David's Astronomy Pages
Comets, Stars, Moon, Planets, General

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Comets

Hyakutake
Hale Bopp (1)
Hale Bopp (2,3)
Hale Bopp (4)

Stars

Orion Star Trails
M42
 

Moon Moon (1)
Planets Mars
Eclipses Solar Eclipse (1999)
Learning / Astrophotography Impact of poor setup

All pictures were taken by myself (unless otherwise stated).


Hyakutake

Hyakutake Comet, 1996-Apr-05

Pentax Camera mounted above guided LX200 Telescope, 170mm lens, Closeup ? 300mm
200 ASA Kodacolour.  Exposure 5 minutes (Hyakutake Observations)
Click on image to view at larger scale.

Image

Image
Normal View

Closeup

Image Image
Closeup, Image enhanced to show comet coma Closeup, Image enhanced to show tail, False Colour

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Hale Bopp (1)

Hale Bopp Comet, 1997-Mar-27

300mm lens, Pentax Camera fixed mounted above LX200 Telescope, 
400 ASA FujiFilm.  Exposure 5 minutes (Hale Bopp Observations)
Click on image to view at larger scale.

Image

Image
Normal View

Image enhanced to show plasma tail, False Colour

Image Image
Image enhanced to show striated blue plasma tail Image enhanced to show coma & main tail 

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Hale Bopp (2, 3)

 Hale Bopp Comet, 1997-Mar-27
50mm lens, Pentax Camera mounted 
above LX200 Telescope, 
400 ASA FujiFilm.  
Exposure 5 minutes
Shows slightly curved tail

 Hale Bopp Comet, 1997-Mar-27
200mm lens, Pentax Camera mounted 
above LX200 Telescope, 
400 ASA FujiFilm.  
Exposure 5 minutes
(click on image to view at larger scale, 20 kb) 

Image Image

See Hale Bopp Observations

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Hale Bopp (4)

 "Hale Bopp Comet Moving through Space"
 Camera Illusion. Created by 5 min exposure 
of Hale Bopp at 300mm focal length, 
followed by a slow zoom out to 120mm 
(Click on Image to see larger view, 54 kb)

Image
Copyright David Richards

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Orion Star Trails

 "Star Trails of Constellation Orion"
 50mm F3.5 lens with Pentax Camera mounted on a Tripod
Composite exposure comprising 
2.1/2 minutes exposed with stars focussed
6.1/2 minutes with lens covered
3.1/2 minutes exposed with stars defocussed
(defocussed exposure shows star colours to the best)

(Click on Left Image to see it an larger view, 47 kb)

Image Image

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Moon (1)

 Half-Moon, 1995-Feb-08
 Taken through 8" LX200 and Teleextender 
with Pentax Camera at prime focus,
Fujicolor 200 ASA, 1/125 sec exposure

(Click on Image to see it an larger view, 47 kb)

Image

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Mars

 Mars near Opposition, 1995-Feb-08
 Taken through 8" LX200 with Teleextender 
and 9.7mm eyepiece projection
Fujicolor 200, 1/125 sec exposure
(probably over exposed)

Image

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Solar Eclipse (1999)

Solar Eclipse, 1999-Aug-11
Brixham, Devon

300mm lens, Pentax Camera mounted on Tripod
200 ASA FujiFilm.
Click on image to view at larger scale.

Image

Break in Cloud giving momentary view of Sun
Image Image
Close-Up of Sun Last View of Sun before total cloud cover 

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Impact of Poor Setup
Early attempts at astrophotography, 1995

M31 Galaxy
uncorrected periodic error 
(causing star wiggles)

Taken using 8" LX200 with teleextender at 
prime focus, 15 minutes exposure, 
unguided

 M42 Nebula 
Combination of poor telescope alignment (causing star drift) and 
uncorrected periodic error (causing the wiggles)
produce a pretty, but otherwise useless photo
Taken using 8" LX200 with teleextender and 
25mm eyepiece projection
10 minute exposure

Image Image

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This Web Page: Comets, Stars, Moon, Planets, General
Last Updated : 2015-05-16
Site Owner : David Richards
Home Page : David's Astronomy Web Site