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raydar
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/06/04
Posts: 679
Loc: Perth Western Australia
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I know it has something to do with guiding (lol) but what exaclty does ST-4 mean.
Also, was the film pushed? If no, why not?
Great shot mate
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My Astronomy Site
My Astrophotography Website
Cosmotography Clip
Takahashi Epsilon 160
Losmandy G-11
SBIG ST4
Meade8"SCT/LX-50-Milburn Wedge
NikonF2,Olympus OM1,PentaxSPII,
Western Australia
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Dennis
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/30/03
Posts: 1284
Loc: Westford, Mass
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Quote:
Dennis,What targets are you chasing on your roll? What kind of film are you running? How many shots left before we can see something? We need answers, man!
On my first roll of plain 400 asa. Piggy backing on my Celestron. Have a couple of adapter for afocal and through EP but want to see this roll first. Just shooting constellations. Shot the Big Dipper sitting in a notch of pines tonight. Been working on this roll for about 3 mohths. Never enough clear skies this summer to fit in viewing and filming. Viewing has won out. Hoping for a stretch of good viewing to start making progress. Am watching these threads though.
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Dennis
Nexstar9¼GPS
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Rushwind
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/11/04
Posts: 2133
Loc: Newark, CA
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Dee,
You noticed! aw, shucks.  Funny how the photo looks even better when you scrunch it down to 80x80...
raydar,
The autoguiding camera that I use is an SBIG ST-4. It's no longer in production (easily acquired on the used market, however), and has been sort of the "flagship" autoguider for quite some time (over a decade?). It's really easy to use (once you get the hang of it), and doesn't require a computer (all standalone), so it's just perfect for film imaging, because I can take my rig to someplace dark and run the whole thing off of a 12v powertank. Anyway, if you want an autoguider, you can't go wrong picking up a used ST-4. They're simply wonderful.
Dennis,
I'm a big fan of widefield stuff. I'm a little irritated that it looks like I may not get a shot of Sagittarius this year (my house is in the way), but I'm determined to pick up a widefield of Cygnus. I think that my next roll will be all piggyback.
I, too, started out (just 9 rolls ago!) with a random roll of 400 asa that was rolling around in my camera bag. Threw it on a fixed tripod, got a couple of star trails shots, and just kept rolling. Luckily, summer is pretty good for stars where I live, so it's been a productive time to learn on my new gear. I'm really looking forward, as I said, to getting back on the widefield train for awhile; the summer Milky Way is just too cool to miss.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for clear skies in your future!
Jimbo
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Order of the Unblinking Eye
G-11 D70 ST4 8"f/5 AT66ED (Rig)
I used to shoot film.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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After seeing the great results you guys are achieving as evidenced by the previous photos in this thread, it is with great humility that I post this piggy-backed shot of M31 (my first try). Hey, you have to crawl before you can walk!
The bright star directly below M31 is Nu Andromedae, and Mu Andromedae is lower right. The exposure time was about 2 1/2 minutes with 50 mm lens.
Bill in WI
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Rushwind
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/11/04
Posts: 2133
Loc: Newark, CA
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Good looking picture, Bill! What kind of film were you using?
Jimbo
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Order of the Unblinking Eye
G-11 D70 ST4 8"f/5 AT66ED (Rig)
I used to shoot film.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Thanks Rushwind--
I used Kodak High Definition 400. I was told this film is the "new" Kodak Royal Gold. My research on film reveals that Royal Gold at least has some sensitivity to the 650 nm. red area of the visible light spectrum, just what you want for emission nebulae. Other films, such as Fuji Superia X-tra 400, are lacking any sensitivity to that wavelength.
I took the photo of M31 on Labor Day, as well as the photo of the Milky Way in Cygnus (posted in the "Northern Milky Way" thread) in this film astrophotography section. Still, only a hint of the red nebulosity is evident on that photo.
I love my old Minolta XE-7, which will work the shutter on bulb with the batteries removed. I was most amazed that a close examination of the print shows stars to almost 10th magnitude.
For the M31 photo, I stopped the 1.4, 50 mm. lens down to 2.8. The posted photo of M31 is a section of the print which I scanned, and adjusted a bit, mostly to enhance the contrast.
I did well with my polar alignment this night too. I took a 10 minute exposure of the constellation Delphinus, and didn't notice any star trailing at all.
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cwstad
sage
Reged: 07/22/04
Posts: 305
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Nice shot
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Celestron 80EQ
Meade ETX 125
Homepage http://www.farstar.co.uk
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Nice shot, gives me something else to play with. I hope you dont mind
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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cwstad--thanks!
madchef--kewl!
Notes:
On the night I took this shot, I was mostly experimenting with f/ stops and exposure times, trying to get a feeling for what would work best for my set-up and sky conditions.
I learned something beyond the technical aspects of wide-field astrophotography; namely--I must be crazy to be doing this!
I took the photos between about 11 p.m. and 1:30 a.m., about 18 total shots. I kept wondering, "gee, what should I do while the shutter is open--besides keeping an eye on the time, and noting f/ stop and such. Everybody else is asleep in their warm beds, and I'm outside in a sweatshirt, jacket, pull-over cap, etc.
It was really taxing on my psyche. The moon rose and put an end to the session, but I still had to take the mount inside.
I guess the reward is "nice shot" comments, and photos to be appreciated for a long time to come.
Bill in WI
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Dennis
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/30/03
Posts: 1284
Loc: Westford, Mass
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Great images Bill! You are well on your way. While my shutter is open, I've been using my binos for entertainment. Keep those images coming!
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Dennis
Nexstar9¼GPS
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Rushwind
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/11/04
Posts: 2133
Loc: Newark, CA
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Well, if you're not going to be guiding, then it looks like you've got 2 refractors which might need love while you've got the shutter open...
Jimbo
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Order of the Unblinking Eye
G-11 D70 ST4 8"f/5 AT66ED (Rig)
I used to shoot film.
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