Last Night’s Astro Image

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Over the last week I imaged a lot of subjects for my Messier Object collection.

M13, the Great Cluster in Hercules is a bit special so it got extra imaging (and processing) time.

Right click and 'view image' then zoom in, this is about 1/5 full size (1/25 by area!)

Neil

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Wow nice

H

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

With all the publicity about comet Neowise I thought there would be pictures in here. As there aren't I went out last night and took some pictures with my digital camera (and tripod of course). One had a 20 second exposure and shows the apparent motion of the sky. To get rid of this I went to the highest iso setting and did a 2.5 second exposure. There are some very good examples of photos of this comet available on the web but a lot have been manipulated (admitted by the people posting them). These are as taken., no manipulation.

Martin C

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Two versions of last night's narrowband image, the second one is in 'Hubble palette'.

These are big, detailed images, if you right -click and view there is some extraordinary detail such as star forming regions.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Only slightly off-topic :

**LINK**

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/camera-bound-space-telescope-takes-3200-megapixel-photos-180975758/

MichaelG.

[clogsParticipant @clogs]

Michael

I like the astro images but it good to be back to earthly realms…..hahaha…..

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Martin Connelly on 21/07/2020 11:38:25:

With all the publicity about comet Neowise I thought there would be pictures in here. As there aren't I went out last night and took some pictures with my digital camera (and tripod of course). One had a 20 second exposure and shows the apparent motion of the sky. To get rid of this I went to the highest iso setting and did a 2.5 second exposure. There are some very good examples of photos of this comet available on the web but a lot have been manipulated (admitted by the people posting them). These are as taken., no manipulation.

Martin C

Well done Martin not sure how I missed those!

Neil.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 10/09/2020 23:46:25:

Only slightly off-topic :

**LINK**

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/camera-bound-space-telescope-takes-3200-megapixel-photos-180975758/

MichaelG.

Now we know why the Krell's doors were that shape…

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

In another loose interpretation of Neil’s thread title: **LINK**

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/11/historic-radio-telescope-in-puerto-rico-to-be-demolished/

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Sad news about Arecibo, but it has been falling down for years

Grabbed some widefield pictures of the conjunction last night, plus some planet shots from a month or two ago.

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Stunning shots Neil.

Steve.

[MeunierParticipant @meunier]

A query please Neil, nice pics by the way.

Have googled without success to identify a fuzzy star cluster which appeared low on eastern horizon some months ago and has gradually elevated until now it is just passed the overhead heading westwards.
Thanks.
DaveD

Edited By Meunier on 21/11/2020 16:06:26

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Meunier on 21/11/2020 16:05:32:

A query please Neil, nice pics by the way.

Have googled without success to identify a fuzzy star cluster which appeared low on eastern horizon some months ago and has gradually elevated until now it is just passed the overhead heading westwards.
Thanks.
DaveD

Edited By Meunier on 21/11/2020 16:06:26

I assume it's something you can see with the naked eye?

Probably the Pleiades AKA the Seven Sisters. In September it was low in the west at 10pm, now its about due south and as high as it gets at 10pm. One of the few open clusters easily seen as such even with moderate light pollution. Another possibility is the Hyades or Beehive Cluster in Taurus which is little lower, less easy to see and much more open.

[Andy Freeman 1Participant @andyfreeman1]

Martin Connelly, what camera are you using for you astrophotography? I have been thinking of having ago myself one day.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi Andy,

You can make a start with almost any camera, as there's a target suitable for most types.

What do you have?

[Andy Freeman 1Participant @andyfreeman1]

Hi Neil, I have a Panasnic Lumix GX7

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

Mine is a Panasonic DMC-FZ1000. The form is often referred to as a bridge camera. It bridges the gap between compact and professional cameras. 25-400 optical zoom (35mm film equivalent I believe) and I think 25Mb CCD.

Details from the photo are:

f/8 F-stop

2.5s exposure

12800 ISO speed

+1.3 step Exposure bias

136mm focal length

372 35mm focal length (this is an equivalent value for comparison to 35mm film cameras)

Photos of the moon come out quite well with this camera, it was one of the first things I tried with it.

Martin C

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Provided the camera is reasonably capable, the most important requirement is holding it steady!

Martin explains his comet photos were taken with a 2.5s exposure, which is a long time for a human to hold a camera without blurring the image by wobbling. It needs a tripod, ideally stiffer and heavier than the usual domestic type, because wind is a problem. Also, the shutter should be triggered remotely because pressing buttons always moves the camera. The other problem is blur due to the earth spinning, causing the heavens to rotate across the sky. To minimise that, an astronomical mount is needed, the best ones being motorised to track the object.

But, as the thread shows, interesting photos can be achieved with ordinary kit. There are many objects in the sky that can be watched with binoculars and photographed with a basic camera.

Digital cameras open many doors to the amateur astronomer. For example, a series of photographs of the night sky taken with an ordinary lens can be compared. First the images are aligned by the computer using the stars.  Then fixed objects like stars and galaxies are removed by digitally subtracting one image from another. Almost everything disappears, and what's left must be moving objects. Artificial satellites, planets and moons aren't very interesting, but the technique detects meteors, asteroids and comets long before the human eye can see them. Be first to report a new comet, and they'll name it after you. Immortality!

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 23/11/2020 10:14:31

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

Dave, I used the delayed shutter setting to trigger the picture taking. It's electronic, not clockwork like the Zenith I had years ago, so no vibration.

Martin C

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi Andy,

You can use exposures of up to 500/focal length* without star trailing.

Try using a 50mm lens or equivalent and taking multiple long shots of Orion.

Use a program like (free) Deep Sky Stacker to stack them and do some basic stretching; you can do more processing in your favourite program.

For long exposures with longer lenses the Omegon Mount Mini Track LX2 is just the far side of £100 and will happily allow you to take photos of nebulas etc.

A 135mm equivalent is ideal for enough decent targets to get you through a couple of years of cloudless nights!

Neil

* strictly 35mm film camera equivalent length

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Plan ahead : **LINK**

https://news.sky.com/story/jupiter-and-saturn-to-create-first-visible-christmas-star-in-800-years-12161286

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 14/12/2020 23:57:13:

Plan ahead : **LINK**

https://news.sky.com/story/jupiter-and-saturn-to-create-first-visible-christmas-star-in-800-years-12161286

MichaelG.

I have already arranged to meet a friend in a field…

I think the 'first visible Christmas star' line is bit of an exaggeration… Jupiter will be magnitude -1.97, while Saturn will be 0.63. That a difference of 2.512^2.6 or about 11 times, so visible to the naked eye as a single dot they will only be 10% brighter than Jupiter alone.

A solitary Jupiter higher in the sky will make a much more noticeable Christmas star over the coming half dozen years or so.

Neil

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Well … If you weren’t convinced by my last link, Neil, you might like this: **LINK**

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/someone-took-eight-year-photo-exposure-beer-can-180976552/

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

As I'll probably be clouded out tonight, I got a p[review of the 'Great Conjunction' yesterday evening, which was gloriously clear, although I had some equipment issues in the middle of a field, that meant I didn't get high resolution images.

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

I did get a picture of Jupiter once where you could see the 4 galilean moons but you had to know what it was to make sense of it in the first place. Having Saturn in the frame does make it obvious. Nice job.

Martin C

[Author]

Posts