My first astrophoto - Big Dipper of Ursa Major

alvinsclee · Post by **alvinsclee** » Sun May 28, 2006 1:19 pm

Hi,
It may look crude, but this is my first no-frills wide-field astrophoto (Big Dipper of Ursa Major) taken with just a humble point-and-shoot digital camera (Olympus Camedia C-750) on a cheap tripod. The camera was set on manual mode of ISO 400, f/3.2, 16 seconds exposure. Camera shutter was released using 10-seconds self-timer triggering to minimise vibrations. No telescope was used.

The image captured was then cropped and processed using Microsoft Photo Editor, through RGB balance (brightness, contrast and gamma) controls of the software. When the desired effect was achieved, I used Microsoft Paintbrush to add the yellow lines to show the 7-star arrangement of the Big Dipper.

The picture was taken at about 11:30pm on Thursday 25 May 2006, looking through the North-facing window of my home.

Will try to get hands-on practice on more sophisticated photo-processing software later... Microsoft Photo Editor is the only one I am familiar with at the moment.

alvinsclee · Post by **alvinsclee** » Sun May 28, 2006 2:07 pm

And here is how the original photo looked like... picture re-sized to fit attachment limits imposed here. Yellow lines drawn to show the positions of the 7 stars.

Post by **HoO_Germany** » Sun May 28, 2006 6:35 pm

wow Alvin

nice image shoot. It impress me more the 2.nd image where it shows how much light polution you have and even that you can show the Big Dipper.

Clear skys
Robert

alvinsclee · Post by **alvinsclee** » Sun May 28, 2006 10:25 pm

Hi Robert,
Thanks for your positive feedback.

Yes, we have high light pollution here in Singapore. The sky is always having this dark reddish glow. The night I took this photo was considered a clear night.

I am currently enjoying occassional planetary observations with the 80mm refractor and the 6" classical cassegrain now in my inventory. I have yet to learn enough about astrophotography to produce proper pictures.

Besides, I do not own an equatorial mount. Will look for a good one that can take the weight of the cassegrain (8.3kg) later... I need to save up more cash for this hobby.

Cheers!

Post by **HoO_Germany** » Mon May 29, 2006 12:22 am

alvinsclee wrote:Hi Robert,
Thanks for your positive feedback.

Yes, we have high light pollution here in Singapore. The sky is always having this dark reddish glow. The night I took this photo was considered a clear night.

I am currently enjoying occassional planetary observations with the 80mm refractor and the 6" classical cassegrain now in my inventory. I have yet to learn enough about astrophotography to produce proper pictures.

Besides, I do not own an equatorial mount. Will look for a good one that can take the weight of the cassegrain (8.3kg) later... I need to save up more cash for this hobby.

Cheers!

Hi Alvin

in the future, after you got some expiriences in astro-photography, you should use a IDAS LPR Filter for take the light polloution down.
For your 6" classical Cassegrain shall come a Vixen GP DX or a Synta HEQ5 motorized mount. But this also after you have saved more cash

Cleas skys
Robert

boothee · Post by **boothee** » Mon May 29, 2006 2:20 pm

Oh! That is beautiful! Like the 2nd pic too!

Cheers!!!

;O)
boothee

alvinsclee · Post by **alvinsclee** » Mon May 29, 2006 10:17 pm

Thanks boothee,
Your nice planetary pics were my inspiration to try astrophotography. It was an achievement to do astrophotography with just the basic equipment and software. Of course, we can improve our skills as time goes by.
Cheers!

alvinsclee · Post by **alvinsclee** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 3:08 am

Hi,
By the way, the Chinese named the Big Dipper as "Bei Dou Qi Xing" (literally, Northern Measure Seven Stars). It held an esteemed position in ancient chinese astronomy and its 7 stars were even referenced to official posts of the ancient chinese government. Here is an article to read a little more about chinese astronomy:-

http://www.chinapage.com/astronomy/syho/syho.html

My mum-in-law told me about a belief among the local elders, who would ascribe 'blessings-to-come' to the observer of this asterism

Cheers!

klutz · Post by **klutz** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:37 pm

Hmm.. the web is interesting... but a bit "chim"... (*_*)

boothee · Post by **boothee** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 2:38 pm

alvinsclee wrote: Yes, we have high light pollution here in Singapore. The sky is always having this dark reddish glow.

Hi Alvin,

You might wanna read this tutorial. I've never tried this before but it looks nice. Might be useful and you should try it. Here it is. . . .Removing Light Pollution

Cheers !!!

boothee