Question about photographing planets and the moon, etc

[WeeGraeme]

I just have a basic question about this. I suspect the answer might be similar to "How long is a piece of string?", but here goes anyway.

When people take photos of Jupiter, Saturn, the moon, etc, is this generally done by attaching a lens to the camera? Or is the camera attached to a telescope?

[dannat]

camera is attached to a telescoep - usually a big one like 10" or 12". With a lens people generally take wide field shots of the constellation, or star trials

[Alchemy]

moon can be done at prime focus with a camera ( requires adaptor), through the eyepiece- eyepiece projection ( just hold camera at end of eyepiece and snap away)

jupiter etc generally with video cameras/ web cams and barlow magnifiers , put in where eyepiece goes ,tracking required and a bit of patience... very rewarding when achieved though.

[WeeGraeme]

Thanks. I'm a way off trying stuff like that, but I was just curious.

[Dennis]

Hi Graeme

I wouldn’t be too sure about that! I started of my Lunar & Planetary imaging “career” with a 4” refractor and a Meade LPI and was astonished at what I was able to produce. It was just amazing to see details of Jupiter and capture the Galilean moons, as well as some nice detail on the Moon, along with the rings of Saturn and the tiny disc of Uranus.

Whilst these images were not comparable to those posted here by the likes of Bird, Mike, DP, Matt, JohnK, etc., for me, they represented a great achievement and gave me a real sense of satisfaction, as well as heaps of fun.

So, don’t be afraid to experiment – an apprenticeship has to start somewhere!

Cheers

Dennis

[renormalised]

As Dennis said, you'll be amazed at what "basic" equipment can do. Even as simple a setup as your DSLR on a camera tripod can take some good wide angle piccies of the sky. You'll be surprised at what an unguided, 15 sec exposure will turn up.

[Stephen65]

The other good thing about imaging is that it gives you something interesting to do on cloudy nights - processing images can a lot of computer time and it's fun to try and optimise the process.

[jjjnettie]

To save me from writing it all over again, check out this thread.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=315890#post315890