Digital Astro Photographs

These are my first efforts at astro photography. I got a QuickCam VC from eBay for $10 and modified it to attach to my homemade six inch Dobsonian telescope. The first shots of Mars on light polluted Capitol Hill were a lucky break. After shooting the moon, I locked in the settings and then shot Mars. Later, down at Church Point with much better viewing, I forgot about setting the exposure manually and kept trying to use autofocus - that just overexposed the images. I finally realized my mistake and once again used the moon to get a good exposure and then locked it down - for Saturn (again on Capitol Hill). Church Point will follow soon.

Jupiter, 11/8/2001, 5:00 am, QuickCam VC, 6 inch, f/8, Dobsonian. 5 stacked BMPs, combined in Astrostack.	11/3/2001, 11:50 pm, QuickCam VC, 6 inch, f/8, Dobsonian. 63 frames, combined in Astrostack.	11/3/2001, 5 stacked BMPs combined in Astrostack.
Mars, 5/10/2001, 5:00 am, QuickCam VC, 6 inch, f/8, Dobsonian. 78 frames, combined in Astrostack.	5/10/2001, 5:10 am, QuickCam VC, 6 inch, f/8, Dobsonian. 40 frames, combined in Astrostack.	5/10/2001, 5:30 am, QuickCam VC, 6 inch, f/8, Dobsonian. 90 frames, combined in Astrostack.

And here is what NASA says Mars looked like from Earth at the time of the above photos. Check out the NASA simulator at: http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/

Theophilus and Mare Nectaris May 27, 2001, 8:52 p.m.	Franklin? 5/27/01, 9:00 p.m.	Mare Nectaris 5/27/01, 9:05 p.m.

Craters Herschel, Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, and Arzachel, May 30, 2001, 8:30 p.m.	Probably a section of the Sinus Medii May 30, 2001 8:30 p.m	Plato area, Nov 3, 2001, 11:30 p.m.

Above Copernicus? Nov 3, 2001 11:30 p.m	Copernicus & Eratosthenes Nov 8, 2001 11:00 p.m

Here is the telescope that took those pictures

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