my first pic through a scope.

[monoxide]

well lastnight i thought id try my hand at some photography..
seeing wasnt very good at all and there was a bit of cloud, all in all im happy with the shot i got, quality should improve as the seeing and the operator does
if anyone has any tips or can spot anything that i buggered up let me know

http://members.iinet.net.au/%7Emonoxide/moon.jpg


taken at prime focus through my 6" dob using k3ccdtools

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Up and running

Nice first shot. Care to share a few more details. ToUcam, NexImager, LPI? What did you use to process the images, Registax or K3CCDTools?

[monoxide]

all the processing was done in k3ccdtools, i didnt edit it at all, just aligned and stacked. the camera is just an old swann webcam i ripped apart to use on the scope, i really didnt expect an image like that especially with how bad the seeing was (anyone in adelaide would know what i mean)

it took me a while to think of a way of not having to hold the camera against the focusser so i ended up using an old ep cap (as i always leave an ep in the focusser ready to go), i cut out the centre of it so the ccd chip was exposed then i unscrewed an eyepiece off the extension tube part and pushed that into the cap that id stuck to the cam and bam, it just slides in like a normal ep now.

cant wait for a decent night to see what its capable of

[ving (David)]

pretty sweet start!

my first shots were single shot afocals.

[monoxide]

thanks guys,
one problem i still have to sort out is the finderscope.. it just doesnt seem to want to align with a whole lot of anything at all.

anyway heres a pic of the cam i fitted out for the scope, pretty simple really.. the hardest part is getting the ccd dead centre
http://members.iinet.net.au/%7Emonoxide/cam.jpg

[iceman (Mike)]

Great start, well done and beware of the slippery slope! There's no turning back now!

[monoxide]

ahh yes, i can feel the addiction growing, i just had to get a better shot and i think this one qualifies (taken less than an hour ago)
http://members.iinet.net.au/%7Emonoxide/moon2.jpg

[iceman (Mike)]

Great work.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Nice work monoxide. Necessity is the mother of invention

[leon]

Nice one mike, the way you turn out Planets, i thought you had been doing this forever....

[monoxide]

Originally Posted by [1ponders]

Nice work monoxide. Necessity is the mother of invention

being a tightass helps too, use what you have at hand!
just had to see if it was possible using that lil bugger before i bought a toucam or something similar, and im no professional but im guessing its just as frustrating with my setup as a conventional one

one of the funny things, noone in this house wanted anything to do with the scope when i got it, but as soon as i showed them the photos they wanted to take a look. same goes for the people that were giving me crap for buying one, instead now they are just asking what im gonna get on the cam next

[spacezebra (Petra)]

Hi there

Im learning a great deal from the more experienced astrophotographers within this forum, a long way to go yet. I agree, for me its becoming a bit of an obsession.

Cheers Petra

[Ric]

Nice images Monoxide, they are a great start to a fantastic hobby and always remember as long as your having a good time, who cares what anybody else says or thinks.

cheers

[monoxide]

thanks guys