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Old 07-04-2010, 07:49 PM
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wal
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digital camera for asteroid tracking

I'm after some advice as to the best small digital camera to be used afocally to enable me to take a quick snap shot of the view through the eyepiece to later compare it with other samples to track and plot asteroid travel. My intention is to be able hold the camera steady perhaps allowing it to lean on the rubber guard ever so slightly for a couple of seconds or so to record the stars. I have never done any sort of AP other than keep my film cameras wide open on B setting from a dark site before, so my knowledge on this is virtually zero.

Does any one know of the best small digital camera out there, be it cannon ixus, or sony or others (doesn't have to be a zoom in fact I would prefer a fixed focal length around 6mm or so) with the appropriate dark/night sensitive features that provides the clearest image to achieve what I have in mind?

Kind regards,

Wal.
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  #2  
Old 10-04-2010, 08:52 PM
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higginsdj
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Is this a one off experiment or something you want to systematically do? Very few asteroids are going to likely fit your requirements depending on what telescope setup you have. Afocal imaging by hand holding a camera through a small telescope EP that is not tracking will likely limit you to mag 4-6. At the moment there is only 1 target, Vesta, brighter than magnitude 8 (currently at mag 7) but it is at +22 dec so that one is out for the time being. I would suggest that you will need to afix the camera Afocally to a tracking telescope (not just hold it in place) with a remote shutter switch to have any chance at being able to capture it.

For Asteroidal occultation work we use sensitive security type mono CCD video cameras. In my tracking 14" I can "see" magnitude 11 stars and asteroids in the best of conditions with this type of camera solidly mounted to the telescope. If the best you have is 102mm then I would have to say you are likely out of luck....

Cheers

Last edited by higginsdj; 10-04-2010 at 09:12 PM.
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Old 10-04-2010, 09:11 PM
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renormalised (Carl)
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Grab yourself a GStar-EX camera from here

If you're looking to tracking asteroids, these types of low light video cameras are your best option. Many amateurs use them in conjunction with their telescopes either piggybacked (with a good telephoto lens attached) or through the scope at the prime focus.

If your pockets can extend a little, another way is to invest in a large telephoto lens (2000mm is not out of the question) attached to the camera and mounted on an alt-az tracking mount.

Your main concern, apart from light gathering capability (which means a large aperture), is field of view. Tracking asteroids requires a scope or lens with a good field of view, which usually means it has to have a reasonably fast F ratio...the faster (smaller number), the better. That way, you cover a larger area of sky and have a better chance of finding and tracking an asteroid. It also means that images will be gathered quicker as well (no need to go into the optical details, just yet), and as I mentioned before a large aperture will allow you to gather more light, therefore you'll see fainter objects. In any case, the importance of the field of view is paramount. Asteroids, especially NEO's and other co-orbitals, move quickly so a small field of view is virtually useless. Makes it too hard to find, initially, and then track the objects.

Hopefully, I've been of help. There's plenty of us here that are willing to help
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Old 13-04-2010, 08:57 PM
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Thank you David and Carl for your replies.
Carl, I got smitten tracking Vesta in February, so it is indeed something that I would like to systematically do. I drew sketches as far as possible for 10 days (February 15 to 25 inc) before I lost track of it. To gain experience in this type of astronomy and tracking on a more serious level, I thought I could use a simple digital camera to begin with and record, albeit crudely, the location of the celestial bodies and observe their shifting. I accept this idea won't work. It appears though that I overestimated the abilities of a common digital camera and I need a dedicated/sophisticated ccd unit obviously attached to a bigger aperture scope. Be that as it may, as I am limited to mags 4-6 for the moment, I'll keep tracking what I can until I purchase more aperture and the basic equipment for this type of observation. Additional advice/comments for someone in my position is more than welcome.
Thanks again.
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  #5  
Old 13-04-2010, 10:03 PM
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tonybarry (Tony)
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Hello Wal,

+1 for the GStar. Live it can do marvellous things. Stacking it can do really marvellous things.

As an example, I cannot see M1 through the eyepiece of my LX90-8" with an f/6.3 reducer because I live in a light polluted part of Sydney. The glare just washes out the nebula completely. With the GStar I can see the nebula in real time, though it does not have structure. Stacking a hundred images and I start to make out definite structure.

JJJJeanette has posted that she seem more with a ED80 and a GStar than visually through a 10"dob.

One thing which has been around but is no longer is a KIWI OSD unit, which gives GPS accurate time stamps of video feeds. Look it up, it will give you a good idea of what amateurs can do with modest equipment.

Note- I am not connected with Steve Massey or Binary Systems, though I do have a GStar.

Regards,
Tony Barry

Last edited by tonybarry; 13-04-2010 at 10:05 PM. Reason: added timing info
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