Astro shots tonight - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

02/19/2006 12:10:14 AM · #1

I braved dangerously cold temps tonight to do some astro shooting with my new 400mm Canon lens. The cold killed my batteries, but not before I could capture some nice shots. Here are some quick and dirty processing jobs:

The first and third shots are uncropped (but have been processed to varying degrees, see photographer's comments). The middle is just a crop of the first to show some additional detail. The third shot is Mars making a close pass of the Pleiades.

angela_packard

Canon EOS-20D

02/19/2006 12:14:49 AM · #2

Those are some great shots!!! I would like to be able to do that!! TIPS???

Hye5

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

02/19/2006 12:22:37 AM · #3

Wow, was this simply a 400mm lens? I will have to try that with my 100-400!

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/19/2006 12:27:19 AM · #4

Answering both replies:

Yes, it was a 400mm lens, BUT, the camera and lens were mounted on a very high end permanently mounted telescope with tracking capability, allowing for long exposures while canceling out Earth's rotation. Such shots are quite impossible without a tracking mount. I have my own tracking telescope but used a more expensive observatory setup for tonight's shoot.

I also just looked at these shots again on my CRT computer. I processed them on my LCD, where they are quite a bit brighter and more detailed than they show up on a CRT. D'oh!

marbo

Nikon D5000

02/19/2006 04:09:58 AM · #5

Brilliant shots and your tracking is spot on. I can even see some nebulosity around the Pleiades. It must be very dark there.
My jellyscope is only good for about 1 minute and takes for ever to set-up. Wish i had time and money for a fixed mount. Not even sure if it would be worth the effort as the light pollution here is quite bad,like this :(

alpharich

Fujifilm X-S10

Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f/4 R IOS

02/19/2006 04:44:36 AM · #6

fantastic !

i have an lx90 on a pier, but having trouble with the piggy-back mount
:( plus i have orange clouds like marbo lol

wonderful pictures - how did you add the diffraction spike?

i've been looking for a filter to do this for ages.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

02/19/2006 10:18:44 AM · #7

Originally posted by richard42:

wonderful pictures - how did you add the diffraction spike?

i've been looking for a filter to do this for ages.

I bought a set of PS actions created specifically for astronomy post-processing. Link is here. I haven't fully explored all of them but there's plenty to justify the cost and some good ones like the diffraction spikes, softening actions to get rid of the "crinkley" look stars can get when an image is over-processed, etc. The price was right.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

02/19/2006 11:23:15 AM · #8

Ahhh, I see your foray into the arctic cold was worth the effort! Sorry I was no able to join you... even if I had gotten in earlier, Bear and I had already had our recommended daily allowance of arse-freezing earlier in the day, LOL.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

02/21/2006 05:03:12 PM · #9

This being the most recent astrophotography thread ...

I got a notice from NASA that between now and March 1 is the best time to see Mercury for a while.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

02/21/2006 05:43:01 PM · #10

Yep, Mercury. I've been watching it for the past several nights. The brightest star-like object in the glow of sunset. Sets a little more than an hour after the soon so don't wait too long to look.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

02/21/2006 06:09:06 PM · #11

Originally posted by strangeghost:

Yep, Mercury. I've been watching it for the past several nights. The brightest star-like object in the glow of sunset. Sets a little more than an hour after the soon so don't wait too long to look.

I was hoping one of you would have taken some pictures of it : )

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

02/21/2006 07:42:21 PM · #12

Your wish is my command!!

Not bad for a quick effort out my deck sliding door!

Skyarcher

Canon EOS-5D

02/21/2006 10:31:18 PM · #13

Wonderful! Middle image is great, with more detail and can see RunningMan better. :)

Hope that you have the newest version of Astronomy Tools, Noel just sent me an email couple of days actually, that new version is out.

I use that, plus GradientXterminator (great program!), after running through ImagesPlus.

What is your setup? What scope and mount do you have?