MASP 2008

As expected, an outstanding time at the '08 Mid Atlantic Star Party with my observing brethren.

The highlight this year was using my new, unmodified, Canon 40D with a 200mm F/2.8L mounted on an Astrotrac.  After learning this system, set up and alignment can be done in about 10-15 minutes.  Remarkable.

Well, the real highlight is always the people, isn't it.  It was great to see Michael Fulbright who is always so unselfish in answering imaging questions, Allen who I used to observe with at Medoc, my immediate neighbors Darren and Pierre (I always manage to set up next to a big dob owner), Robert Fitzgerald from RAC and Robert Nielsen from CHAOS, a member of the club to which I belong.

What can be done with simple DSLR Point and Shoot astrophotography?  Click and see.  These three images came straight from the camera with no processing.  Single 3 minute exposure, JPEG, and automatic dark frame subtraction from the camera itself (shoot a 3 minute exposure then it takes a 3 minute dark after the shutter closes, subtracts it and hands you a JPEG.  Nifty!)

Pinwheel (M33)

M31

M42

The next images are the RAW files from the camera.  The exposure details are at the bottom, but essentially they're half to a dozen 3 minute exposures, with 8 darks taken.  All those were stuffed into the free Deep Sky Stacker program to stack & align.  I then tweaked the histogram and curves in PixInsight and/or Photoshop.  Less than 15 minutes or so was spent processing these.

Personally I detest processing images.  First there is the ethical issue of ensuring truth.  But mostly I just can't stand spending hours fidgeting with all those various parameters in the dozens of software programs out there.  I write software programs for a living, so burying myself in them when trying to enjoy a hobby is just purely gruesome for me.  I love to image, I hate to process.  I hope the pictures don't make that too obvious.

Auriga	California nebula	Cepheus	M108 & M97.  I had no idea the Owl was going to pop out like it did.  A nice surprise.
Veil	M33 (Pinwheel)	M42	M81, M82, 3077, 3034
North American Nebula	Pleaides	M31	rosette nebula Only 4 2min exposures

 

Notes

North America - 200mm, F3.2, ISO 800, 10x2mins
Veil - 200mm, F3.2, ISO 800, 6x2.5mins
M33 - 20x2.30mins F3.2, ISO 800
Auriga - 10x3mins F3.2, ISO 800
Cepheus (Herschel's Garnet Star / Nebulosity) - 15x2mins, F3.2, ISO 800
M81/M82 - 10x2mins, F3.2, ISO 800
M108/M97 - 21x30secs, F3.2, ISO 400
California Nebula - 200mm, F3.2, ISO 800, 10x2.5mins
Pleaides - 12(13)x2.30mins, F3.2, ISO 800
M42-Orion Nebula - 200mm, 10x2mins, F3.2, ISO 800
M31 - 15x2mins, F3.2, ISO 800

The Canon 200mm F/2.8L is a light bucket - five star recommendation.  I used a hood with it and a heater around the hood and had no dew problems.  It produces diffraction spikes, those were not added later.

The Canon 40D supports "Live View."  You can get a live view of things through the LCD, so you can pick a star, zoom way in, focus, then you're good.  Even better is what I did: hook a USB cable to a laptop and control everything from there.  It's much easier to focus that way, and you can set it up to take all your lights, darks, intervals and so forth using the interface.  Then go look through a telescope and visit with people.

Questions/comments, etc. - email me.