Ideal night for astro?

[CBA100]

Just wondered if anyones knows when the next ideal night for astro photography would be. Havent seen much of the moon lately.

I've just been handed a free telescope and celestron eyepiece set and thought id try setting my A200 up to it. Recieved a T2 adapter through the post this morning, and i'm looking forward to the next clear night, whenever that may be

Tried afew test shot to see what range i could get, and (although not the sharpest) i cant wait to try afew moon shots.


TEST 1. A200 with Sigma 18-50mm, shot at 50mm

TEST 2. A200 with Konus telescope, shot at 900mm

TEST 3. A200 with Konus AND 2x Barlow, shot at 1800mm

 

[-halli-]

Look south, it is there now (clouds permitting). It is a half moon and so won't be high in the sky when it is dark. Should be towards the west later tonight.

 

[CraigF]

Ok, we have established that its no good for looking in your neighbours windows..lol

 

[BandyQuill]

:O i need to get a telescope now !!!

 

[Deleted member 29733]

A little while ago I was looking at taking a few moon shots and could not see it anywhere. I found this site......http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/time/moon/. I found very informative. And near the bottom there is an arrow facing left and it says 'Time for each moon phase seen in the UK' when I read this I then understood why I could not see the moon because it was not around until about 3am.

Check it out it's very interesting.

 

[norvic-boy]

Wow. Nice bit of kit!

I look forward to seeing what you get!!

But I'm very glad you don't live in norfolk with that thing

Only kidding

 

[BandyQuill]

im pretty sure he could see you in norfolk

 

[norvic-boy]

im pretty sure he could see you in norfolk

Actually I bet you're not wrong!

 

[BandyQuill]

could someone link me to the telescope you have, im struggling to find details on how you'd get a DSLR hooked up to anything

 

[Tringa]

Have a look at this site too http://www.heavens-above.com/- lots of astro information.

Dave

 

[CBA100]

Thanks for the comments and info guys, much appreciated.

Its pretty cloudy here, so i'll have to try another night.


This is my kit.....Not very stealth like


KonusMotor-70

Will update with pics as soon as i have them

 

[Harvey_nikon]

I need to get an adapter for my skylux, think it's only been used twice in 3 years!

 

[BandyQuill]

i think we need more astro photography on this site, it sounds like theres alot of kit hiding under beds !!!

 

[Deleted member 29733]

Have a look at this site too http://www.heavens-above.com/- lots of astro information.

Dave

Dave take the - from the end of your link as it is stopping the page from loading (page cannot be found).

 

[magicaxeman]

This lot are just about the friendliest and most helpful bunch of astronomers on the net, they have plenty of tutorials and are always willing to help a newcomer get up and running.
They also have dedicated sections on astrophotography
http://stargazerslounge.com/

 

[Adey]

Wow that telescope is only £99 http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-konus-konustart-900-telescope.htm

Very tempting price considering the respectable quality of the shot taken at 900mm

I think i suddenly want a telescope, i dunno what for but i want one

If i bought that telescope would i just need a t-2 adapter to attach it to my 400d?

I have tried reading http://stargazerslounge.com/ but i don't really understand what they're talking about

 

[CBA100]

Wow that telescope is only £99 http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-konus-konustart-900-telescope.htm

Very tempting price considering the respectable quality of the shot taken at 900mm

I think i suddenly want a telescope, i dunno what for but i want one

If i bought that telescope would i just need a t-2 adapter to attach it to my 400d?

I have tried reading http://stargazerslounge.com/ but i don't really understand what they're talking about

yeah you'll just need the T2 adapter. If you want to use a 2x barlow like I have, you'll need a 1.25" nosepiece adapter aswell.

 

[Cuchulainn]

What is the quality of the direct image when cropped to the same FOV as the barlow? I'm impressed with the direct image, but the barlow definitely gives some "watery" CA effects.

 

[Tommo B]

I have a nice little program on my laptop - Stellarium. Free to download - works a treat. And more than enough detail to find your way around the sky. Shows the planets, constellations, moon, nebulae - the lot.

(I always have the Bigma with me when I head down country at the weekend. Captures great detail in the moon - even managed to get a half decent pic of Jupiter & 4 moons last weekend!)

 

[jgs001]

Finding an ideal night is hard, even when the skies are clear, particularly for targets like the moon and planets you get distortions from the atmosphere, some nights more than others. The best time seems to be after a good old rain during the day, when the clouds clear. You'll find, that with the 2x barlow, because of the extra distance from the sensor to the lens element, you are actually getting a little more than 2 times, so you're probably running at about 2m, instead of 1.8m. That also looks like it's a rack and pinion focuser (I'd be surprised if it's anything else), in which case, if you remove the rube, and apply teflon tape in line with the runners in the focuser, it will improve it's handling no end. It's worked a treat on both of my refractors.