSC04206.jpg
Whilst in Perseus I focused near the star Mirphak HIP15863 and got this
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/djbozz1/Astronomy/Mirphak.jpg
its misting over now, cant wait for another clear night:)

Great Full Moon last night

djbozz — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:59:18 -0500

I got a quick snap before I went out, using my camera zoom lens not a scope:))

Pleiades Cluster

djbozz — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:32:59 -0500

Here is my first image of the Severn Sisters taken a couple of weeks ago, about 50 frames using DSS what do you think?:) any advise as to improve the image welcome;)

astro photography

johno350 — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:19:38 -0500

hya guys,my profile pic is my first stab a photographing through my spotting scope not too bad i dont think but need some decent gear but overall for a beginer not bad what do you guys think and please be kind ha ha.

Blurred images

djbozz — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:19:13 -0500

Hi all, I have an issue when using prime focus photography with my telescope, I use a full size DSLR Sony A200 attached directly to my Skywatcher 150P on a EQ3-2 Motorised mount, I cant seem to balance the scope when the camera is attached it seems too heavy especialy when using the 4x Barlow, so just the shutter of the camera causes a slight telescope shake, even noticable on a bright moon 1/200th shutter speed, the view is sharp through the viewfinder but images are blurred when on PC, how do you guys prevent this, Ive even tried to attach my camera tripod to the camera but this makes it difficult to adjust aim on the scope? any ideas welcome thanks.

Good starting point

John_Brady — Mon, 09 May 2011 10:10:31 -0400

This is a great tutorial on getting started in astrophotography, by Mark Thompson from BBC Stargazing Live

...and to see what's possible, RayGil's astrophotography site http://rays-place-on-the-net.blogspot.com/

Can you mount a camera on a Dob?

Stephen — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:46:14 -0400

Is there some sort of mount i can buy so i can digiscope with my Orion XT8?

Photography ... i.e RayGil the guy to speak to :)

bealema — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 18:37:50 -0400

Ive just enrolled at college for my 3rd year and i am studying Photography as one of my subjects .... ive got a SKY WATCHER 1145 EQ1... but wondering what are the main equipment i need to buy excluding a camera .. i.e certain instruments for any type of astro photography ? ... pleasee :)

Imaging Session 02/06/2011 - M6, M10, M12, M27 & M56

RayGil — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:38:17 -0400

More Globs and Open Clusters and a Redone M27 DumbBell Nebula
http://rays-place-on-the-net.blogspot.com/

Ray