 Equipment Page |
CCD Astrophotography Jim Ferreira, Livermore CA . BakerSt@comcast.net |
|
Equipment Page |
CCD Astrophotography Jim Ferreira, Livermore CA . BakerSt@comcast.net |
| Welcome to my deep sky
astrophotography web
page.
All imaging is done from my suburban backyard in Livermore CA, about 30
miles south-east of San Francisco. Local light pollution, trees
and
roof tops pretty much limits imaging to objects that essentially pass
overhead.
The majority of my imaging is done in narrow band Hydrogen Alpha light,
656.3nm wavelength. Working with a 9nm and 6nm H-alpha filters
reduce the effects of local light pollution, allowing me to capture
very respectable deep sky images from my own backyard with relatively
modest equipment. Even nights plagued by excessive moon light can
still produce excellent results. After
years (read; decades...) of visual
observing with various size scopes, imaging in H-alpha light is like
discovering a whole new universe to expolore. Faint emission
nebulae full of dark, obscuring clouds and globules that required dark
skies and excellent seeing to get even a
glimpse of structure visually, now burst onto my computer monitor with
amazing
contrast and structural detail. And, this despite the small
aperture of my
equipment. The images below represent my progression in astrophotography. Early work utilized a Atik 2HS commercially modified web cam and an Orion 120ST f/5 acrhromat and Orion 80ED on a Losmandy GM8 mount. By 2005 I had moved up to a Atik ATK-16, 16 bit, peltier cooled CCD camera, imaging with the Orion telescopes. In early 2007 I acquired the killer astrograph Stellarvue SV80S APO triplet and continued my H-alpha imaging. The summer of 2008 I started imaging with a Stellarvue SV102ED f/7 refractor. I'd decided that I wanted more image scale for H-alpha imaging of dark globules and obscuring clouds, and the increase in resolution that comes with a larger aperture scope. I also discoved that both refractors are highly capable for lunar and planetary imaging. |
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| NGC6888 Ha light, Cygnus |
NGC6888 OIII light, Cygnus |
M27 Ha light, Vulpecula |
NGC6914 Ha light, Cygnus |
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| B33, Orion |
M57, Lyra |
NGC6820 Ha light, Vulpecula |
IC5070 Ha light, Cygnus |
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| Stephan's Quintet & NGC7331 |
M1, Crab Nebula, Taurus |
IC410 Ha light, Auriga |
NGC281, Cassiopeia |
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NGC2903 |
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.Webcam
and Video Astrophotography
.
| Images
with Atik 2HS & Orion 80ED
Lunar images with Atik 2HS & 15cm Mak-Cass Images with Atik 2HS & Orion 120ST |
