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Hi from Darwen...some help please

andrewfkay

By andrewfkay
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andrewfkay

andrewfkay

Posted
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Hi,

I've had my Skywatcher 200p newt and EQ5 mount for a couple of months. Although I've only managed to get a handful of decent nights viewing, I would like to venture into astrophotography.

My only problem is I'm unsure of what the next step should be. I, like most, have a limited budget so I have to save for a while before making a purchase.

I would like to take pictures of planets but I'm most interested in capturing DSO.

I'm wondering if I should buy a dslr and save for the goto attachment to my mount later or get the goto and get a starter webcam like the one I've linked to below.

There are plenty of fantastic pictures on this forum and would love to add to them.

Thanks for any advice.

(Buy Philips Pre flashed SPC880 CCD webcam bundle at Morgan Computers)

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brantuk

brantuk

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Hi Andrew and welcome to SGL :rolleyes:

Astro Photography is a bit of a dark art with a steep learning curve. I'd be tempted to suggest you start with a bit of moon and planetary stuff using the SPC880/900 so you can get accustomed to what's involved.

With your setup you will require a Right Ascension tracking motor in order to follow solar system objects. This will give you a good start whilst learning more about what's required for DSO's and saving for a dslr ;)

First Light Optics - Single-Axis D.C. Motor Drive for EQ5

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JamesM

JamesM

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In addition to brantuck's advice, getting hold of Steve Richards "Making Every Photon Count" (FLO £19.95) will provide the necessary knowledge of what you need and why you need it to achieve the level of imaging that will best meet your expectations. It will save you money by ensuring that you buy exactly what you need. A lot of advice naturally focuses on data collection with the mount, scope etc but don't forget to include in any future budget provision for processing of the collected data. There is a lot of free software out there that is good but there is also some useful processing that is not and will have to be paid for. I would certainly recommend that you take your time, research what you need and to check your understanding by asking for advice on the forum. We are privileged to have some extremely talented experienced imagers who clearly know their stuff and are certainly willing to share their knowledge.

James

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ScubaMike

ScubaMike

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Hi Andrew,

Welcome aboard.

I'll second Brantuk's advice.

Start with the Moon and then move onto planets.

Perfect and hone your technique at each stage. Post your pics and get some constructive critisism

Nothing quite like your first astrophoto.

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Polar Bear

Polar Bear

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Hi Andrew and welcome to the forum, I have just returned home from working nights in Darwen and I am not surprised you have not got much watching done it was miserable.

Chorley is not much better either !

On the imaging front I started with some very inexpensive web-cams and got some good Moon and Jupiter images. A RA drive will be necessary as will some stacking software such as Registax.

You will be able to achieve some good basic imaging but as I realised the next step up is an expensive one and you need to do your homework.

Paul

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andrewfkay

andrewfkay

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Thanks for the advice and welcomes everyone.

I've purchased Make Every Photon count and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it.

I think I'll go for the webcam and the EQ5 motors. I enough saved for the SynScan PRO GOTO Version 3 Upgrade Kit for EQ5 and so will go for that unless there is good reason not to.

My laptop is a Mac Book Pro. Am I going to have problems with the stack and webcam software?

Re: Polar Bear - Seen as you're local, do you know of any particularly good spots for gazing nearby?

Thanks again for the help

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imarcs

imarcs

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Re: Polar Bear - Seen as you're local, do you know of any particularly good spots for gazing nearby?

I live nearby and there's quite good spot here between Bolton & Blackburn......post #12

http://stargazerslounge.com/observing-discussion/149707-northwest-dark-skies.html#post1917397

However i've decided that the Astronomy Centre is just too close to not be taken advantage of. When my work eventually calms down (prays) I plan to make frequent weekend visits there.

The Astronomy Centre

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