Astrophotography

[astronut96]

Here are some of my astrophotos. These were taken at a place called New Mexico Skies. (One of the coolest places ever for someone with a passion for astronomy) They were taken using a 6 inch Takahashi refractor. What do you all think of them?

P.S. I uploaded some more of my images in an album on my profile. So, feel free to go check it out!

[User Deleted]

I love the first one

[unknownuser]

Those are beautiful! And lucky you, you've got those gorgeous skies right in your own backyard. :]

Just curious, how exactly do you take those photos? Is the refractor something you attach to your camera or is it an actual telescope that's capable of taking pictures? (sorry, I probably sound really stupid, but I've never had experience with astrophotography).

[astronut96]

Those are beautiful! And lucky you, you've got those gorgeous skies right in your own backyard. :]

Just curious, how exactly do you take those photos? Is the refractor something you attach to your camera or is it an actual telescope that's capable of taking pictures? (sorry, I probably sound really stupid, but I've never had experience with astrophotography).

It's ok. I like when people ask questions. Also, this was not in my backyard, although I really wish it was. I live in PA. New Mexico Skies is a place where people can go and rent telescopes to use at night there.

Now for the explaining:
You take these photos with a CCD (Charge Coupled Device, not sure exactly what that means) camera, which you attach to the telescope in the place where you would normally put the eyepiece. The camera is capable of taking long exposures, which is necessary when dealing with deep sky objects which are normally very dim. The exposures are then saved to a computer and then compiled to make these images. And a refractor is just a type of telescope. I only mentioned it incase there was anyone who had experience with astrophotography and was wondering.

[xDarkAngelx]

All fantastic images! I have a passion for astronomy and I would love to start getting into the photography side of it. But i'm unsure as to what i'm doing and what type of telescope I need to purchase as there are so many. I eventually would like to do a mixture of deep sky objects and ones in the solar system.

[Perseus]

Those are pretty damn sexy. Goddamn. The universe is magnificent.

[Amaryllis]

Wow those are really amazing. Love 'em!