View Single Post
  #1  
Old 17-03-2014, 09:36 AM
Draco's Avatar
Draco (Draco)
Registered User

Draco is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 292
Using a webcam for an Astronomy Camera

Hi all.

Due to budget constraints (basically no surplus money ) and wanting to see Galaxies via my Meade 10", I am trying to build a astronomy camera using a webcam. I know this is not the ideal way to go due to the obvious constraints on a webcam, however for a beginner with not too much money on hand, this could be a good start.

I have seen some posts in the forums from people venturing int his area however I havent see any specific details on how to do this.

I bought myself a webcam from ebay, similar to this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/mt88-USB-...item19e6774975

I took out the lens and removed the annoying led backlight inside. I put it in the eyepiece holder on my telescope and am using SharpCap. I tried playing with the distance to move it back to get focus of the moon last night(full moon), however I just couldnt get any focus. Also, it is very hard to get dim objects viewable through it. I guess my expectations of seeing galaxies are dashed

Is this expected behaviour of a webcam? Are my expectations too much or am I just not doing things correctly?

Thank you in advance

Last edited by Draco; 17-03-2014 at 10:30 AM.
Reply With Quote