Charlie Hein
Postmaster
Reged: 11/02/03
Posts: 11211
Loc: 26.06.08N, +80.23.08W
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I attended a small star party last week. Had a great time even though we only had two good nights of observing. I've been working on some images taken during the star party that will show up later on, but here's a little teaser:
(click on the image to launch a full size version)
This was taken with my 300D - I got four 15 minute frames before the lens dewed over. (note to self - I could probably hit the lens with a 12vdc hair dryer every 45 minutes or so and go all night) The frames were assembled in Iris and then taken over to Photoshop for finishing.
Hope you like it!
Charlie
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Weston CSC:
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AviddayM
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/28/05
Posts: 2099
Loc: Snohomish, Washington
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Neat image Charlie. The full size image reminds me of how Hollywood portrays a Worm Hole. 
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Dave
FS102NSV f/8 - Sold
C11 XLT - Sold
NJP Temma II - Sold
STV Deluxe w/efinder
Ps 8:3-4
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers. The moon and the stars, which You have ordained. What is man that You are mindful of him. And the son of man that You visit him?
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JerryWise
Postmaster
Reged: 12/26/03
Posts: 9284
Loc: Lexington, SC
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Beautifully composed image Charlie. Even with the monolith in the lower left center. The image reminds me of my infamous Meade derotator test. Very similar results.
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s58y
Postmaster
Reged: 12/12/04
Posts: 6505
Loc: Eastern NY
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Good startrail image. The bright orange color at the bottom really contrasts with the black sky above. You must have taken this at a pretty dark site.
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Hutech 500D/T1i, 550D/T2i, DMK21AU618, SBIG ST-402 autoguider
SV80S, TV102iis, EdgeHD 800
Lenses: 800mm, 180mm, 135mm, 105mm, 85mm
AP900, Barndoor tracker
http://www.flickr.com/photos/s58y/
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 14043
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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The easiest astro-photo to take...
Nice shot. Love the colors! 
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Neo... (Jeff)
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10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
 Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
Coming soon:
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JBull
sage
Reged: 10/10/05
Posts: 401
Loc: Dallas, TX
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Wow, I like that one a lot. The landscape and color gradient are really nice. The full-size image is now my desktop background, hope you don't mind.
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Jeff Bullard
Dallas, TX
Check observing forecast for astronomers anywhere in the world:
http://astroforecast.org:8080
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soreneck
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/01/06
Posts: 1327
Loc: Toronto, Canada
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Quote:
The full-size image is now my desktop background, hope you don't mind.
Same here!
Lovely shot, the 'scope and trees in the foreground really frame everything beautifully.
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DaveD
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/03/06
Posts: 691
Loc: Santa Cruz, CA
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This is a beautiful shot Charlie. I like the sky gradient and the silhouetted scope and trees.
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Dave
WO ZS 110, Celestron Classic C8,
Orion Skyview Deluxe 8, AT-66
Losmandy GM8
Canon 350D(modded), Minolta 5D, Celestron Neximage
Dave's Astrophoto Page
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wrather1
AstroBear
Reged: 10/25/05
Posts: 4489
Loc: Dallas, Texas
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Cool picture!!
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"And there, within the black inviting vacuum, shine the beacon jewels and diamond dusts of future passed." - D. L. Lundelius
Meade RCX400-12 "Ursa Major"
TMB 130SS + EQ6-PRO "Ursus Polaris"
Orion ED80 "Ursa Minor", WO ZS66ED "grab-'n'-go"
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North Texas Clear Sky Chart
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kwalker
sage
Reged: 08/22/06
Posts: 293
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Can I ask a dumb question? How do you take pictures like this of star trails?
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Keith
Zhumell 10" dobsonian with $12 "Push-To"
4mm & 9mm BO/TMB Planetary, 13mm Stratus, 17mm Stratus, 32mm Widefield
Orion shorty plus 2x barlow
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imhotep
Vendor - Optical Supports
Reged: 02/14/07
Posts: 1718
Loc: Floriduh
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Man that is great.
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Curt
www.opticalsupports.com
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stefsaber
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/24/06
Posts: 4941
Loc: Rainy Florida
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Quote:
Can I ask a dumb question? How do you take pictures like this of star trails?
Not dumb at all...
Just put the camera on a tripod, put it on the bulb setting (usually requires a remote sensor control) and let it go for a long time on a low ISO setting!
Great picture Charlie, looks like a really great site 
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-Stefan
"A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." -Douglas Adams
Current Equip: Zhummel 10" Dob
Past Scopes: ETX 90---Vixen ED80Sf---WO 66SD--WO Megrez 80II Triplet
Fort Myers, FL
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kwalker
sage
Reged: 08/22/06
Posts: 293
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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like what iso would you suggest and are you talking about just one long exposure?
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Keith
Zhumell 10" dobsonian with $12 "Push-To"
4mm & 9mm BO/TMB Planetary, 13mm Stratus, 17mm Stratus, 32mm Widefield
Orion shorty plus 2x barlow
Catseye Xl Triple Pro Pack
Glatter Laser
Celestron 15x70
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stefsaber
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/24/06
Posts: 4941
Loc: Rainy Florida
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ISO speed depends on the amount of light pollution, usually something really low, like 100 is best.
Charlie here took 4 long expsoures and stacked them together...because of his dew issue most likely. You can leave the camera shutter open for an hour or two and you'll get really long star trails. Best way to find out is to experiment!
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-Stefan
"A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." -Douglas Adams
Current Equip: Zhummel 10" Dob
Past Scopes: ETX 90---Vixen ED80Sf---WO 66SD--WO Megrez 80II Triplet
Fort Myers, FL
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Shadowalker
Apocaloptimist
Reged: 11/23/04
Posts: 10857
Loc: Carriere, Mississippi, USA
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Interesting you post that one, Charlie. On monday I was visiting Jackson Prep Jr High school in Jackson, MS. After my presentation a young girl came up to me and asked if she could take astro photos with her Nikon D70. My first suggestion was to do as you did. Take some star trails. But I assured her that she'd be able to do wonderful things with her D70.
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"The truth rarely gets in the way of a good story. ~ R. Woods
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Charlie Hein
Postmaster
Reged: 11/02/03
Posts: 11211
Loc: 26.06.08N, +80.23.08W
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Quote:
Good startrail image. The bright orange color at the bottom really contrasts with the black sky above. You must have taken this at a pretty dark site.
The CSC shows this site as blue on the Bortle Scale - until you hit the light domes you're in pretty dark sky. The color comes from the street lamps in Lake Placid, about 20 miles to the north. I was going to try to minimize the light dome but the colors just "popped" so much I decided to leave it in.
Charlie
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Weston CSC:
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Charlie Hein
Postmaster
Reged: 11/02/03
Posts: 11211
Loc: 26.06.08N, +80.23.08W
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Quote:
Charlie here took 4 long expsoures and stacked them together...because of his dew issue most likely.
Actually, I was more worried that the light dome that gave up that nice color would wash out the image if I exposed for longer - you can see that even at 15 minutes it completely saturated some of the lower part of the frame.
I'll post a complete description of how the shot was done later on (exposure, processing, the works), but now lunch is over and I've gotta get back to work...
Charlie
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Weston CSC:
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neoweb
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/10/06
Posts: 1482
Loc: UK
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Superb!
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Celestron StarHopper 8" f/6 Dob
38mm Burgess 2" SWA | 30mm Ultima | 20mm Omni
17mm Hyperion | 12.5mm Baader Ortho
8mm TV Plossl | 6mm TMB/BO Planetary
Orion Shorty Plus barlow
15 X 70mm Skymasters
Saturn-like: desktop image
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