Misc Astrophotography (Shoot the ISS, etc) besides moon shots...

I just finished my "barn-door" tracking mount for my DSLR and last night I did a few test shots (horrible conditions, fog, high clouds, and lots of light pollution).

Here is a shot of Jupiter taken with a 24mm wide-angle lens that was hand guided for just over 3 minutues using the barn-door tracker. It shows some fairly spectacular diffraction effects from the long exposure on Jupiter but it also captured Jupiter's moon Callisto (star-like object between the diffraction spikes to the upper right from Jupiter). This photo recorded stars down to about the 10th magnitude, it was shot at ISO100 and f/8 using my 24mm Nikon Ai lens on a Nikon D5100 DSLR.

Jupiter and Callisto on Flickr there are additional notes on this picture.

Crystal Clear

mtbdudex said:

HWord quickly spread at work, my facebook friends, etc....14 minutes and 58 seconds of fame ....2 seconds left.....

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Congrats. It's nice to have people enjoy your work. Enjoy the 15 minutes!

Great photo, the recognition is well deserved

selling prints yet?

The constellation Orion's sourthern half

Captured last night using my hand-driven, barn-door type tracking mount (two boards, a hinge, and a screw you turn by hand).

This two image stack (2 x 240 seconds using a Nikon D5100 with a 50mm AF-D Nikkor lens) captured the Great Orion Nebula (M42/M43), the Running Man Nebula (NGC 1973/5/7), the Horsehead Nebula, the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024), M78, and a small part of Barnard's Loop.

Orion's Belt and the Great Nebula in Orion on Flickr you can view a larger version of this image and read additional details on the photo.

Another image created with the help of my so-called barn-door tracking mount.

This image stack (54 x 25 seconds using a Nikon D5100 with a 50mm AF-D Nikkor lens) captured the Andromeda Galaxy and its two satellite galaxies M32 and M110.

Andromeda Galaxy on Flickr you can view a larger version of this image and read additional details on this photo.

Did anyone try to catch a glimpse of the UARS satellite? I tried but didn't see a thing.

Took this last night. My first shot at the moon. Very heavily cropped and rotated.


Moon by kevinfl2011, on Flickr

Another picture taken with my hand-driven, barn-door type tracking mount. That small blue "donut" in the center of the picture is the Ring Nebula (M57) in the constellation Lyra. Yes, it's very small but this is a subject that is usually recorded using a moderately large telescope and here I was using a 100mm focal length lens on my Nikon D5100.


The Ring Nebula on Flickr you can view a larger image and read additional details on this photo.

coryndiego said:

Snippage

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Awesome photo - what settings did you use to get it?

fpnc said:

another picture taken with my hand-driven, barn-door type tracking mount. That small blue "donut" in the center of the picture is the ring nebula (m57) in the constellation lyra.

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Very nice shot.

The North American Nebula and the northeastern region of the constellation Cygnus.


North American Nebula, best seen in the Flickr light box.

Captured on October 19, 2011 between 10:07PM and 10:48PM PDT from a moderately dark-sky location using a Nikon D5100 DSLR (ISO 2000, 2 minute exposure x 13) and a 50mm f/1.8D Nikkor lens set to aperture f/2.8. Tracking provided by a hand-driven, barn-door type mount (two boards, a hinge, and a screw you turn by hand). Image stack created with DeepSkyStacker using thirteen image frames combined with four dark frames (no flats or bias).

Man, it's amazing what people can do with nice tech and a lot of patience & time, and a barn door. Another nice shot fpnc.

that's awesome mtbdudex!

Just watched a video of this event, the photographer was in the U.P. near Lake Superior. Amazing colors
http://www.detnews.com/article/20111025/METRO/110250393/Sky-watchers-in-awe-of-vivid-northern-lights-display-over-much-of-Michigan
Slightly bummed that I didn't see any of this in Wisconsin, oh well

Meteor and Flame in Orion's Belt

On October 22 I captured a small Orionid meteor as it passed by the Flame Nebula in the so-called belt of the constellation Orion. Best seen in the largest version that I've posted on Flickr.

Meteor and Flame in Orion's Belt on Flickr you can read additional details on this photo and see a larger version of the image.

My first M42 with new gear!

I picked up a very gently used LX200 10" f6.3 about 8 months ago. Fantastic seeing in the summer, and now since winter approaches, M42, the The Great Orion Nebula presented itself 2 nights ago.

I do guide, however at 90 seconds, and being on a wedge, it isnt needed. I always set up to guide out of habit. This is shot at ISO 1600, 30-90 second exposures, stacked in DSS, cropped, L&C in PS.

Im pleased with the result! Let me know what you think!

Andy

budman1961 said:

Im pleased with the result! Let me know what you think!

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I'm wondering if the focus is a hair off and ditto with the guiding as the stars seem slightly elongated.

Otherwise, FRACKING WOW!

I'm glad I'm following this thread.

Right on both....

Contrails from Vandenberg AFB rocket launch (morning of Oct 28, 2011):

Contrails in the Morning Sky (Rocket Launch?) on Flickr you can read additional details on this photo and view a larger image.

It's been a while since we've had any new posts, so I decided to add this which is a little different than most of the shots I've done before. Captured with the aid of my barn-door tracker (two boards, a hinge, and a screw you turn by hand) and a Nikon D5100 DSLR with a 105mm Nikkor AI-S lens (more details are available on Flickr).


The Double Cluster in Perseus (13 Second Guided Exposure)

Milky Way shot I took a few months back. Lots of dodging & burning in this one to get rid of sky glow.

A stack of 90 (yes, that's nine with a zero) images that were exposed for 4 seconds each using a 50mm lens to record the sickle-shaped asterism in the constellation Leo the Lion. This also recorded a very small and faint trace of the galaxy NGC 2903 (refer to image insert on the lower right).

The Constellation Leo the Lion and NGC 2903 (4 Second, Unguided Exposure Stack) on Flickr you can see a larger image and read additional details about this photo.

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budman1961 said:

I picked up a very gently used LX200 10" f6.3 about 8 months ago...This is shot at ISO 1600, 30-90 second exposures, stacked in DSS, cropped, L&C in PS.

Im pleased with the result! Let me know what you think!

Andy

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Yes, that's a nice image. If I were to be somewhat critical I'd say that the blacks could be a little darker and I wonder what would happen if you applied a mild noise filter (e.g. using the application/filter Noise Ninja). You've held the detail in the center of the nebula and that's a very good thing, something that many photos fail to do.