CCD vs Film? Lots of time vs no patience? Alright, this is your place to discuss all the astrophotography what's and what's not. You can discuss about techniques, accessories, cameras, whatever....just make sure you also post some nice photos here too!
Couple of years back, had tried to attempt a mosaic of Eta Carinae in hydrogen-alpha from the balcony, but it was taken through a 3" Pentax refractor with a 2-mp camera. Recently, decided to go through the madness again, and try it with the ST8300M's bigger chip and 5" refractor, to yield more structural detail and resolution. This project consists of 6 panels with total exposure time exceeding 12 hours in hydrogen-alpha, taken over many nights here in Singapore. Have presented a scaled-down image mosaic here, though the original resolution is capable of printing to 26"x30" at near-photographic resolution (if there's any interest in having a print copy, do let me know) . Attempting the processing has also made it more obvious that i need to change my aged computer soon!
Last edited by rcj on Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lovely mosaic Remus! The change really paid off! Absolutely beautiful. The ST cam and wider scope really punches in the resolution! If your gonna do more mosaic with your set up...your gonna need more processing power..lol! Now I really need to upgrade to more MegaPixels!! haha!
My wife never complained about how much time, effort & money I spent on my Astronomy hobby!................suddenly I met her!!!
Thanks Jiong Yi. Thanks Wu. Thanks Wee Ern. Thanks Tim. Thanks Lton. Wu: yes, it is a 18mm by 13.5mm. Will be tempted to go full frame anytime soon (or close to it), but the whole process flow needs to be revised or even changed for that to happen - faster computer, bigger FF glass, bigger filters, and in the end, there goes my future plans! This camera is definitely more HA sensitive then the older one, and with the AP optics, stars are small, kudos to R.Christien. The weather has changed again, after the typhoon has subsided, now just hope that the new moon period is OK enough to shoot more stuff/data.
Gotta admit that from your balcony and the clear Southern part of the sky...it was well worth it! Several nights I noticed the South being clearer than the East....Glad you took advantage of it!! Woooot!
My wife never complained about how much time, effort & money I spent on my Astronomy hobby!................suddenly I met her!!!