a couple of simple questions

[star_chaser]

hi all still reading up waiting for the clouds to clear. got a quick view of the moon the other day lol night .

ok first up. spiral galaxy's why are they called this i thought all galaxys moved in spirals (for want of better words)

and second. i have a celestron scope with a m/d mount on trypod now if i wish to take pics and use the motor do i just switch the motor on and a gryoscope keeps the scope on target. because ive been reading about tracker stars and finder scopes losing them. as my celestrom only has a red dot finder (im guessing i need more kit but then why would mt trypod have a m/d

on a side note my sister popped over with the kids and has seen my scope for the first time and she says the car park at the back of her house is pitch black (she from deepest essex) about an hour from london so i will be going for a stay as soon as ive got the hang of things (im quiet excited about it dark skies at last) i told my 4 year old niece a man waved at me from the moon "ofcourse thats santa stupid" came the reply

[nightfisher]

not all galaxys are spiral some are eliptical, some are barred might be wrong but think some are lenticular as well

[Nexus 6]

Hi star-chaser

I think the reason spiral galaxies exist is due to their mass and the speed that they rotate, this creates the spiral arms.

You will be able to take some basic shots of say, the Moon or Jupiters as long as you keep the exposure times short, I think some people would suggest using a webcam on a scope like yours although I'm no astro imager so can't really give any more advice than that.

Alan

[brantuk]

Hi star_chaser. If your mount is equatorial then, when you find an object, engaging the motor drive will cause it to track in right ascension and keep the object in the eyepiece. You will however need to be polar aligned for it to stay on target.

If you state which scope model you have we can confirm for you.

Your best bet for starting photography would be a webcam as mentioned above. An SPC 880 with flashed firmware and SPC 900 drivers will do the job for under £20.

Stack your images in "Registax" (free to download) and use "Gimp" photo processing software to tweak (also free) - unless you have Photoshop (even better).

Do a search on SGL for the thread on detailed webcam configuration

[star_chaser]

"If your mount is equatorial then"

yes i belive it is. i have the celestro astromaster 130 eq m/d. but the downside of a webcam is i need a laptop and i use a descktop my eldest boy droped my last camera so i was looking to get another but a better one.but would i then need to upgrade my scope as i also like to take pics not of the sky.

(edit) thinking of going the webcam route. how do you deal with battery life ???

[brantuk]

Well a webcam can be driven from a desktop but of course it's gonna make things difficult if mobility is required - a laptop or netbook becomes preferable. Some netbooks can last a good 7hrs nowadays - my laptop states 4hrs but in reality it's only 1-2hrs. I don't have the "battery" problem though cos I plug into camp site hookups (or mains at home).

Yup the astromaster m/d is equatorial so the motor will work as indicated - you should be able to get some reasonable planetary pics with that. Dso's though would need long exposures and a more accurate (and expensive) mount - the Cannon 1000D is popular for dso photography (or the 300D/350D mod'ed and s/h).

[star_chaser]

thx again for the advice. if im gonna need a better mount they maybe a better scope as well ?

as i woulkd rather use camera+scope than laptop+scope and i was thinking of upgrading scope at some point as dso's are what i would love to photograph

now the cannon's on amazon are about £3-350 if i bought this. what sort of money would i need to layout for a better scope/mount. would i get a decent one for about 3-400 pound

and would the cannon fit my scope for now(with adaptor) as i want to picture the planets aswell

thx again for the help and a happy xmas to all

[Capricorn]

Spiral galaxies are so called as they have an arm structure that "spirals" in towards th central bulge.

Eliptical galaxies show no structure, tend to be a collection of stars in a "blob". Barred galaxies are weird - a central bar across the galaxy with an arm at either end spiralling back round part of the circumferance.

To image you will need motors on the EQ mount, not sure if you have any. The EQ mount will have to be aligned pretty accurately. The motors rotate the scope at the right rate to keep the image appearing stable/stationary.

Mounts for AP need to be solid, you have scope and DSLR and a few other bits attached. The weight goes up. To handle the weight easily you need a substantial mount.

Be aware that AP is not as simple as sticking a DSLR on a scope and shooting pictures. A decent AP setup can be £3000, a good one £5000.

[star_chaser]

oh well things are never as simple as they first seem due to price i will start with webcam/lappy. would i be able to take pics of the orion nebular. with my scope and webcam (im aware that they wont win pow )

thx again for all the help this will be the last post on the subject. star

[brantuk]

You'd need long exposures to snap the Orion Nebula so a standard webcam won't do that. There are modifications you can make to it if you have the electronic skills needed or you can get it done professionally for around £120(ish).

Much easier to use a dslr. You might get something meaningful with your scope but it will be small, and difficult with such with a basic setup. When you add lenses and cameras it adds weight and makes the motor work harder. Accurate polar alignment will be essential and tracking spot on. Good balance will also be an issue. Even then you may only obtain 20-30secs of exposure.

If you are serious then it may be something for the future. Start by getting a copy of "Making Every Photon Count" - it's very good and a reasonable price and tells you all you need to know about AP - which can get very expensive. Personally I'd begin with a webcam and planets if I were you

No probs with questions - ask anything you like