Astrophoto Page
 

Hey there I am back again with a new format for this section of my web site . Here in I will be documenting the further misadventures of my astrophoto experiences.
Here you can learn what works and does not work(mostly what does'nt). I will try to explain the proccess that I used to get the photos I have made.


I discovered by chance a web site that promotes the use of unconventional equipment for astro imaging, i.e.... webcams, video cams and such. Actually the images resulting from their efforts are quite nice. This NOT to say that mine are of this caliber, however I am trying and eventually will arrive.
Saturn - 1st try

This is my very first try at imaging Saturn, As you can tell, not real cool looking!!
Saturn second try
This image is my second try at Saturn, getting better huh?

 Just stay tuned and see what shows up!

I may suprise you!


Jupiter

Jupiter

I am getting better at this. This image I am proud of, after careful collimation this is the result. Close but not quite there yet. More tweaking to be done.
These images above were taken with a Celestron C-8  with a modified Logitech QuickCam Color  web cam. About 100 single bitmap images were stacked and processed to arrive at this result. Obviously the image is fuzzy for reasons that I will have to work out. Just learning this type of photography is slow and as I progress I will get sharper pictures. If you want to learn more about web cam astrophotography go here, http://www.qcuiag.co.uk

I am sending off the scope mount shown below to have a Meade Autostar DS GOTO systems installed. A machinist and amateur astronomer in Longview, Texas,  Steve Bedair will be doing the work on the conversion. Check out his site for some beautiful work, Click here.



Vesta Webcam


This is my astrophoto rig! The camera is the large object with the fan!
I am in the process of rebuilding this camera, this is a Phillips Vesta Pro camera and when the project is finished it will be cooled as well. CCD's work better when  they are cold.


Mobile Imaging Center


This is my mobile imaging control center! A Compaq 166Mhz with a 2 Gig HDD resides in the bottom.

Vesta Modified camera My wife's new dob

The left picture is a picture of the camera with the parts labeled. The right picture is my wife's new dob I just finished. She has a 6" f8 scope now and it is quite a performer, the mirror is very nice. We looked at Saturn on March 23, 2002 and it was very sharp. Seeing was pretty good but the scope really works well.