| Photograph Information |
Photographer's Comments |
Camera: Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Location: US Naval Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ
Date: Dec 10, 2004
Aperture: f/11
ISO: 800
Shutter: 10 min.
Galleries: Science and Technology, Astrophotography
Date Uploaded: Oct 20, 2005
Viewed: 402
Comments: 3
Favorites: 0
|
This image features the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters. The Pleiades in the upper left lie about 450 light years away. Much closer, at 150 light years, is the Hyades which is at the bottom of the image, and appears larger and more spread out because of its proximity. The bright orange star, Aldebaran, appears superimposed over the Hyades, but is not actually part of the cluster, residing even closer to us at 68 light years away.
This is a stack of 3 10-minute shots. The camera was mounted piggyback on my telescope while it tracked with the sky. A dark frame was subtracted from each shot to eliminate hot pixels and amp glow. A digital dark frame was also subtracted to even out the stellar field.
The compact group of stars in the upper left is the Pleiades. The wide arrangement of bright stars toward the bottom right is the Hyades. The bright orange star in the midst of the Hyades is Aldebaran, the eye of the bull, Taurus. |
| Author | Thread |
|
|
10/21/2005 05:33:53 AM |
Thanks for the comments!
Maceo, 30 second tripod-mounted shots seem to work alright if you have a nice wide shot. But tracking with an equatorial telescope mount sure does open up a lot of possibilities. I bought my scope from Orion (www.telescope.com) for $550 plus shipping. You can buy just the equatorial mount itself for around $330. I also bought a $50 polar alignment scope that fits the mount and allows me to get a nice reliable alignment every time.
You might also want to do a search for +barn +door +astrophotography on Google for a more home-made approach that should be a less expensive option. I haven't tried it myself, but I've seen some really good results. |
|
|
|
10/21/2005 04:20:04 AM |
| I've been trying to capture the seven sisters as well. Only problem is I don't have a way to track them. How much does a tracking telescope cost these days? Great photo by the way. |
|
 Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
10/20/2005 06:38:25 PM |
| Very nicely done Jeremy! This is an excellent astrophoto! |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 06/20/2025 02:05:17 AM EDT.
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
