Hey! I just got back from the Texas Star Party near Fort Davis. It was a blast! Kim and I spent all last week there and had a lovely stay in one of the motel rooms (cabins really) at the Prude Ranch that hosts the event each year. I had 4 beautiful clear nights out of 5, so I am quite happy. We also had many other adventures in the area (McDonald Observatory, Alpine, Marfa, etc.). I will write an "official" report soon...But for now, here is the first processed image from my trip -- the constellation of Scorpius, rising with the Milky Way. This awesome sight appeared each night about 3 a.m. and was definitely something worth staying up for!
I imaged this target over 2 nights, collecting data with both a 28mm lens (for the entire constellation) and a 85mm lens (for the detail around the Rho area in the upper middle). The image data was collected with my Modded Canon XSI, f/4, ISO 1600. I used the AstroTrac for unguided tracking. Total exposure is a bit over 3 hours.
3 comments:
Hi JOhn,
This is a sensational shot using the 2 different DSLR lenses to extract different data. Truly brilliant! I'd love to know more about this shot and some of your other work.
Cheers,
Earl
Howdy Earl,
Thanks for your interest and comments! This particular shot is a good illustration of mixing focal lengths (image data shot with different lenses) and combining them to increase detail in the smaller areas of interest.
Here are the stats for the two data sets I imaged:
Night#1
Canon XSI (Hutech Modded, IDAS filter)
Sigma 28mm f/4, ISO 1600
45 x 2 min
Night#2
Canon XSI (Hutech Modded, IDAS filter)
Nikon 85mm f/4, ISO 1600
53 x 2 min
After processing the two stacks, I then registered the two resulting images using RegiStar and created the final composite in Photoshop.
There is a good explaination of this procedure on Robert Gendler's site (check out links on my blog).
Best,
JOhn
Man the depth here is stunning. You were right, this was an incredible night and there is it is the universe. I had this odd dream about Carl Sagan last night-that he was selling comic books in Dallas. DOn't know how that is related. Just nice stuff buddy...
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