FFK's Astrophotography

[Finalfantasykid]

I've had a telescope for almost a year now, and I just got some afocal photography equipment to take some simple astrophotography shots.

Equipment Used
- Orion XT8 Dobsonian Telescope
- SteadyPix Deluxe Camera Mount
- Panasonic DMC-FH27

Moon (1st Attempt)
I got my first shot of the moon today, and it turned out OK, I suppose. I had some problems getting the field of view right, and as a result the bottom of the moon is sort of darker and not as sharp as it should have been. But I will know better next time.


Moon 2


Mostly Full Moon


Jupiter (Success!)

[Jesus]

Do you know why some areas areas dark and some areas are lighter on the moon surface?

That's so cool that you have such an equipment. It must be expensive.

[Levis.seraph]

I think I remember when you posted that you had gotten the telescope! Cool that you're putting it to good use! Hopefully there's a meteor shower soon, then I can steal...umm borrow your pics for my wallpaper.

[Finalfantasykid]

Do you know why some areas areas dark and some areas are lighter on the moon surface?

That's so cool that you have such an equipment. It must be expensive.

The dark areas are maria. They were once covered in lava, which then cooled to form the darker areas we see today. Also notice how they are far fewer craters in these areas (might not be totally noticeable in this image), which signifies that the maria surface is much younger than the brigher highland areas.

Also, the telescope is often the cheapest part of the entire astronomy setup. Often the collection of eyepieces, filters, mounts and other accessories far exceed the cost of the telescope.

[Jesus]

There's a place called, the Chabot Space & Science Center, in the Bay Area where I got to see through a giant telescope to spot Jupiter (was it Jupiter, I forgot lol). I saw the moon two. That telescope was huge!

There was also a room in which people were grinding and shaping a large glass-disk thing, is that the eyepiece?

My experience there fascinated me about space, but all that math and physics just scared me off.


That camera you use, I think I wanted to get it, but I got a Sony, instead.

[Finalfantasykid]

^I'm wondering if a different camera might be better actually, one with a smaller lens might work better for this application.

[Finalfantasykid]

I made my second attempt of the moon tonight. This one turned out significantly better!


(Click to View full Image)

[Jesus]

Oh, wow, I can see the American Flag!

[Crazy Knives]

You're not looking hard enough, clearly the footsteps are visible as well.

[Finalfantasykid]

Guys could we please stay on topic please (especially in my thread )

[Crazy Knives]

I was staying on topic, that's my way of expressing how clean and clear the pics are. :L

But honestly those are pretty awesome shots. Have you tried taking it to the next level by trying to take shots of Mars?

[Finalfantasykid]

Mars is a very difficult target because it is so much smaller. I will try in the summer when it will be in the night sky. I was going to try Jupiter last night, but the clouds started to roll in just as I was doing the moon so I didn't have time (it was also very cold!)

[Jesus]

I made my second attempt of the moon tonight. This one turned out significantly better!


(Click to View full Image)

Sorry, David.

I am really impressed with the quality of this picture! The details makes it more real such as the various crater sizes.

Do you know what day on the calender when you can take a picture of the full moon?

Absolutely gorgeous. Keep it up!

[Finalfantasykid]

Off the top of my head I can't remember when it will happen, but I always check http://cleardarksky.com/c/Edmontonkey.html?1 for those sorts of things. The full moon is actually less interesting because you can't see the details of the craters as well since you can't see any of the shadows. I will do the full moon eventually though, the sky has been really bad lately, and I was actually surprised it was as good as it was last night considering it had snowed all day.

EDIT: I checked where Mars will be this summer, and actually it will be right around the Sun, so I guess no Mars this year. Spring 2014 might be a good time for Mars. I think mars will be at opposition (at it's brightest, and closest to Earth) at that time, so it will be a great time to view it.

[Crazy Knives]

You must go pretty far out to get a clear picture without the glare from the city lights and such. Or do you have a special camera that blocks glare?