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[IanG]

I'm going to have a go at planetary photography with a webcam.  Is anyone else doing this and using MC as part of the workflow?

Ian G.

[bebop]

Sounds interesting, what sort of setup  (telescope and camera) are you going to use for your shots?  Was up at the Keck Observ. last month - now that's impressive to see the night sky up there.  Was very suprized that Nasa is still using5 1/2 inch floppies on their system!! Bet

ps have some shots of the Observatory visit on my website - http://bebop-girl.com/gallery/Hawaii-2004    These are not professional shots, just a point and shoot thing, as I am still getting the hang of photography!

[paulr]

I have done some of this type of photography.  Unfortunately, I cannot use the telescope/webcam where I live due to light pollution, so I haven't had much of a chance to do any lately, but it is fun and rewarding.

I never used MC in the process though.  I'm actually not sure how or why you would want to do that, unless you mean for storing the processed images (I haven't yet moved 100% to MC for storing images, but am working towards it).  There is so much processing involved with this type of photography, I wouldn't even bother importing any of the images into MC until after I was done stacking and processing them.

Good luck with it though!  It takes a little while to get the process down and working, but it is very worth it!

[IanG]

Sounds interesting, what sort of setup  (telescope and camera) are you going to use for your shots?  

I'll be using 6" & 8" dobsonians and a Meade LX90.  The camera will be a ToUCam Pro.  Nice pictures of Mauna Kea, btw - those sunset shots are something special!

I have done some of this type of photography.  Unfortunately, I cannot use the telescope/webcam where I live due to light pollution, so I haven't had much of a chance to do any lately, but it is fun and rewarding.

I never used MC in the process though.  I'm actually not sure how or why you would want to do that, unless you mean for storing the processed images (I haven't yet moved 100% to MC for storing images, but am working towards it).  There is so much processing involved with this type of photography, I wouldn't even bother importing any of the images into MC until after I was done stacking and processing them.

Good luck with it though!  It takes a little while to get the process down and working, but it is very worth it!

I'm surprised light pollution's a big problem - some of the best work's being done by Eric Ng in Hong Kong. Have a look at http://www.cloudynights.com/astrophotography/toucam.htm

The plan is to capture the avis with K3CCDTools, organise them and make notes in MC, and process them in RegiStax.  If you've not used RegiStax you're in for a surprise - it processes them, sorts them in quality order and then stacks them for you.  And it's free!!  

Ian G.

[paulr]

I'm surprised light pollution's a big problem - some of the best work's being done by Eric Ng in Hong Kong. Have a look at http://www.cloudynights.com/astrophotography/toucam.htm

Yea, I've seen his work and it makes me physically ill!    Honestly, with the results I've had, I am astonished at the quality he acheives...  I think he's a magician.

I use Registax, it's quite nice.  I also found a bunch of other interesting software, but I'll need to search for it since I reinstalled my OS.  I have it backed up somewhere...  I'll post it if I can locate it.

It all takes a lot of practice though, and I haven't had opportunities to really work on my skills - getting everything calibrated, collumnated and getting my scope's tracking mechanism working accurately.

I live near a highway with a lot of streetlights, as well as a lot of very large trees.  I had been working on this out at my brother's, but just haven't gotten around to it much recently.  Hmm...  Maybe I should get my butt in gear again.

Have you seen the Cleardarksky website?  It provides viewing forecasts... very useful!

http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/

[IanG]

Have you seen the Cleardarksky website?  It provides viewing forecasts... very useful!

http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/

Thanks for that! Unfortunately it only covers North America, and I'm in the UK.   Good look if you decide to try again!

Ian G.