Lost in the stars

[Big V]

Went out last night with the telescope mount and took a few shots...what is interesting is the amount of stars visible in these two pics...you can't count em. These were taken while the moon was still up, although the first pic was done when the moon was quite low on the horizon.

First one, 10 min 800 ISO 80mm refractor f6


Second one, 3 min 800 ISO 70mm lens f5.6

[Alpha_7]

Lovely stuff, I never get tired of viewing yours or anyones astronomy photos:)

[blinkblink]

These are just fantastic. Makes me want to get a telescope. I've got a country property and it's pitch black when there is no moon.

What sort and how much did you spend on a telescope?

[avkomp]

wish we could see this sort of stuff from Sydney.

nothing like urban light pollution to spoil it for us

Steve

[Gordon]

great stuff BigV! what camera settings did you use?

I might have to pop up to my scope and get a moon pic or 2 tonight

Gordon

[Big V]

blinkblink, the scope used last night cost 800 dollars and the motorized mount that it was on (which also had a camera with a canon 70-200 2.8 lens attached to it) cost 1100 dollars. You need a good motorized moun to be able to track the stars as the earth rotates....the sky moves 15 degrees every hour, so it the stars will leave trails very quickly if you do not track them. I also have another scope which I use that is alot bigger - 204mm in diameter compared to 80mm, it was a couple of grand but is fully computerised, so it was worth it.

[Big V]

Gordon, I used the canon 300d (actually had 2 last night, borrowed one off a friend) Shooting at 800 ISO - too much sky glow for 1600 or 3200, f6 80mm refractor for eta 10 minutes and the 70-200mm 2.8 lens for the cross, 5.6 for 3min at the 70mm end.
These shots have not had the dark frames subtracted yet as it was late and I got a bit slack but they are ok as they are for a first go. The mount is a eq6HD...very solid and allows me to run a couple of refractors and a camera with lens attached to it...run it off a small geny out in the sticks

[mudder]

I always enjoy astro photo's and these are great, the color and shapes in the first are eye catching...

How do you work out your exposure levels over that sort of time and ISO etc...?

[Killakoala]

The ETA Carianae image is simply exquisite. Brilliant stuff.

[gooseberry]

Beautiful images Big V, thanks for sharing. The first one is superb.

[mattson]

nice.. that nebulea (sp*) is hot

[Big V]

Mudder, it comes from practice but as a general rule, for nebulae like the first you need 5 min or more..brighter stuff like star fields need only a couple of minutes. To work out which ISO and aperture, you have to look at the sky conditions..if they are perfect (rare) then you can go high ,in the case of my cam I can use 1600 and 3200 (I have done the firmware mod) If sky conditions are less than perfect, you have to use 800 or so otherwise you get too much skyglow in your pic and they become washed out..

[robw25]

tony
i look forward to strappin that "big thing" of yours to the end of my d2x .... how did your weekend at arkaroola go ?

cheers rob

[Big V]

Rob, I could not get the friday off from work, so I did not go..oh well maybe next time...actually I look forward to seeing how the extra pixels of the d2x will go, especially at high ISO

[blacknstormy]

BigV - I never get tired of your photos - they are sublime Every time I see you name in the posts, I have to look - and am never disappointed ...
Thankyou
Rel

[Big V]

Thanks all for the kind words, I love taking pics of the night sky, makes you appreciate what is out there and reminds us what it must have been like before we started to put lights everywhere..

[Willigan]

I love these astro pics - keep them coming!

[Big V]

There is a new comet which I am hoping to image soon, so there should be more in the future..

[xerubus]

tagging thread for when hosting site finishes maintenance....

cheers

[Big V]

Xerubus, thanks for that

[xerubus]

i'm very glad i tagged the thread... they are both amazing shots... nicely done.

the first one would be my pick.

cheers

[Manta]

Awesome work Big V. There's a lot more to astrophotography than just strapping a body onto a telescope and it's great that you are able to share some of your expertise with us.
Keep 'em coming.

[Gordon]

There is a new comet which I am hoping to image soon, so there should be more in the future..

Which comet are you thinking of BigV? Theres usually a new comet or 2 every week

Its looking like being clear, so I'll probably get around to taking some lunar pics tonight.

Gordon