Beginners Video Astronomy information videos

[fondofchips]

I’ve found that information for those looking into starting Video Astronomy takes a bit of finding, even with Google’s help.  Generally there is plenty of discussion about the equipment, and nice pictures/video on the internet but where do you start?

As with all types of stargazing there are many ways of doing Video Astronomy.  I hope this little topic helps you on your way, the following 2 videos have been a good help to me: -

Ken (Dragon Mans) beginner’s videos, a really good place to start.

http://astrovideoforum.proboards.com/thread/1198/introduction-video-astronomy-tutorials

The following video is labelled as an alignment video but includes a good tutorial on using a Philips webcam and Sharpcap camera capture tool; (this is an inexpensive way to start), the principles described here apply to just about any astronomy video camera/software combination though.  Includes setting up focus with a Bahtinov mask: -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDC-zct6lvY

I’m not one for waffling on so just enjoy the videos and see why we like video astronomy.  Cost wise I had a fairly large eyepiece collection, so I sold some of my unused ones to buy my camera.  So the outlay may not be as much as you think.

Advantages to Video Astronomy

Sit in the warm and view the Universe on your PC screen

Good for people with eyesight issues

Good for group viewing, no taking turns at the eyepiece

Can be broadcast live, see links below

Camera shows you more colour and detail than can be seen visually through an eyepiece

Save your pictures and video, good for passing comets and eclipses for example

2 places to see live videos

Video Astronomy broadcasts on the Night Skies Network: -

http://www.nightskiesnetwork.com/

Video Astronomy broadcasts on the videoastronomylive website: -

http://www.videoastronomylive.co.uk/#!channels/c20zy

Hope you find this information helpful

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[fondofchips]

A couple of my pictures: -

Moon taken the night after the eclipse

M42 Orion Nebula taken during the Lunar eclipse, taking advantage of the dark sky

Equipment used as in my signature, no filters used. Pictures are straight off my camera and brightness/contrast adjusted in Photoshop Elements.

I live towards the edge of town but still have light pollution to contend with, as you can see though the camera works well even in those conditions.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.