 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 CCD 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 limit imaging to objects that generally pass overhead.
In late
2005, after a couple years of imaging with an Atik 2HS,a commercially
modified web cam,
I started imaging with an Atik ATK-16 CCD camera and Orion 120ST f/5
achromat.
In early 2006 I added an Orion 80ED to the system and alternated
between
the two scopes for imaging. The achromat proved to be quite good
for imaging in H-alpha with the small format ATK-16 camera. In
the
spring of 2007, wishing to do wider field and broad band imaging,
possibly
tri-color work, and also wishing to lighten the load on the long
suffering
GM8
mount, I acquired a Stellarvue SV80S APO triplet. The SV80S
optics
are superior to both the larger achromat and 80ED, is a faster system
than
the 80ED, and is a far more compact OTA. Broad band imaging,
specifically
galaxies and globular clusters, can be done with no filtration, whereas
the 80ED required a UV/IR block filter and the achromat required a
specialized
UV/IR filter to reduce the effects of chromatic aberration. Going
with a 66ED as guidescope further reduced the strain on the GM8 mount
and
tracking / auto guiding improved appreciably. The majority of my imaging is done in narrow band Hydrogen Alpha light, 656.3nm wavelength. Working with a 9nm FWHM H-alpha filter reduces 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 that required dark skies and excellent seeing to get even a glimpse of structure, now burst onto my computer monitor with amazing contrast and structural detail despite the small aperture of my equipment. And, all only steps from a warm room and a refrigerator. Amateur astronomy has come a long way. |
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NGC2903 |
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.Webcam
and Video Astrophotography
.
| Images with DMK21AU04
camera and 15cm Mak-Cass Images with Atik 2HS & Orion 80ED Lunar images with Atik 2HS & 15cm Mak-Cass Images with Atik 2HS & Orion 120ST |
