# 219 | Vanishing Venus
"What is that bright star in the west after sunset?" This is a question that many amateur astronomers were likely asked during the past few months.
Often people are surprised to learn that the bright "star" is in fact Venus, one of our closest celestial neighbours. Shrouded in toxic clouds, Venus reflects 98% of the sunlight it receives, thus causing it to shine so brilliantly in our skies.
Observant sky watchers will have noticed that during the past few weeks Venus has been sinking farther into the western horizon soon after sunset and has now disappeared. On January 14, 2006, Venus was at inferior conjunction, passing between the Sun and the Earth. Early risers may soon be able to catch a glimpse of Venus as it rises shortly before dawn.
Frederic Caron of Victoriaville, Quebec captured this thin crescent of Venus on January 6, 2006 using a Celestron 14" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and a Phillips ToUcam pro webcam. One hundred exposures, each 1/1000 of a second were combined together to create the final image.
# 218 | Advanced Astrophotography
Photo of the Week 217 showed how even a short exposure of the Orion Nebula taken with a digital camera can record a substantial amount of detail.
In the past five years, digital photography has revolutionized astrophotography and made it much easier for those who wish to try their hand at it. However, a significant part of achieving a spectacular image now takes place at the computer. For many astrophotographers, processing data often can be more time-consuming than taking the actual images.
Stef Cancelli of Toronto, Ontario spent three nights over the past few months taking images of the Orion Nebula using both a hydrogen-alpha filter and an OIII filter through a Pentax 300mm telephoto lens at f/4 and an SBIG ST8i CCD camera riding piggyback atop an 8-inch Meade LX200GPS SCT with guiding being accomplished with a Meade DSI and Maxim D/L software.
Using Adobe Photoshop, three hours of hydrogen-alpha and OIII images were tediously combined with multiple one, five and ten minute exposures to show the core region of the nebula.
Images such as Cancelli's show that not only does one have to be proficient at taking images, but that skill is also required at the computer too.
# 217 | A Few Seconds of Photography
The results that can be achieved with a short exposure when using digital SLR cameras is simply amazing. While digital SLR cameras are priced higher than most point-and-shoot models, they are much better suited to astrophotography since they (generally) have more megapixels and can be attached directly to a telescope for shooting at prime focus.
Laurence Harry of Nanaimo, British Columbia used his Canon 300D and a Konus 8-inch reflector mounted on a Sky-Watcher SkyScan EQ6 equatorial mount to take this image, a single 40-second exposure, of the Orion Nebula.
The Orion Nebula is an excellent target for beginning astrophotographers. Try exposures of different durations to see how your camera records the areas of the nebula that vary greatly in brightness.
# 216 | The Christmas Tree Cluster
The Christmas Tree Cluster is an aptly named grouping of stars found in Monoceros. While the cluster itself may be easy to find, it can take a bit of imagination to see the Christmas tree shape. The Cone Nebula, found at the top, marks the apex of the tree and stars give the illusion of hanging decorations.
On December 20, 2005, Pierre Tremblay imaged the cluster from his backyard in Quebec City, Quebec. Pierre used a Takahashi Sky 90 refractor along with a focal reducer, a Starlight Express SXV-H9 CCD camera with an SBIG CFW8A SBIG filter wheel, an Astrodon Ha filter, an Astronomik OIII filter and a Losmandy G-11 German equatorial mount.
# 215 | The Clown Face Nebula
Located in the constellation Gemini, NGC 2392, the Clown Face nebula, is a relatively bright planetary nebula with a central star that appears to blink on and off as the observer uses averted vision.
From his backyard observatory in Ottawa, Ontario, Albert Saikaley recently imaged NGC 2392 using his Celestron C11 Schmidt-Cassegrain and an ST10-XME AO7 CCD camera (RGB 30:30:45 minutes).
# 214 | Venus and the Moon II
Venus and the Moon presented astrophotographers the opportunity to take a conjunction shot on December 4, 2005. If you missed it this time, don't worry. The first few days of January 2006 will also provide the same celestial show.
Ross Carter of Regina, Saskatchewan took this image of Venus and the Moon on December 4, 2005 while the pair were only 3 degrees apart. Ross took a three-second exposure using a Samsung Digimax 301 3.2MP digital camera.
# 213 | Venus and the Moon
For the past few months, the beginning of each lunar cycle has presented us with a beautiful conjunction of the Moon and Venus. On December 4th, the Moon and Venus will be within 3 degrees of each other, creating a fantastic opportunity for astrophotographers.
Catherine Bezubiak took this image of the crescent Moon and Venus in early October from Brougham, Ontario. Catherine mounted her Panasonic DMC-LZ1 digital camera on a tripod and took an exposure of approximately 4-5 seconds.
# 212 | Affordable Astrophotography II
Staying with the same theme as Peter Roth's Photo of the Week # 210, Peter Boytang and Zoltan Kenwell of Edmonton, Alberta also show that an expensive telescope is not always needed to take an excellent astrophoto.
Boytang and Kenwell used a Sky-Watcher 80mm f/5 short-tube achromatic refractor to take this superb image of M31, the Andromeda galaxy. With the refractor riding piggy-back atop a Meade SCT, five 2-minute exposures were taken with a Canon 20D at ISO 1600 and then combined and processed using Adobe Photoshop CS.
While this image and Photo of the Week # 210 definitely prove that fantastic results can be achieved with a modest telescope, the common factor for both photos is the camera that was used.
It is important to remember that the choice of camera is integral to the quality of the astrophoto. In general, the more mega-pixels the camera has, the better the image will be. For more information on digital astrophotography, including camera information, see the March/April 2005 issue of SkyNews.
# 211 | The Red Planet Amongst a Green Sky
Mars has been the prominent object this fall for both visual and photographic astronomers. Although we are now past opposition, Mars will remain in our night sky for the next few months, gradually decreasing in brightness.
Steve Hachey of Smithers, British Columbia recently took this tripod-mounted photo of a rising Mars and a weak aurora. Steve used a Canon 300D digital camera at ISO 100 and took a 130-second exposure using a 50mm lens at f2.8.
# 210 | Affordable Astrophotography
Many amateur astronomers have the desire to photograph deep sky objects once they enter the hobby. Others already in the hobby may be inclined to try it but think that expensive telescopes and mounts are needed to achieve satisfactory results.
Peter Roth of Stouffville, Ontario proves that isn't the case and that excellent results can be achieved with affordable backyard equipment.
This image of the Pleiades was taken using a 6-inch Sky-Watcher f/5 reflector mounted on a Sky-Watcher HEQ-5 Pro-Series mount from near Honey Harbour, Ontario. A single three-minute unguided exposure was taken at ISO 1600 with a Canon 300D digital camera.