I got a book called Photoshop Astronomy for my birthday (which, incidentally, Waterstone's did a lot cheaper than the Amazon price). It is very complicated, but once you get the hang of things, makes a real difference. Anyway, above is a picture of Orion's belt showing the Great Nebula, taken with nothing more complicated than a digital camera with a zoom lens mounted on a tripod in my back garden a couple of years ago, then processed through Deep Sky Stacker (free online) and Serif Photoplus which you can get earlier versions of for £15.
Enjoy. (Click the picture to enlarge.)
PS - if you look between the central star of the belt and the bright star at about 3.30 on the clock face, you can see a short 'trail' which I reckon may just be an asteroid!
PPS - compare it with this earlier effort and you'll see what a difference the book makes (although that was based on a different image)!
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What telescope do you use?
ReplyDeleteHave an old ETX and an LX80 (12").
Tend to do my astrophotgraphy with homemade devices (have you had a look at the QuickCam and Unconventional Imaging Astronomy Group (QCUIAG) site?):
http://www.qcuiag.co.uk
Regards,
Vic
Hi Vic. I have a Meade ETX 105, though it hasn't seen the light of day (or night) for several months. The picture here was shot with a very basic Pentax digital SLR - a K100D - and equally basic 30-55mm zoom lens.
ReplyDeleteI would love to try piggy-back mounting the camera on the Meade, but I need some counterbalance weights, otherwise there is apparently a real danger of stressing the bearings.
I have looked at the site you recommended before. I admit to finding it a little bit beyond me, but perhaps I should persevere.