My first Astrophotograph
So my telescope came in (with its assorted peripherals) and I decided "to heck with light pollution, I want to check this thing out." My technique needs some serious refining, but I did manage to get a good look at the moon and I also found Jupiter (and its moons). The later was a little hard to find with the more powerful of the optics (the greater the power, the smaller your field of vision), but after a little trial and error I got a decent view.
Next I tried the camera attachment; this required some doing. First off, I’m mounting components in the dark, which of course means that I’m going to drop something. Secondly, the photo mount came with no instructions. The actual mounting was easy enough, but then I couldn’t manage to get anything in focus. With a little experimentation, I discovered that the photo adapter splits in two and if I mounted my camera to the shorter version, all of the sudden things look clear. This leaves me wondering what the other 4 inches of steel tubing is for.
I tried a couple of times to get photos of Jupiter, with little success. I don’t have a remote, so I was just having to hope that the vibration caused by my pushing the shutter release would be gone by the time the autotimer opened the shutter. It wasn’t.
In low light situations, vibration is always an issue, but I’ve never worked in a situation where it was this much of an issue. A few notes for anyone who reads this and wants to try it:
The picture you see here is one of my first attempts. Not a stellar result, I know, but not too bad for a first outing. The light pollution in Memphis is pretty bad and I think I picked up a little noise because of my transfer process (I couldn’t find the cable that connects my camera to the computer). I’m going to try to get a few of the full moon next week from here in Memphis and then I’m probably heading south to see the Persieds on the 12th. We’ll see how those turn out.
Next I tried the camera attachment; this required some doing. First off, I’m mounting components in the dark, which of course means that I’m going to drop something. Secondly, the photo mount came with no instructions. The actual mounting was easy enough, but then I couldn’t manage to get anything in focus. With a little experimentation, I discovered that the photo adapter splits in two and if I mounted my camera to the shorter version, all of the sudden things look clear. This leaves me wondering what the other 4 inches of steel tubing is for.
I tried a couple of times to get photos of Jupiter, with little success. I don’t have a remote, so I was just having to hope that the vibration caused by my pushing the shutter release would be gone by the time the autotimer opened the shutter. It wasn’t.
In low light situations, vibration is always an issue, but I’ve never worked in a situation where it was this much of an issue. A few notes for anyone who reads this and wants to try it:
- Buy a remote.
- Remove your camera strap. It’s not doing you any good in this setting and it will sit there and swing LONG after you’ve walked away.
- Sounds are vibrations too. Low frequency sounds are the worst (i.e. – your neighbors stereo system).
- Turn off the air conditioner.
The picture you see here is one of my first attempts. Not a stellar result, I know, but not too bad for a first outing. The light pollution in Memphis is pretty bad and I think I picked up a little noise because of my transfer process (I couldn’t find the cable that connects my camera to the computer). I’m going to try to get a few of the full moon next week from here in Memphis and then I’m probably heading south to see the Persieds on the 12th. We’ll see how those turn out.
2 comments:
Beautiful.
I've heard people recommend Shelby Forest as a good close place to avoid light pollution.
Strangely enough, I hadn't thought about going there; that's a good idea. The guy at Wolf Camera said that there was a farm out at exit 42 that the Memphis Astronomical Society uses. When my stargazing chops get a little better I may have to go check it (and them) out.
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