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Keith_M42
19th of July 2005 (Tue), 08:47
http://www.willowberry.net/keithnk_m42/
The last 2 years I've been taking long exposure photos of deep space objects (the faint fuzzies beyond our solar system) with Canon's 300D Digital Rebel. Those cameras are capable of taking some really neat pictures. Before purchasing and using the 300D, I was using, and learned a lot with, Canon's G2. A number of the G2 pictures are there too, mostly in the solar system area, standing up quite well even against the 300D.

Hope you like it. I'd appreciate any feedback for improvements/additions/compliments

If any are interested in the equipment I use to get the photos, click on the thumbnail of the "My Stuff" photo (on the main page), and scroll down below the photo to a listing and description of the equip. along with some commentary about each.

Maybe like all of you, I enjoy getting the pictures as much as looking at and enjoying them afterwords. Maybe I'm prejudiced, but I think that with astrophotography, the "enjoy getting the pictures" part is particularly true. The nightime under the stars is a particularly awesome time.

Keith
Sathi
19th of July 2005 (Tue), 09:05
Is that the horsehead nebula? Great picture.
RockOne
19th of July 2005 (Tue), 09:07
Huh !!. Thats awesome. I've a poster of that on my wall taken with the 3.9 metre telescope at The Angloe Australian Observatory and this one's getting pretty close to it. Absolutely stunning !!
RockOne
19th of July 2005 (Tue), 09:21
Just had a browse through your gallery. Just incredible !!.
Noni
19th of July 2005 (Tue), 09:58
This is something I very much want to get into...thanks for posting, thanks for sharing, and thanks for doing this. I've bookmarked your site so I can read through it when I'm not against the clock.

Well done, and thanks again.

Best-
Noni
fotogeek
19th of July 2005 (Tue), 11:15
I don't understand how you take a 600 second exposure without the stars shifting. Does the telescope track your object? Must be a REALLY steady telescope if it does...

Amazing photos...
Keith_M42
19th of July 2005 (Tue), 21:46
Many thanks for the comments! Yes, that is the Horsehead nebula, a familiar image going way back into the black and white film era. It's still a great sight, only now in color! You do need a tracking device to take the exposures necesary to capture these faint objects. It's not easy.

Thanks again.

Keith
Wazza
20th of July 2005 (Wed), 01:25
Wow. Those are stunning!

Are they only with that Meade 10"

I've also used a Meade 10", but only tried looking at the moon with my grandfathers.

http://wazza.nfscity.com/astro.htm


You've given inspiration to see that nebulae shots are possible!
It's been very messy weather lately, and haven't even tried astrophotography for a month. I'll be trying again shortly. :)

So is that all that's required? Very long exposures, such as 600 seconds?

Your site is now bookmarked.
Keith_M42
21st of July 2005 (Thu), 20:11
Nice moon pictures Wazza! Taking a picture when the moon is about 1/2 full like you did is a good time to do so, because the central mountains and craters are highlighted with the shadows. Keep practicing for good clear and crisp photos. Mars is coming around again in a month or so. It won't be as big as 2 years ago, but almost. However it will be higher in the sky which should make it a little clearer. Your camera and 10" LX200 are all you need for good lunar, solar, and planetary photographs.
Long exposure astropics are a whole other thing. Much more involved and specialized, generally requiring a fair investment in equipment, time, patience, and learning the skills needed to get the most out of it all. The main pieces of equipment for your scope would be polar wedge and some sort of autoguiding setup. Learning how to set up and use these to their best advantage can take awhile, but imo the results, the fun of learning something new, and the time spent out under the stars are all well worth it.
Keith
Astrophoto website
http://www.willowberry.net/keithnk_m42/
mdenigris
4th of August 2005 (Thu), 12:00
Nice Gallery Keith.

I have celestron 8" SC with a wedge and SBIG ccd. It's a low resolution unit, so I'm thinking of getting an off-axis guider and connecting my 20D and the SBIG for autoguiding. I am concerned about the bulk and weight on the back of the scope. How do you accomplish your autoguiding? I think I saw an off-axis guider on your rig, but I also saw somthing on the spotting scope up top.

Here's a moon shot I took in June.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=79453&highlight=moon