[Closed] STW Astrophotography thread anyone?

Really like that Orion nebula one.

Nice pictures! I dont often get the chance and because of this its almost starting from scratch again with alignment so i try planets now and then but never long exposure stuff. Mainly use it for visual as the kids love looking at the likes of Saturn and Jupiter along with its moons.

Ooh, wow, super photos!

Not remotely comparable, but a nice dark sky on holiday inspired me to snap this during a night-time pee trip ..

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Ive done a bit, got a big reflector. Those pictures are great 🙂

I love visual astronomy too. Saturn never gets old - awe inspiring sight. As is Jupiter when you start resolving the weather bands (yet to see the GRS).

Once the nights are a little darker for longer I want to get a reasonable photo of a galaxy in and will certainly have another go at M42. Nice target to revisit and how far I’ve progressed :).

I started to dabble at the start of the year with just a skywatcher star tracker and a dslr with a cheap 300mm sigma lens. Haven't had that much practice as of yet what with crappy weather and no proper darkness at the minute. Just bought an L series 300mm lens so that should up the quality quite a bit once we have some darker skies. It's amazing to think what you can photograph with just a simple set up, however I do think I'm looking down a very expensive rabbit hole 🙂

Here's a couple of mine that I was relatively happy with considering I've not had much practice. M42 and M51

https://photos.app.goo.gl/95ADZJCwGbGnSN428

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vUyDhpTzKQTXrbhf7

@typer - that’s a really nice M51. M42 has plenty of structure too but I like a good galaxy.

Kit-wise I’ve jumped in with both feet with a mono Starlight Xpress, auto filter wheel etc and I accidentally bought a Thomas Back made APO ‘frac. Was only meant to buy a cheap one but this was a once in a lifetime purchase. It’s very nice :).

@dannybgoode thanks. It's pretty time consuming compared with regular photography but it's very satisfying when you eventually have something to show for all the work. I think I'll see how I get on over this winter and then maybe upgrade to a proper mount and scope. I quite like the idea of a smaller refractor and mount as it is at least an hours drive to any really dark skies so would like something portable.

That looks a nice setup you have. What targets are next on your list?

Been into it for just over a year now. Started by just taking pictures with my phone through some astronomical binoculars, then progressed to a mount for the phone and got to grips with shooting video and stacking the frames. Then moved onto a 6” reflector and got some pretty decent results with the phone before graduating to a DSLR and a dedicated planetary camera. So far I’ve got some pretty decent high resolution images of the lunar surface with the planetary camera that I’m pleased with and some good ones of the lunar eclipse in January. ISS fly overs are fun to plan and capture and star trail shots are pretty. I’m a bit stuck for DSO stuff as I’m pretty much in light pollution hell (Leeds one side, Bradford the other and LBA at the bottom of the garden) but will have a crack with a LP filter in the winter. The planets have mostly been in hiding over winter but had my first proper go at Jupiter with the planetary camera on Monday and got a half decent image.

Very addictive and endlessly fascinating!

Must work out how to post pictures one here!

I’ve started using Imgur for image hosting. Then it’s just a case of copying the image link.

Yeah it is a fascinating hobby. Note light pollution can be massively helped by using a mono camera with filters. I live in Sheffield so much light but still get reasonable results.

And yes it’s not a hobby for quick results! My Orion Nebula is around an hour of data and then all the processing.

Good fun though and definitely a learning challenge.