Practical AstrophotographyAlmost all amateur astronomers want to take photographs of the night sky. For all but the simplest star-trail pictures, this involves machinery - a telescope drive - to track the stars, essential to compensate for the rotation of the earth. The task becomes even more complicated when photographing very small or very faint objects that require high magnification or very long exposure times. Amateurs have many options according to their requirements, technical ability, and budget. Astrophotography for Amateurs looks at all the possibilities, including normal ("wet") photography, CCD imaging, and modern techniques of computer enhancement. There are sections about photographing different classes of astronomical object from the Moon to faint nebulae, as well as a thorough look at the equipment needed. |
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Airy disk allow angular aperture astrophotography astrophotos auxiliary optics Barlow lens camcorder camera lens capture carry-on Cassegrain telescope celestial objects celestial pole comet contrast corona deep sky degree diameter diffraction distance earth effective focal length enlarged equatorial mount equipment exposure value eyepiece eyepiece field f/ratio f/stop fast f/ratio field of view fisheye lens focal length focal surface focus focusing format front guide scope guide star image processing image scale lenses light look lunar eclipse magnification manual meteor moon motion move nebulae Newtonian Newtonian telescope observe occultation percent photograph picture piggyback planets polar alignment reflector refractor relatively resolution result reticle eyepiece right ascension rotation shoot shutter speed sidereal drive slide film solar eclipse solar filter star image streaked techniques tele telecompressor telescope's tion total solar eclipse tracking tripod typically umbra usually Versacorp wide angle