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Misc Astrophotography (Shoot the ISS, etc) besides moon shots...
- Thread starter mtbdudex
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Taken with my 2.8"/72mm aperture Astro-Tech refractor and a Sony NEX-5N digital camera from a moderately dark location (much better than my home location).
The Leo Triplet of Galaxies (M65, M66, NGC3628)
The Leo Triplet of Galaxies (M65, M66, NGC3628)
The so-called Great Hercules Star Cluster (taken from a fairly dark-sky location with my 2.8" Astro-Tech refractor and a Sony NEX-5N digital camera):
The Globular Star Cluster M13 in the Constellation Hercules on Flickr you can view a larger image and read additional details on the photo.
The Globular Star Cluster M13 in the Constellation Hercules on Flickr you can view a larger image and read additional details on the photo.
Photoshop, doesn't always work well for blending stars but in this case it came out okay.
Note: I posted the below in a photo weekly challenge here, once that ended then I posted below.
We had 4 families over last Friday night for kids & parents euchre night till 10:15pm, when they left I set-up the gear.
Shortly after some clouds rolled in, I wish less planes, here's result:
394 images, 25 sec each, 15mm @ ISO800. Stacked and some PP.
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With the heat wave the fireflies are going bonkers here!
Wed June 20, 2012 night, about 3 hrs worth during shortest night of the year.
I had to start imaging at 11pm, too light before that.
Many 25 sec exposures, 15-85 zoom lens at 15mm on crop T1i @ ISO800.
Stacked using StarStaX.
Raw output with all planes
28 frames with plane streaks removed, hence you see small gaps in all the star trails corresponding to those stars not being there during the stacking process.
A much more time intense method would be to PP each of the 28 frames and remove the plane streaks...that's lots of work .....but would give more pleasing/continuous star trail arcs
We had 4 families over last Friday night for kids & parents euchre night till 10:15pm, when they left I set-up the gear.
Shortly after some clouds rolled in, I wish less planes, here's result:
394 images, 25 sec each, 15mm @ ISO800. Stacked and some PP.
----------
With the heat wave the fireflies are going bonkers here!
Wed June 20, 2012 night, about 3 hrs worth during shortest night of the year.
I had to start imaging at 11pm, too light before that.
Many 25 sec exposures, 15-85 zoom lens at 15mm on crop T1i @ ISO800.
Stacked using StarStaX.
Raw output with all planes
28 frames with plane streaks removed, hence you see small gaps in all the star trails corresponding to those stars not being there during the stacking process.
A much more time intense method would be to PP each of the 28 frames and remove the plane streaks...that's lots of work .....but would give more pleasing/continuous star trail arcs
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Thx Andy, They do seem to be really active 3-4 weeks earlier than last year.
I submitted the image to EarthSky, they put it on their facebook page, It's got "1,308 others like this.." and "65 comments", along with "453" shares
http://www.facebook.com/#!/EarthSky
Now, if I just got $0.10 for each like I'd have $13, enough for a lunch
As bonus in the 400+ images taken, there is a iridium satellite flare 1/2 way up and 1/3 way in from LH side, this individual 2 frame composite & crop shows it clearly.
There is a 1 second pause between frames, as can be seen in the image, those flares last very briefly, usually just 3-5 seconds total to the naked eye, camera sensor will show longer.
I've seen just 1 -7mag flare and it was so bright and stunning!
Heavens-above has info to plan and capture them for those interested.
There is a 1 second pause between frames, as can be seen in the image, those flares last very briefly, usually just 3-5 seconds total to the naked eye, camera sensor will show longer.
I've seen just 1 -7mag flare and it was so bright and stunning!
Heavens-above has info to plan and capture them for those interested.
Thanks for the reminder about this. I've taken my family to the "designated coordinates" to see Iridium flares a few times. The trick is to correctly judge (or measure) the elevation and azimuth. It's fun to try to draw a crowd by explaining to passersby why you are in some seemingly random location staring at the sky.
I keep accidentally getting shots of these flares in my time lapse sequences. Here's one from my trip to the UK, taken May 28th. They are really cool to see in person, and I've seen them almost every night that I've done a time lapse. I've also seen a pair of satellites flying overhead a couple times. They look like they're an inch or so (relatively speaking) apart on the same path... anyone know what those two guys are, flying together like that?
Since I got a new laptop, I decided to export a couple videos in 1080p that my old one couldn't handle. Here's one that I shot a year or two ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beRojbE_yY0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beRojbE_yY0
ISS Transit - June 25, 2012 by dvsmith, on Flickr
Direct overhead transit of the International Space Station.
Canon 1D Mark III
EF 17-35mm f/2.8L
1/25 @ f/5.6 ISO 400
140 exposures stacked with StarStax
ISS this week and Venus event
I was able to see the ISS twice this week. Here's a view of it rotating in orbit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21483298@N04/sets/72157630303170082/
Here's also a cloudy view of the Transit of Venus from June 5th:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21483298@N04/sets/72157630001590941/
I was able to see the ISS twice this week. Here's a view of it rotating in orbit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21483298@N04/sets/72157630303170082/
Here's also a cloudy view of the Transit of Venus from June 5th:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21483298@N04/sets/72157630001590941/
I was able to see the ISS twice this week. Here's a view of it rotating in orbit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21483298@N04/sets/72157630303170082/
What sort of lens/telescope were you using?
I attempted to image Saturn last night, using both a 2000mm spotting scope and a 500mm f/5.6 lens and found both results extremely disappointing.
The ISS was off a 300 mm f/2.8 lens, and the Venus event was done with an 11-inch SchmidtCassegrain telescope.
Saturn can be seen with a 4-inch lens, but only barely. This one is off the same 11-inch SCT, and with that aperture the moons are visible:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21483298@N04/sets/72157629743698711/
A problem that you may be experiencing is that you have a lot of focal length, but not enough aperture. Spotting scopes are generally meant for use during the daylight hours and at specific ranges. Distant objects in the sky are much dimmer than an sunlit landscape, and so you need both aperture and focal length to be able to resolve those objects.
Daniel - I take it you live here or?
Nice! Can you take multiple 25-30 sec exposures and stack in StarStaX for longer arcs? 1 - 1.5 hrs will give a totally different look, and with the lake in foreground on still night possible to get reflections in there also.
It's where I'm from originally. Just here for two weeks now. I'll give it a go. i've never stacked before.
"Once you stack, you never go back"
Easy with this free software.
http://markus-enzweiler.de/software/software.html