Astrophotography
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I want to do more planetary and DSO astrophotography (there's some good ones to capture right now) , but it looks like I won't get a chance for a while...
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Moon
2022-01-10Well, because I won't have any clear nights for awhile and therefore cannot go out and see the stars, I thought I'd go back and see if I have any old Moon photos.
I found one from soon after I first got my telescope, learning how to use it. It will be nice to compare to the next time I capture the Moon in 2023 now that I've had some practice.
Setup:
I didn't get some of the image capture details, but this is what have:
5" SCT, Focal reducer/corrector, Fujifilm X-T4 @ ~787mm f/6.3 (I think, will update later)
PIPP + AS!3 + Lightroom
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Updated with links to the final images on AstroBin.
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Full Moon
2023.01.06 @ 21:32
Alt: 55°First night out in a few cloudy/rainy weeks, next week or two the same
I did a little bit of everything of what I could. Dew point reached, everything got wet that wasn't in a heated dew shield, which thankfully the telescope was.Setup:
5" SCT + Fujifilm X-T4 @ ~1250mm f/10 - 3840x2160
iOptron mount, tracking: mount-only
Fujifilm Camera Remote
FPS: 29.97 / Shutter 1/250 (4ms) / ISO 320 / Histogram 50-75%
Dynamic Range: 200%
70% / 450 light frames
PIPP + AS!3 + RegiStax6 + Lightroom
Same shot, different processing:
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I finally had a clear night since getting my new camera. Although I wasn't prepared for the surprise clear night, I still got out for a few minutes to get a decent shot of M 42 (Orion Nebula) before my portable power unit died.
I'm excited to report that with only less than 20 minutes of data via EAA live stacking, I was able this get this awesome shot in my insanely light polluted area thanks to the L-Pro filter.
This gives me a lot of hope that once I am able to get out there and get a couple hours of data, I'll be able to get something awesome.
Below, M 42, an ad-hoc 18 minutes of data with a blown out core and a satellite streaking across (thanks Elon).
Hoping for some more clear skies in the near future and a trip to some darker skies!
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@Obsolesce All amazing pictures!
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@pmoncho said in Astrophotography:
@Obsolesce
I stole the Jupiter pic from you. So darn cool.
Yup, I'll be using these for desktop backgrounds. Awesome pics @Obsolesce!
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@Obsolesce said in Astrophotography:
I finally had a clear night since getting my new camera. Although I wasn't prepared for the surprise clear night, I still got out for a few minutes to get a decent shot of M 42 (Orion Nebula) before my portable power unit died.
I'm excited to report that with only less than 20 minutes of data via EAA live stacking, I was able this get this awesome shot in my insanely light polluted area thanks to the L-Pro filter.
This gives me a lot of hope that once I am able to get out there and get a couple hours of data, I'll be able to get something awesome.
Below, M 42, an ad-hoc 18 minutes of data with a blown out core and a satellite streaking across (thanks Elon).
Hoping for some more clear skies in the near future and a trip to some darker skies!
Updating with an auto-stacked photo ~58 minutes of data, and some minor post-processing. I want to stack properly, get some more data, add in some calibration frames. Going to add in here to track progress and compare.
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Some quick fun with Jupiter during the daytime evening before the clouds rolled in, again.
Trying to get back into some planetary work. I have to relearn it, it's been a long long time.
I don't think this one turned out so well, but I think if I redo it later and spend some more time processing and learning, I can get it better. A night-time image would help too.
I think my old one was much better. I spent more time on it and used a tutorial.
Another:
Another:
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@Obsolesce Is Jupiter always at a 85% angle?
Thats crazy, I would love to be able to see that myself but lord knows I wouldn't have the patience to source a telescope/camera and to figure out where another planet is...
Good job man!
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Thanks! There's a learning curve for sure, but it isn't bad. Well worth it if it's your thing.
The angle of the image is determined by my camera's rotation. I have mine attached at about a 0 degrees. So when the telescope is in it's zero-position, my camera has no rotation angle (or close). I don't care about the rotation when doing planetary. With DSOs such as nebulae and galaxies, I generally do care about camera rotation for framing purposes.
The part that takes the most time is the processing of the images. It's a whole different world of understanding and practice.
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@Obsolesce so yes, Jupiter is at a 85% angle all of the time... right?
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@DustinB3403 No, it depends on where Jupiter is in the sky, where Earth and Jupiter are in their orbits relative to each other, Earth's rotation/angle, my camera's rotation, and my telescope's positioning.
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@DustinB3403 maybe it's also helpful to know that Jupiter's axis of rotation is roughly 3 degrees compared to Earth's 23.5 degrees. But we would see Jupiter at any angle depending on when we look at it.
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Dumbbell Nebula (M27, Apple Core Nebula)
2024.10.19 @ 22:00
Alt: 70°The Dumbbell Nebula is one of the brightest planetary nebulae in the sky, located around 1,360 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. What you’re seeing is the glowing remnants of a dying star that has shed its outer layers, with the central star still visible at the core. The distinctive "Apple Core" or "Dumbbell" shape comes from the expanding gas.
Interestingly, M27 was the first planetary nebula to ever be discovered, by Charles Messier in 1764.
Setup:
C8-XLT + f/6.3 reducer
iOptron mount, tracking
Ares-C Pro camera
Optolong L-Pro filter
SharpCap Pro & SirilTotal exposure time: 6 hours and 15 minutes
Focal length: 1208mm
Processing: minimal, time & weather constraints
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Cocoon Nebula (IC5146)
2024.10.24 @ 22:00
Alt: 73°The Cocoon Nebula, also known as IC5146, is a fascinating emission and reflection nebula located about 3,300 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. This nebula is a stellar nursery where new stars are forming, with a bright central star that illuminates the surrounding gas and dust, giving the nebula its soft, cocoon-like appearance. The Cocoon is linked to a dark nebula, a dense, starless region called Barnard 168, which stretches out like a trail behind it, obscuring the background stars.
The Cocoon Nebula sits in one of the Milky Way’s richest star fields, so it's dark trail and glowing cloud stand out even more against a sea of distant stars.
Setup:
C8-XLT + f/6.3 reducer @ 1208mm focal length
iOptron mount, tracking
Ares-C Pro camera
Optolong L-Pro filter
SharpCap Pro & SirilTotal exposure time: 8 hours
Processing: mediocre
