Astro-photgraphy/imaging anyone?

[Astronut]

I have been having a blast with KSP. I am fascinated by everything \'up there\', be it airplanes, spacecraft, and beyond. My main hobby is astro-imaging, which I do using a variety of telescopes and cameras from my back yard. Here are a few shots that some of you may find interesting..

It\'s an enjoyable hobby. Anyone else tried this?

[mintyhippo136]

I don\'t have a motorized mount so I\'m limited in what I can image but here are a few of my attempts.

Transit of Venus

Venus>Moon>Jupiter

Four of Jupiter\'s Moons

[Vanamonde]

Astronut, that Moon image is especially beautiful. mintyhippo136, I\'m afraid I just get red Xs for yours.

[mintyhippo136]

It should work now.

[NovaSilisko]

I am receiving my new telescope tomorrow, and hopefully I can purchase a proper astrophoto camera, as well.

[colmo]

I\'ve been holding off getting some astro gear even though it is, after all, what I\'m currently studying.

My main fear is that astrophotography can get very expensive very quickly - I\'m eyeing the new Meade LX80 mount to which I can attach my existing photography gear or an OTA I have yet to select. Reports I read suggested the software for tracking was still buggy.

The other off-putting feature is the weather of my homeland - it\'s under a cloud much of the time!

[zombiphylax]

I am receiving my new telescope tomorrow, and hopefully I can purchase a proper astrophoto camera, as well.

You went with a 6' Dobs, right? Fair warning, it\'ll be a bit tricky to get decent photos.

[colmo]

I just acquired a 2nd hand 10 inch Dobsonian - Skywatcher 250px. It's a bit of a beast. A Dobsonian mount severely limits astrophotography capability, but it's awesome for the Moon.

In astrophotography, one way to avoid the issues of Earth's rotation and view rotation inherent to Alt/Az mounts is to stack short exposures. It's even possible to stack frames from video.

[zombiphylax]

It's even possible to stack frames from video.

I don't know why this never occurred to me, I may have to try that.

Congrats on the 10" dob! I bet that's pretty nice for planet watching.

[deadlineone]

Nice Picture

But how much do you paid for the stuff? I wanted my "astrophotography-set" two years ago, but i see it cost around 3000 CHF(3100$) or more?!

[colmo]

I don't know why this never occurred to me, I may have to try that.

It's common to use a cheap webcam with a small sensor - as planets will not be large in the viewfinder, and resolution is limited visually, not by sensor resolution, no need to have a physically large or high resolution sensor. There are plenty of How Tos out there.

Congrats on the 10" dob! I bet that's pretty nice for planet watching.

I'll let you know if these bloody clouds ever clear. Seeing conditions have been appalling all summer.

[Elven_sword]

I took a neat photo of the moon at the Baton Rouge observatory with an iPhone, you really don't need a good camera.

[colmo]

I took a neat photo of the moon at the Baton Rouge observatory with an iPhone, you really don't need a good camera.

I tried that, and got this photo. I'm surprised - the camera on the iPhone 3G is truly awful.

[Steve5451]

I wish I had a telescope.