Weasner's Astrophotography Tips Page

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY - TIPS

Last updated: 25 September 2006

This page documents astrophotography comments, tips, and photos. Contributions welcome. Be certain to see the other articles on the main Astrophotography page.

Subject:	Using Photoshop
Sent:	Friday, September 22, 2006 05:22:31
From:	Paul Quenneville (pquenneville@terraengineering.net)
I saw some interesting mentions of using photoshop and stacking
photographs to get a better picture.

Could you point me in the right direction on where to get more
information on how to do this.
Thanks

Paul Quenneville
qpaul@aol.com

Mike here: The best source is "Photoshop for Astrophotographers", reviewed on the Accessory Reviews: Books page.

Subject:	ETX80 and Webcam
Sent:	Monday, September 18, 2006 15:16:55
From:	cncnowland@aol.com (cncnowland@aol.com)
Hats off to your great and informative site.

I have combed through several sections but have not found a similar
posting.  I own an ETX-80AT-TC.  I am trying to take some basic pics of
bright stars and constellations with my Phillips ToUcam ProII PCVC 840K
(w/1.25"adapter).  I get nothing on my viewer screen.  I have adjusted
gain and shutter speeds up and down, no luck.  I am using the installed
2x flip up barlow and both 9.7mm and 26mm Plossl.  Any advice or am I
asking for too much.  Unfortunetly, my view does not provide planetary
or lunar viewing at this time.  Thaks again for your awesome help and
website.

Chris

Mike here: I suggest starting with the Moon; it will be visible again after sunset in a few days. It makes an excellent target for learning how to do astrophotography (with any equipment) and lets you easily adjust settings. Imaging "constellations" through the telescope will be difficult if you are trying to get the entire pattern of the constellation. You will have to take multiple shots since the telescope field of view won't let you see the entire constellation at once. Since you are not getting any image of a single bright star, it sounds like you are still underexposing and need more or longer exposures. But again, use the Moon (or even a daytime terrestrial target) until you learn how to use your system for imaging.

Subject:	question
Sent:	Friday, September 15, 2006 09:38:52
From:	Diccon Hall (d.bagpuss@ntlworld.com)
i have been trying to use my registax for 2 years i have ETX 105 need
help to use registax realy want to use telescope with web cam//......

Mike here: There are a couple of Registax articles on the Helpful Information: Astrophotography page on my ETX Site.

Subject:	Scopetronix MaxView
Sent:	Wednesday, September 13, 2006 06:25:54
From:	John J Grana (jjg@pt.com)
First - great site! I have learned much from both you and the many fine
people that contribute to MightyETX! For my 50th birthday last year, I
purchased a Meade ETX-125Premier. Love it. I also love digital
photography!

The reason for my email is to seek some advice and/or information on an
accessory that looks like a great fit for my astro-photo work. It is the
Scopetronix MaxView DSLR (the 1.25" version). I had ordered it from
Scopetronix web site a month ago. I even received an order confirmation.
After 3 emails, I tried calling and got a voice mail (and the fact it
was out of memory). So,  I called some of the dealers on Scopetronix web
site - the general message I got was - they are temporarily "out of
business"!!!! So, do you know if they plan to resume operation? Or, do
you know of any dealers or folks that have the MaxView and would want to
sell me one?!?

Thanks in advance 
John Grana

Mike here: Yes, Scopetronix is going through some change; hopefully they will return. I have the MaxView II DSLR (you can read my comments on the Accessory Reviews: Astrophotography page). OPT was a Scopetronix reseller so may some; try them.

And:

Thanks Mike for the quick response! I tried OPT yesterday - they are out
of em... I will cross my fingers and hope for the best

Cheers 
jjg

Mike here: You could try Shutan and other dealers, if you haven't already.

Subject:	RE: jupiter photographs are washed out and colourless
Sent:	Saturday, September 2, 2006 08:59:24
From:	Val Hildebrand-Dick Kafka (val-dick@wizard.net)
a possible answer to Wayne (wayne.byrne1@ntlworld.com)

regarding Jupiter photographs.  I had the same problem when I started
using my TouCam and Registax.  You need to specifically select color
processing in Registax, or you end up with black and white photos. 
Given the quality of Wayne's photo, I suspect that is the only problem. 
The ETX-125 is well suited to color webcam photos with Registax (and
probably many other arrangements).

Dick Kafka
Silver Spring, MD (viewing south over Washington, DC)

Subject:	jupiter photographs are washed out and colourless
Sent:	Monday, August 28, 2006 04:09:53
From:	wayne (wayne.byrne1@ntlworld.com)
I wonder if I could ask your advice.

I have had my little ETX 125 for 6 months now and I have utilised a
modified toucam to take several 1 minute videos of Jupiter. The video is
then processed with registax and I have a reasonably detailed final
picture of Jupiter in which the cloud bands are easily discernable. The
problem is there are no colours visible. I dont really want to cheat by
colouring the picture with Photoshop. Am I expecting too much out of my
125??

Is colour astrophotography of jupiter presently limited to larger
aperture telescopes??

I have scoured your website (easily the best source of information
available) for some clue as to where I am going wrong but I have drawn a
blank and I respectfully seek the benefit of your wisdom.

Clear skies
Wayne (Portsmouth UK)

Mike here: There can be many reasons why the color is less obvious. Colors can be washed out due to low altitude or other atmosheric (earth's) turbulence at the time of the exposures, over-exposure on the individual frames, under exposure on the individual frames, low camera sensitivity, image processing techniques, and more. As you can see from some other Jupiter images on the ETX site, colors can appear.

Subject:	Meade ETX70 with Meade camera adaptor 1.25' 
Sent:	Thursday, August 24, 2006 02:18:53
From:	Hans Sinte-Maartensdijk (Hans.Sinte-Maartensdijk@sjmflex.de)
I am a starter in Astrophotography and suffer from the many beginner
mistakes.

First I would like to list the equipment I have:

Telescope: Meade ETX 70 Autostar
Camera: Canon EOS 350D
T-ring: T-2
Adaptor: Meade adaptor 1.25'

To test the focus of my set-up I choose a terrestrial object (chemical
chimney) about 5 km away, following observation I noticed:

-          Camera adaptor does not fit completely in the eyepiece holder
of my telescope, the 1.25' parts stick out about 4-5 mm
-          The backfocus of the telescope is long enough to use the 25mm
eyepiece in the camera adaptor.
-          The back focus is not enough to use the 20mm, 12mm or 8mm
eyepiece (all out of focus).

Do you know how to overcome the problem with the 20,12 and 8mm eyepiece
so that I can use them as well?

Thanks and kind regards,

Hans Sinte-Maartensdijk

Mike here: The ETX-70 has some focusing limitations that reduce the options available. For example, when I mount my Nikon D70 using the Scopetronix Prime Focus Adapter at the eyepiece hole I can't get a good focus. However, when I use a 2X Barlow Lens I can get a good focus but I've now increased the effective focal length, which is what I don't want. However, a thought occurred to me, which I've yet to test (I'll do the test when I return home from vacation), that I should test my Shutan Visual Back (Accessory Reviews: Showcase Products page) to see if I can get a good Prime Focus focus using the rear port on the ETX-70. However, adding a lot of weight to the rear of the ETX-70 will put quite a strain on the locks, probably necessitating a counterweight. There are counterweight tips on the Helpful Information: Astrophotography page.

Subject:	ETX125pe and the shuttle
Sent:	Wednesday, July 5, 2006 07:56:17
From:	User721401@aol.com (User721401@aol.com)
I am wondering if you have any tips on photographing the shuttle and or
space station using either the LPI or a Nikon D70 hooked up to the
ETX125PE?
 
Thanks
 
Dan

Mike here: It can be done but before trying it you should have lots of experience with satellite tracking using the Autostar. Once you attach the imager it will get a lot more difficult to center the object and capture it.

Subject:	ETX focuser
Sent:	Monday, July 3, 2006 16:27:36
From:	Eric (ekfuller@telus.net)
I am having trouble focusing my ETX90 with ST-7 camera. I have the
Scopetronix SCT adapter to convert the ETX threads into something
useful. Has anybody ever used the Meade 1209 or JMI equivalent on an
ETX90 ? JMI was concerned about backfocus but I have not been able to
find any information on that (not in the Meade docs).

Thanks.

Eric.

Mike here: Do you mean that you can not achieve a focus or that it is difficult to focus the image. I assume you meant there wasn't enough backfocus so the image never reaches a focus but wanted to confirm that. If you search the site for "meade 1209" you will get one hit with no definitive answer.

And:

What I mean is:

I currently use the ST7 at teh back of the ETX. With a Scopetronix
ETX-to-SCT adapter and an SCT visual back (with integral t-thread).

It is difficult to focus due to the extreme image shift when I have to
change directions. The image moves from one side of the CCD to the
other.

In order to eliminate the image shift, I was thinking of a crayford SCT
focuser. Don't know if it will reach focus due to back-focus issues.

Eric.

Mike here: I suspect that the Crayford would have a backfocus problem but don't know that from experience.

Subject:	StarShootT Deep-Space CCD Color Imaging Camera
Sent:	Friday, June 30, 2006 21:59:50
From:	Luis Villa (ETX_125EC_from_arizona@msn.com)
Have either you or your readers heard anything about the StarShoot
Deep-Space CCD Color Imaging Camera from Orion?
 
Luis

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