Basic Astrohptography Tips Please

[PhoenixRising]

Hi all,

My setup:

Skywatcher 150pl on EQ3/2 mount.

Canon 350d,

Eyepieces: 6,10,18,25 (32 and 40mm on way),

Canon adapter and Antares lense holder.

Ive tried taking pics with the eyepiece adapter which I feel is a waste of time as not enough light gets through and also, the fov is tiny by the time the light reaches the camera. Its also the same when I connect my Skywatcher x2 Barlow connected directly to the camera straight into the scope. So basically, I can get wide"ish" pictures when I connect my camera directly to the scope. But this means I cant get the Plaeidies all into the shot, but its also too far out to attempt photoing Andromeda Galaxy. Also, because the camera is connected directly to the scope, I cant use my uhc filter

So basically, am I missing something here?

My first attempt at Plaeaides is attached, handtracked with 2 sec exposure, camera directly into scope, no filters, nowt!

[RichieJarvis]

Hi there,

Well - you have to stick with what you can really with this setup. Andromeda is huge, covering 190' x 60' - there are not many scope that can fit this in. The Pleiades are a bit smaller, but the same applies.

The trick is to start building a list of objects that fit in your field of view - use CCDCalc to work it out (here - its free.) This page is also useful: Calculator for DSLR Astrophotography

This site gives a list of objects, which you can sort by size: Deepsky Objects Database

Make sure you pick either very bright Ha targets, or bright galaxies like M51, which don't suffer from the Ha reduction in sensitivity inherent in non-modified DSLR's.

The other part of the story is that you need to track for a narrow field of view - if you can't track, then you need to reduce your exposure lengths and chose bright targets - reduce them until you can no longer see star trails (zoom in to check properly.)

As far as your filter goes, you should be able to speak to FLO to find out how to get an adaptor to fit it on the scope directly.

Above all though - enjoy yourself though! Whereabouts are you based? Find your local imagers - we cover the country

Hope that helps!

Cheers,

Richie

[PhoenixRising]

Thanks for that. Im still learning the technical jargon so those tables will make sense at some point! So, what are you guys using to achieve your photos in frame. I ralise I need a motor to ensure stability, but I'm wondering what setups people are using to frame Andromeda, Plaedies, Orion etc? Or, if anyone else has a 150p, or pl, what they are using to achieve their pics connection and filterwise. Cheers for any help guys, Im finding this a really steep learning curve.

[Tim]

Hi. Indeed it is a steep learning curve, but it's not impossible

What you can actually fit into a picture is governed by your camera and telescope. The tool Richie linked to is well worth learning.

There are a host of free tools and applications for astrophotography on the www.

How serious are you about getting into imaging? It can make for an expensive hobby, but can be very rewarding too. At the very least you will be looking at getting a driven mount, but even then it isnt just a case of suddenly being able to take very long exposures, most of us use a combination of two cameras and telescopes, one which takes the picture, and one which makes sure the mount is moving at the correct speed, usually controlled by a computer.

When you see the pictures on this forum, and other places, they are nearly all the result of very long exposure images, and lots of them.

There are other means of getting longer exposures without getting blurred streaks for stars, but pretty much all methods involve tracking the sky in one way or another.

It would be well worth you popping along to a star party sometime, and having a look at just what goes into some of the images, i'm sure you'd find it helpful.

Cheers

TJ