Astronomy

Here are a few of my recent experiments with astronomy.

My low-level equipment consists of:

A balcony facing north
A chair that can be reclined, alowing me to observe the sky without getting neck pain.
A 10x50 binocular
A Meade 60EQ-A equatorial refracting telescope
A Fujifilm Finepix 4700 digital camera (I had it already before I got interested in astronomy)
A tripod for the Fujifilm Finepix 4700

This image shows the path of Jupiter as it disappears behind our building. This image was generated by stacking together 36 sequential images, taken with the Finpix 4700 mounted on a tripod and zoom set to the greatest magnification. I used the night setting of the camera, because this is the only mode that allows a shutter speed of 3 sec. All other modi of the camera are limited to shutter speeds of 1/4 sec. or shorter. Taken on 07-21-2006.

This image was also taken with the Finepix 4700 digital camera. No telescope etc. Just the camera mounted on a tripod and directed towards the sky. The maximum shutter speed of this camera is 3 sec. So I took 35 individual images, aligned them, and stacked them together into one single image. The result is not too bad for such a small camera. Taken on 07-21-2006.

Here is the big dipper. For this image 70 individual images, all taken with a shutter speed of 3 s, were stacked together. Taken 07-22-2006.

Here is my first shot of the moon (taken 07-30-2006). I finally decided to buy a small telescope (Meade 60EQ-A, a small equatorial refracting telescope, 900mm focal length, f/15). This image was taken with the 25mm MA eyepiece and the camera (my Finepix 4700) handheld directly to the eyepiece. I did not even use a tripod for the camera. I think once I have a unit that allows to attach the camera directly to the telescope I can get more brilliant and sharper images. For now, this image is not too bad for the low-level technique used.

Here is a picture of cassiopeia (taken 07-31-2006). The picture was taken with the Finepix 4700 on a tripod, no telescope etc. I stacked 71 individual images (3 s exposure time) together. During the last of the 71 images, I fired the flash of the Finepix 4700 to highlight the foreground (trees).

Here is my first attempt of Jupiter through the telescope. I used a ScopeTronix adapter (Maxview Plus) to connect my Finepix 4700 to the Meade 60EQ-A. The Maxview Plus is basically a 40 mm eyepiece that has a T-thread that can be connected to the camera. The image is totally overexposed (I used the night setting of the camera with 3s exposure time). This exposure time was way too long, as seen by the trailes of Jupiter and its moons. Taken 08-05-2006.

Today (September 16, 2006) I was naive enough to think I might be able to photograph the Andromeda galaxy (M31) using just the zoom lens of the Finepix 4700. Thus, I attached the camera to the telescope via a self-constructed piggyback bracket. This allowed me to use the equatorial mount to manually guide the camera. After taking 46 images, clauds obstructed the view to the Andromeda galaxy. From the 46 images, 37 were useable. After subtracting a blackframe, I stacked the 37 images together (using the Rot'n'Stack software). Here is the result. The Andromeda galaxy did not show up. I guess the 3s exposure time of the Finepix 4700 is simply too short. Taken 09-16-2006.

Here is a photograph of Perseus, taken on November 12, 2006. It was freezing cold and after 12 images, the Finepix 4700 camera switched off. I guess the accus don't work properly at temperatures below freezing. So I stacked the 12 images together and here is the result. Parts of Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Triangulum, and Aries are also captured. I am in the process of getting a Panasonic Camera (DMZ-TZ1) that can expose up to 60 s (instead of 3s for the Finepix). Hopefully, I get it soon. Taken 11-12-2006.

I tried to photograph the pleiades today (11-19-2006). However, I failed to target the camera precisely so my images did not show the pleiades. It is not easy to precisely target a digital camera in the dark night, because the stars do not show up on the LCD display (at least not on my Finepix camera). Therefore, I decided to try a larger constellation. So here we have an image of Cygnus, the swan, also called the northern cross. I stacked 18 images together and the result is not too bad (remember, the longest exposure time for my camera is 3s). There is even a portion of Delphinus in the image. I am still waiting for my new Panasonic DMZ-TZ1. So, here is Cygnus, taken on 11-19-2006.

I still wanted a photograph of the pleiades. So today (11-21-2006) I mounted the digital camera on the telescope using my selfmade piggyback adapter. I aligned the telescope to Polaris and then focused the finderscope on a bright street light. I then targeted the camera to this street light and the street light was bright enough to show up in the LCD monitor. Now I targeted the telescope (via the finderscope) to the Pleiades and took 16 images (and a blackframe image). I removed the hotpixels with a small program that I wrote myself (e-mail me if you want it) and stacked the 16 images together with the Rot'n Stack software. Well, here is the Pleiades, taken 11-21-2006:

Finally tested my new Panasonic TZ-1. Here is Hercules with 15s exposure time, f/3.6, focal length 9mm (equivalent to 61mm on 35mm camera), ISO-80. Just one single image. Not to bad to start with. Taken on 09-16-2007.

Here is another image taken on the same evening. It contains parts of the big dipper, small dipper, dragon, bootis, and canum venaticorum. Unfortunately, M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy did not show up on this image. Panasonic TZ-1 in "starry sky" mode, 60s exposure time, f/2.8, ISO-80, focal length (5mm, equivalent to 35mm on 35mm camera). Taken on 09-16-2007.

Here is a photograph of Cassiopeia taken with the Panasonic TZ-1 in "starry sky" mode, f/3.3, 60s exposure time, ISO-80, f=7mm (f=47mm based on 35mm camera). I like this one. Taken on 10-13-2007.

On the same night, I also took a picture of Lyra. There is also a small portion of Cygnus and the head of drago in this image. Taken with the Panasonic TZ-1, "starry sky" mode, ISO-80, f/2.8, 60s exposure, f=5mm (f=35mm based on 35mm camera). The sky became more and more claudy and I went inside. Taken on 10-13-2007.

Today I tried the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with my new Panasonic DMC-TZ1. This image is a stack of 3 images taken with 15s, 15s, and 30s exposure time, f/4.2, 52mm (350mm equivalent on 35mm camera), ISO-80. The Andromeda Galaxy is on the left side of the image. Note the nice colorful stars (blue, red, and yellow) on the right side of the image. Not bad for a piggy back image. Taken on 10-20-2007.

Here is a image of the constellation Perseus. This picture is special, because it has Comet Holmes in it. Taken with my Panasonic DMC-TZ1, f/3, 60s exposure time, 6mm (38mm equivalent on 35mm camera), ISO-80. Comet Holmes returns every 6.9 years. Taken on 11-13-2007.

Here is an enlarged view of Comet Holmes. On October 24, 2007, periodic Comet Holmes (17P) brightened dramatically — by nearly a million times — virtually overnight. For no apparent reason, the comet erupted from a very dim magnitude 17 to about magnitude 2½. Within a day its starlike nucleus had expanded into a perfectly round, bright little disk visible in binoculars and telescopes. It looked like no comet ever seen (citation from Sky & Telescope Magazine). Taken with Panasonic DMC-TZ1, f/4.2, 60s exposure time, 52mm (350mm equivalent on 35 mm camera) in combination with 2x digital zoom, ISO-80. Taken on 11-13-2007.

With my new Panasonic camera, I was able to take an image of M13, a globular cluster in the constellation Hercules. Taken on 05-28-2008 with f/2.8, 52mm (350mm equivalent on 35mm camera), ISO-80. I stacked 4 images with 15s, 15s, 30s, and 60s exposure time.

Today in the evening service in church the pastor talked about day 4 in Genesis and that the universe and all the stars were created on one single day. When I came home from church Orion was up just over our home. So I took out my camera and took an image of the constellation Orion (the hunter). Taken on 02-28-2010 with Panasonic DMC-TZ1, f/2.8, 60s exposure, 5mm (35mm equivalent on 35 mm camera), ISO-80. I just mounted the camera on a tripod and pointed the camera on Orion.