First astrophotography attempt!

KmH · Jan 22, 2018

rosh4u said:
This is actually not astrophotography.

Nightscape photography has land/buildings in the image frame.
Astrophotographs have nothing but sky, and can be done without a tracking mount.
If you get serious about doing astrophotography make sure you have plenty of $$$$$.

Note that in the following video Forrest Tanaka images M 31, the Andromeda Galaxy.
Looking at the sky with our naked eye the Andromeda galaxy is almost 6 moon diameters wide. It's the closest big galaxy to us, which is why is so big in the sky.
So it can be imaged with just a DSLR and a lens that has sufficient focal length.
With our naked eye, and if where we are is dark enough, we can only see a very faint fuzzy spot about 1/4 of the moon's diameter that is only the central core of the galaxy.

There are other things in the sky even bigger, but even fainter than M 31.

Other "deep sky objects" & galaxies require using a telescope having a larger lens or mirror so more light can be gathered per unit of time.
Check out this link to a stunningly beautiful astrophoto of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex made by Rogelio Bernal Andreo.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Orion_Head_to_Toe.jpg

Nwcid · Jan 22, 2018

I have only tried a few times. I have had moderate luck with the moon.

Taken in a very dark field outside of Oakridge Oregon. In early September about 22:00.
D7100, Tamron 150-600mm @600mm and slight crop, 1/125 sec, f9, ISO 100, on a tripod.

Taken in the same very dark field. Mid September about 22:00. Apparently I was in a flight path, I made several shots and all had the streak on the left side.
D7100, Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye, 30 sec, f2.8, ISO 500, on a tripod

birdbonkers84 · Jan 22, 2018

Nwcid said:
I have only tried a few times. I have had moderate luck with the moon.

Taken in a very dark field outside of Oakridge Oregon. In early September about 22:00.
D7100, Tamron 150-600mm @600mm and slight crop, 1/125 sec, f9, ISO 100, on a tripod.
View attachment 152537

Taken in the same very dark field. Mid September about 22:00. Apparently I was in a flight path, I made several shots and all had the streak on the left side.
D7100, Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye, 30 sec, f2.8, ISO 500, on a tripod
View attachment 152536

Nice images, just a little tip f/11 is the sweet spot for shooting the moon apparently

KmH · Jan 22, 2018

With the moon effectively at infinity (250,000 miles away) you can use a more wide open aperture than f/11 and a faster shutter speed so atmospheric turbulence doesn't hurt the focus sharpness of your image quite as much.
However, it is wise to make sure you're not shooting over a building or fallow field that is releasing heat it gained during the day.

For the best moon images astrophotographers shoot video and then pick frames made while the atmosphere was steady and not moving, a technique known as 'lucky imaging'.

I made this composite of a total lunar eclipse in September of 2015 using a 400 mm focal length, f/5 refracting telescope as a lens. The telescope was just mounted on a tripod. My DSLR was mounted to the telescope rack & pinion focuser.
The scale of each shot of the moon is uncropped relative to the APS-C size frame they were composited on.

Here the moon is exposed for the sunlit part of the moon as the eclipse ends - f/5 and IIRC 1/400.

Here I've exposed for the dark, approaching fully eclipsed part of the moon - still f/5 but IIRC 2 seconds for each exposure, which is why the sunlit part of the moon is way over exposed.

rosh4u · Jan 22, 2018

KmH said:
rosh4u said:

This is actually not astrophotography.

Click to expand...

Nightscape photography has land/buildings in the image frame.
Astrophotographs have nothing but sky, and can be done without a tracking mount.
If you get serious about doing astrophotography make sure you have plenty of $$$$$.

Note that in the following video Forrest Tanaka images M 31, the Andromeda Galaxy.
Looking at the sky with our naked eye the Andromeda galaxy is almost 6 moon diameters wide. It's the closest big galaxy to us, which is why is so big in the sky.
So it can be imaged with just a DSLR and a lens that has sufficient focal length.
With our naked eye, and if where we are is dark enough, we can only see a very faint fuzzy spot about 1/4 of the moon's diameter that is only the central core of the galaxy.

There are other things in the sky even bigger, but even fainter than M 31.

Other "deep sky objects" & galaxies require using a telescope having a larger lens or mirror so more light can be gathered per unit of time.
Check out this link to a stunningly beautiful astrophoto of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex made by Rogelio Bernal Andreo.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Orion_Head_to_Toe.jpg