moon close up

[Bucketman]

Hi All

I have taken a few photos of the Moon and would like to ask 2 questions.

1 On this site I've seen some brill pics of a single crater. How do you do that?

2 The photos I've taken never get the whole moon in. How do you do that?

So basically, how can I zoom in and out?

Can I put somthing between the scope and camera.

[nightfisher]

depends how you capture, the crater close ups are done with webcam and barlow, then processed and to get a whole moon generally need a focal reducer

[Bucketman]

Thanks for quick reply

new to this so please can we keep it dead simple dont mid being talk down to.

what do I need to buy???

[MorningMajor]

Many of the pictures may be mosaics - a selection of individual shots, stuck together in specialised program such as Microsoft Ice or IMerge (especially if taken using a webcam)

[MorningMajor]

What camera are you using?

[Bucketman]

Ok so the stuff I've got at mo is a Celestron 6se and a Nikon D90 so what else do I need. I really want to do this so please help

thanks Rob

[MorningMajor]

I don't know enough about DSLR cameras - yet (My next project) as have been using webcams so far - I have just bought Making Every Photon Count which looks like an invaluable resource in learning about astrophotography- if you don't get much luck here - try posting in the imaging section.

Good luck

[Bucketman]

got the book thanks again. As for DLSR'S go with Nikon. Canon make cameras but Nikon make the best lens.

rob

[Bizibilder]

With that scope (at f/10) and a DSLR you won't get the whole Moon in the field of view, as you say. So the trick is to take a couple of pictures (or even three or four) so you have the whole Moon captured in bits. Then using imerge or Microsoft ICE (both free) you can assemble the pictures into a mosaic of the whole Moon.

To get "single craters" you will need a Barlow lens (x2 or x3) and that will get you "closer".

BUT you will still only be taking "single shots" and will be at the mercy of the atmosphere for image clarity. To get round this most folk use a webcam and laptop/notebook set up. This takes a very small field of view (your close-up) and by taking a movie you can stack all the frames using something like Registax or Avistack to take those "sharp" images that you have seen. Lots of these small frames can then be built up into a large (and impressive!!) mosaic.

[Sponcom]

The problem your having in not being able to get the whole moon in is that the field of view of you Celestron is fairly narrow. This is due to the telescope being a cadiotropic design. Also when you put the camera this is like fitting a small eyepiece (for example 5mm) giving magnification similiar short focal length eyepiece so giving a large magnification factor.

I can get the whole moon in one shot on my refractor which has a wide field of view but I cannot on my small maksutov without a focal reducer.

If you obtain a focal reducer this will have the effect of making the scope faster (say F6.3 rather than F10) and the field will appear to be wider. Yohen u may t be able to get more of the moon in if not all in the field of view.

The alternative is to takle several shots and stitch them together in photo editing software. This is normally know as a mosaic.

In order to get close up shots you need a barlow lens. Common sizes are 2x, 2.5x 3x etc. and effectivly multiply the magnification by a factor for a given eyepiece. So using 10mm eyepiece with a 2x barlow is like using a 5mm eyepiece giving twice the magnification.

An alternative to fitting your camera directly to the scope (known as prime focus imaging) is touse eyepiece projection. This is where you use your existing eyepieces in between the scope and your camera. The camera is fitted using some sort of adjustable mechanism and so you could then get the whole moon in by using say a 40mm eyepiece. Also some eyepieces such as hyperions are threaded to attach a camera directly to them using a T threaded adaptor.

I hope I've kept this simple enough for the moment but I would also suggest posting in the imaging section and I expect someone will point you in the direction of good websites that may have a more comprehensive explanations.

Paul

[mikeknowle]

I use a focal reducer on the end of my scope that I attach the camera to.

3 minutes to connect it all up.

With that set-up , I get the whole moon in the image which is super-sharp.....perfect for lunar eclipses etc.

Then use a remote trigger for the camera (£5 off ebay).

Happy snapping.

Mike

[Star-Gazer]

what focal reducer do you use please?

[Bucketman]

Thanks for all your help I have a lot to learn will post my photo of the the moon soon

thanks again

rob

[Bucketman]

how do you post photo's

rob

[MorningMajor]

In the reply to thread click either Insert Image or the Attach button, then navigate to the picture on your hard drive to upload