Astrophotography

The principle of operation of an equatorial mount to keep a telescope pointing
in the same direction. The black spots denote rotation axes seen end-on.
The green telescope is rotated at the same rate as the earth but in the
opposite direction, while the red telescope is not driven.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Astrophotography can be a rewarding pastime for some beginner astronomers.  Conventional 35mm cameras, Schmidt cameras, and CCD or Digital cameras can be used to take your spectacular pictures.  

The right pieces are needed to make this a success.  You will need a shutter cable for the 35mm, an equatorial telescope mount to help with tracking your object for up to an hour sometimes.  A “T” mount to help align the camera with the eyepiece holder, and a guiding eyepiece to help keep your object in the center of your frame. 

There are many ways to pursue this hobby.  One is by using a camera mounted to the side of the telescope.  Another has the camera on the back of the telescope, using the scope as a guide.  The last is to use a camera that is attached to a movable mount on a tripod.  If you use these, please make sure your camera is steady and firmly attached with no vibrations or shaking. 

If you are just starting out, take your digital camera and select some constellations to snap.  To set your digital camera up, check your aperture and sensitivity settings.  Also, check your shutter speed.  All of these should be set to where more light can be focused especially when taking pictures at night.

Focusing means doing the manual focus on the camera or digging through the many menus until you find the right one and set it to what you want.  Then try to shoot something far away to see if the setting you programmed works.

White balancing is usually by default.  At night, the default setting will the sky to a brown-reddish color.  If you are going to incorporate long exposures of the night sky, try setting the balance to Tungsten.

  

After you take several pictures, transfer them from the camera onto the computer.  Sometimes they come up grainy, try reducing the size down by increments and you should soon have a clear picture.

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