Astrophotography

Hi James,
yes, in order to obtain these photos of planets etc., a camera is attached to shoot through a telescope. Sometimes the image is enlarged to make the image appear larger, but with small telescopes, or grainy film, this is not a good idea as the images starts to break down. There are several excellent books on astrophotograpy(see my astrolibrary page) thay may help you. The most essential thing for astrophotography is an excellent mount that has dead accurate tracking and is absolutely stable. I gave up trying to shoot through my 10 SCT for long exposures (>5 minutes)as it tracked accurately with periodic corrections, but the slightest bump or breeze rendered many of my images blurred. I will resume my pursuit of astrophotography, once I have replaced my mount or my entire scope. Piggybacked astrophotos are the easiest to take, and do not require alot of equipment. See my astrophotography pages for more info. Hope this helps.



Richard Snow