Society for Popular Astronomy

Fabulous picture there, Olly. Amazing detail and beautiful colour.

Rachel

Hi I'd take the scope over the bins. As Jack said, you have potential to increase your viewing power at a later date. If you can lay your hands on a copy of Turn Left at Orion, it will give you pointers towards 100 objects visible with a small scope. Just be aware that a lot of DSO's still look like...

Hi Imagine the Earth is a ball on a stick, with the stick pointing towards the celestial pole... because of the rotation of the Earth, the stars appear to rotate around the pole. When you polar align a telescope, with the latitude set correctly the polar axis points towards the celestial pole, paral...

Hi Dale

I think that's a definite improvement on the first, lots more detail visible. As I don't know anything about deep sky photography, I can't offer any advice on how to deal with the colour issue. But in terms of progress, I think you're on the right track. Keep it up.

Rachel

I wish some of my images were as "mediocre" as that!
Nice shots.

Rachel

I like these, very nice!

Rachel

Haven't had much joy imaging the Moon at f20 yet. I was going to try with Clavius that night but it wouldn't sit still and I couldn't get anything that I would call focus. I shall persevere though. Another night.

Cheers,
Rachel

Thanks, guys, for the comments. Brian: I will admit I had to go and look up that rille so I could see which bit you were referring to :wink: ! I think you're right, a very faint white line running along the valley there. I'll make a point of looking for it visually next time I have a chance. Here is...

Gradually learning my way around the Moon. Here are a few images of the eponymous craters from last night. Plato: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3312/3502290990_9a47905a0d.jpg Copernicus in shadow: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3578/3502290602_a3dd640d15.jpg Clavius: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/...

Hi Sam What's your definition of affordable? You certainly don't need the sorts of eyepieces that retail at several hundred pounds each. Presumably your scope came with one or two already? I just supplemented my original 25mm one with two Televue eyepieces, one at a longer focal length and one short...

Here are a couple of moon pictures from 29th April. Firstly, a composite of 2 images showing Mare Nectaris and Crater Piccolomini.: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3557/3490017998_bd8841d90b_o.jpg Secondly, a region showing a nice outline of Crater Posidonius, Lacus Somniorum (top) and some of the Mo...

Thanks, Jack. I'm still not convinced this is one of my better attempts. Too jaundiced for my liking, but I was pleased with the moons. Actually, they showed up (just about) in the main avi sequence, so I just used Photoshop to brighten them up a little. I did try an overexposed sequence, but I am n...

Hi Dale Since I haven't tried deep sky astrophotography myself, I think that's not bad for a first attempt. I would be quite pleased with it. I bet if you stack a few frames together, it would make quite a nice little shot. I'm a beginner too, working my way up the learning curve with the moon and p...

After a bit of a technical glitch with IC Capture malfunctioning and a week of cloud followed by a couple of wasted efforts playing with camera settings that didn't work, I feel like I am getting back on track with this one. I think it's a bit too coloured for my liking, but I am still playing aroun...

Hi Astropete I think you might struggle with even a webcam with no motor drive on your mount. I turned my drive off the other night with the camera still attached and it took about 1 second for Saturn to disappear from the screen! Even with the drive on it wanders around a bit. But yes, I agree with...