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Friday, January 27, 2012
Credit: SOHO/MDI!

Welcome to  my  Amateur Astrophotography Site!

The main purpose of the site is to detail my adventures into the realm of Astrophotography and along the way pass on information about the various triumphs  and pitfalls I encounter.

  I have always been awestruck by the beauty of planets, nebulae , galaxies and  other deep space objects  as photographed by amateurs, large terrestrial telescopes as well as the Hubble Space Telescope and thought that  I might try  my hand at it.

The first thing you  need, obviously, is a telescope. There are many manufacturers such as Meade, Celestron, Vixen, Orion, and Zhumell to  mention just  a few and have a price range from a few hundred dollars to over ten thousand dollars.

I started out  using a Meade DS114 f8 reflector telescope ( starter scope) and, by no means, an expert in this field having just  started (Dec. '06) myself. However, I have been doing a lot of research into astrophotography on the web and hope to pass on what I have learned so far.

In 2007 I upgraded my  equipment adding a Mead DSI color CCD camera and purchasing a used Mead LXD75 SN8 equatorial mount and 8" Schmidt-Newtonian f4 scope. In 2008 I added a 80mm Orion guide scope and a used Meade DSI Pro for guiding. ( There is always something that  needs to  be bought -- LOL) See Equipment link.

As I said above, there is always something I need to  further the hobby, So in 2008 I decided that  I needed to  add guiding to  my set up. As luck  would have it I found a used  80mm Orion f11 refractor on the web and also a DSI-PRO camera for just  around $100.  Now I'm set, I thought. Yeah  right, there is always an upgrade to  a better mount newer camera and, oh yes, a dome would be nice. There is always something.

In 2009 that  something showed up. I finally get frustrated enough with  the LXD75 mount that  I purchased an Orion Atlas EQ-G mount. Man what  a difference! I think that  the combined weight of the SN8, 80mm guide scope and two DSI cameras was rapidly approaching the weight carrying limit of the LXD75 mount and was causing Goto problems as well as guiding issues. Now I'm a happy camper, I think.

If your just  starting out you  may want to  go to  the getting started page or the page on telescope basics. There you  will also find links to  other sites that  can provide a lot of good information on telescope setups, imaging, and web-cams among other things.  As I have found It's real easy  to  start sinking money into this hobby.

Stop by the Gallery and check out the images I've been able to  shoot.

I hope you  enjoy  perusing my web site and doing so perhaps come away with a few tidbits of knowledge.

Now it's on and forward in my endeavor as an amateur in astrophotography.

While your here, click on the VISITOR COMMENT tab and let me know what  you  think of the site.

Stay  tuned for more info and pictures as I attempt perfect this art. 

Cheers from Nor Schramm. 

74°54’52.75”W / 40°50’25.88”N
(74.91465°W/ 40.84052° N)
Oxford, NJ USA

 

Space News:  SN2011dh As of 6/13/11 supernova SN2011dh seems to be increasing in brightness from 13.99 6/1/11 to a magnitude of 13.46 on 6/13/11. Click HERE for the chart. 6/18/11 - It would appear that  the SN2011dh is still increasing in brightness. Now up to  12.9. Click HERE for the chart. 6/25/11  - Not much luck in getting new data on Sn2011dh, However I did calculate the Supernova's luminosity as compared to  the sun if it were as close as the sun to earth. On 6/4/11 it's luminosity was 144.7 million time brighter than the sun. On 6/22/11 it increased to  365.8 million time brighter. That give a better perspective on how bright a super nova can be. 7/17/11 - Latest data show's that  SN2011dh is loosing its brightness. It is now down to 14.2 magnitude. It took only  14 days for the magnitude to reach its brightest and almost a month to come down to where it was when I started to monitor it at around 14.3. Click HERE for the chart. 8/11/11 - As You  can see by the data the brightness of Supernova sn2011dh is starting to flatten out. For about a month now it's been in the low 14's . I assume that  we will be able to see it for a few more weeks at least. 8/23/11 - It's been over 2 months  and it looks like the Supernova is getting to the point where it is difficult to photograph. The magnitude is now down to 14.5. I may be able to get a few more images but not for long   The night sky in 37,440 exposures (AP) AP - Nick Risinger has always gazed up at the sky. But last year the amateur astronomer and photographer quit his day job as a Seattle marketing director and lugged six synchronized cameras about 60,000 miles to capture an image of the entire night sky. Nick's web site - http://skysurvey.org/ Interactive Sky map - http://media.skysurvey.org/interactive360/index.html

 
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