Astrophotography 101 (Tutorial: What you need to get started with this hobby.)

[Eteny]

Astrophotography 101 (Tutorial)

This thread aims to guide those who would want to get started with this fascinating hobby: taking pictures of celestial objects (anything astronomical).

Please post your queries and experiences on anything astro-related so we could all learn from each other

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[Eteny]

Jupiter will be visible tonight (until next month) around 8-9 pm, facing east. A good pair of binoculars should reveal 4 of its moons. A tripod-mounted camera with telephoto lens should be more that capable to image it.

Clear skies!

Eteny

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[retina]

It is really cloudy up here in Lipa!! I will try tomorrow. I hope we can open a thread at share a photo section!!! Astrophotography--share your outerspace photos!!....later when Eteny have taught us the how to get started on this!

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[glennba27]

Finally, an astrophotography thread!

Sir Eteny, can you suggest a telescope for newbies in astrophotography? If possible also, please give us an idea on how much it will cost para mapag-isipan.

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[Eteny]

It is really cloudy up here in Lipa!! I will try tomorrow. I hope we can open a thread at share a photo section!!! Astrophotography--share your outerspace photos!!....later when Eteny have taught us the how to get started on this!

We do not really get that much opportunity here.. let me share this raw video of Jupiter, as I captured it from my 750 mm, 6-inch aperture telescope:

http://eteny.wordpress.com/gallery/jupiter-through-a-6-in-f5-telescope/

The camera used was a Canon Legria FS 20 (nothing special about it as any video camera will do).

This video was then "stacked". Stacking is done by selecting a "reference image". You will have to choose one particular frame from the video, and then define it as a benchmark wherein all other frames will be compared (note that in most video captures, there are 30 frames in each second). In this 30-second video, there are 900 frames... all of which will be compared to the reference image using a freeware called "Registax" (there are many other programs available). Those frames that will be "similar" to the reference image by a certain extent, say 90% similar, will be stacked: put on top of the other, aligned automatically, and then combined to form one single image. The resulting image is as follows:

http://eteny.wordpress.com/gallery/jupiter-and-2-of-its-moons/

Note that details like Jupiter's moons and cloud bands which are not very visible in the video, are now visible in the final output image. By stacking images, noise is greatly minimized and the image looks clean and smooth.

Clear skies!

Eteny

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[aerosmith9110]

Salamat sa pagtupad ng aking request

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[Eteny]

Finally, an astrophotography thread!

Sir Eteny, can you suggest a telescope for newbies in astrophotography? If possible also, please give us an idea on how much it will cost para mapag-isipan.

Hi glennba27,

Most telescopes are designed for a particular purpose, thus there are planetary, solar, lunar, and wide-field telescopes. Best results are obtained if you use a telescope that is appropriate for your desired application. All of these would depend on the optical characteristics of the objective ("objective" is the term used to refer to the optical element closest to the object,which could either be a lens, or a parabolic mirror). Like in SLRs wherein specific lenses are best suited for a specific task, telescopes are not much different. For entry-level telescopes, we want one could do planetary (zoomed-in images), and also could do wide-field (great for nebulas and galaxies). This is now when we consider looking at the telescope's specifications.

Telescopes are rated in terms of (1) aperture and (2) focal length.

Aperture refers to the diameter of the objective. The bigger, the more light is gathered, thus, has greater capability of capturing faint objects. A minimum of 3 inches diameter is preferred: should be more than capable of imaging (or at least be able to detect photographically the following objects: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter and its 4 moons, Saturn with its rings and one of its moon, and Uranus). This should also be able to capture the Orion nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy, and some bright Globular clusters. Thus, if you could save up for a larger-aperture telescope, that would be better.

Focal length of a telescope is no different from the values used in DSLR. But telescopes are not usually described in focal length, but rather in f/ratio. For a telescope with a diameter of 150 mm, and a focal length of 750 mm, the f/ratio is obtained by dividing the value of the "focal length" with the "aperture". That is: 750 mm/150 mm. This will give you a value of 5. Thus, a more accurate way to describe it would be: a "150 mm f/5" telescope. Why is this important?

By looking at the f/ratio, you would immediately know for what kind of purpose the telescope is designed for. F/5 and higher (i.e., f/6, f/7, up to say f/10, or f/11) are designed for planetary "zoomed-in" use. While f/5 and below (usually up to f/4, f/3) are designed for wide-field and are best suited for "deep-sky" targets like galaxies and nebulas.

A good starting telescope must be a general-purpose telescope, and thus should have as large aperture as possible (recommended are 4-6 inches of aperture), and must have an f/ratio close to f/5 (f/5, again, is a mid-range value: not too zoomed-in, not too wide-field. 

A typical 6-inch f/8 telescope (reflector) would cost say around 20-25K. A typical 5-inch f/5 telescope (reflector) would cost around 16-20K. A typical 3-inch telescope (refractor) would cost 35K or so.
(These are all estimated prices, I have not really checked actual current prices.)

Hope this helps

Eteny

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[wed7]

Ang saya naman nito, more sir!

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[Eteny]

Salamat sa pagtupad ng aking request

Hi aerosmith9110,

Not a problem at all, we could all learn from each other's post

Eteny

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[Eteny]

Ang saya naman nito, more sir!

Hi wed7,

Hope we could address FAQ and as well as technical questions through this thread

Eteny

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[Eteny]

There will be a close pairing of the moon and the planet Jupiter on October 13, 2011, at around 8 pm, facing east.

Visible to the naked eye

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[glennba27]

There will be a close pairing of the moon and the planet Jupiter on October 13, 2011, at around 8 pm, facing east.

Visible to the naked eye

Thanks for sharing. Maabangan nga yan. Pag nagkataon, my first planet shot. Sana lang, hindi cloudy at umuulan.

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[lehboy]

There will be a close pairing of the moon and the planet Jupiter on October 13, 2011, at around 8 pm, facing east.

Visible to the naked eye

Thanks for sharing this! What would be the recommended lens / telescope for astrophotography with a dslr rig?

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[retina]

Thanks for sharing this! What would be the recommended lens / telescope for astrophotography with a dslr rig?

This link seems to be helpful:
http://www.astronomyforbeginners.com/astrophotography/

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[Eteny]

Thanks for sharing this! What would be the recommended lens / telescope for astrophotography with a dslr rig?

For tomorrow's close pairing, just use the most powerful (longest focal length) zoom lens that you have. If its not powerful enough, what you will see of Jupiter is just a "blob". But if you zoom-in just enough, then you might be able to capture Jupiter itself (along with its 4 moons).

Eteny

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[Jagner]

For tomorrow's close pairing, just use the most powerful (longest focal length) zoom lens that you have. If its not powerful enough, what you will see of Jupiter is just a "blob". But if you zoom-in just enough, then you might be able to capture Jupiter itself (along with its 4 moons).

Eteny

Thanks for sharing   Hoping that we'll have clear skies tonight

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[Eteny]

How to Take Photos of Jupiter

Jupiter is now well-placed in the eastern horizon and is seen as a very bright naked-eye object. It rises at around 8 in the evening and eventually reaches zenith (overhead) at around 12 midnight, presenting another great opportunity for astrophotographers to image the planet.

Capturing the Planet using a Video Camera and a Telescope

A video of Jupiter was captured through a 750 mm, 6-inch aperture telescope using a Canon Legria FS 20 video camera. The video was then processed using a technique called registering and stacking, using a software called Registax. In this method, one particular frame from the video was chosen as the “best image” to which all other frames will be compared.



Read more:
http://eteny.wordpress.com/gallery/jupiter-and-2-of-its-moons/

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[retina]

If we are taking photos of heavenly bodies several million light years away, are we staring at the history or are we watching it in real time. Is it possible that the light images are there but the sources were long gone? I am a little bit confused!!Thanks

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[Eteny]

If you missed this event yesterday, them you might still have a chance on another one: Moon-Pleiades-Jupiter celestial grouping visible tonight, October 15, 2011.



Hoping for clear skies!

Eteny

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[Eteny]

If we are taking photos of heavenly bodies several million light years away, are we staring at the history or are we watching it in real time. Is it possible that the light images are there but the sources were long gone? I am a little bit confused!!Thanks

Yes, we are staring at history
http://hcurci.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/hank-curci-explains-speed-of-light-we-are-all-living-in-the-past-5/

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