So I bought a new camera today. I bought it for 2 reasons, to use for TAT photos of tournaments and events that I attend, and also for astrophotography.
I couldn't wait to try it out even though the adapters I need to use my telescope as a lens won't be here until next week. So I piggybacked it on top of my telescope and just used the lens that came with the camera. So the pictures I took tonight are at 3x magnification... next weekend, with the adapters, the pictures will be at 350x magnification. But I wanted to use the damned thing!
The first picture is of M13 which is 25,100 light years from earth (it's the fuzzy spot in the center of the photo). The second picture is why I started this thread tonight instead of next weekend (when the pics should be more impressive). A jumbo jet flew through the area of the sky I was photographing during one of the exposures. Who would've thought?
I received what I need to attach my camera to my telescope, basically using the scope as a lens. After a day and a half (and very little sleep) of modifying my telescope so I'd be able to focus with the camera instead of a regular lens, these are from my first night out.
The first one is that little gray fuzzy (M13) from the first post in this thread.
The second one is of 2 galaxies (M81 (on the right) and M82 (on the left)).
The third attachment is of M57 (the ring nebulae) which is estimated to be 0.9 light years (5.5 trillion miles) from earth.
This is a photo of the Orion Nebulae, which for those who know astronomy, is located in the constellation Orion (oddly enough) just below his belt. This isn't a very good shot. I could do better if I had time, but Orion is setting about an hour after the sun and that's not a good position or a lot of time. The good shots will have to wait until the end of Summer when it comes back around.
It's one of the most photographed nebula because it's the brightest star forming nebula in the sky. You can actually see it with the naked eye (as a gray fuzzy) if you know where it is and the night sky is clear.
That cloudy looking thing in the bottom left is a tree that's on our property. I was able to get one 30 second exposure done before Orion went behind the tree, as opposed to the last three photos above which are composites of multiple exposures.
Oh, this is so cool. I've always been such a stargazer. Endlessly fascinated with this kinda stuff.
Did anyone ever watch that show that used to (still does???) come on PBS right before it went off the air. I think it may have been called Star Gazer. With Jack Horkheimer. That was one of my strongest childhood memories.
Avatar: Munchin's Favorite Matches - #10 - Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras - 2000 Australian Open SF
"If I didn't play tennis, I would probably have to go see a psychiatrist" - Arthur Ashe
These are absolutely amazing!! And just gorgeous to look at. Remarkable what's in our night sky, eh? Wow, what a cool, cool camera. TAT's own Carl Sagan.
I am. They'd be much better if I traveled to a more rural area, but, yeah. All from my backyard.
Originally Posted by Danielle
These are absolutely amazing!! And just gorgeous to look at. Remarkable what's in our night sky, eh? Wow, what a cool, cool camera. TAT's own Carl Sagan.
The camera's just an entry-level DSLR. Nothing special about it. It's having a good telescope and learning how to shoot the photos, which believe me, I'm very much in the learning stages of.
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Originally Posted by oploskoffie
(Wrong captain, but it still seemed applicable.)
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