Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
2 Likes  #1
Sword of Orion
Lens: Orion 8" Astrograph Camera: Pentax K5 IIs Photo Location: City of Edmonton ISO: 400 Shutter Speed: Above 6s Aperture: F4 
Posted By: Dr_who, 12-22-2012, 12:34 PM

Main Targets Objects: M42 - Orion Nebula, NGC 1977, NGC 1975, and NGC 1973
Approx Distance: 1,500 light-years
Camera: Pentax K-5 IIs
Lens/scope: 8" F3.9 Orion Newtonian.
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro
Stacking Software: DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2

Here's the rough exposure data

8 x 195s Exposures
7 x 120s Exposures
21 x 60s Exposures
10 x 30s Exposures



Last edited by Dr_who; 12-23-2012 at 12:42 PM.
Views: 1,170
12-22-2012, 12:41 PM   #2
Site Supporter
charliezap's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: saugus ma
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 8,686
Very Very Impressive.--charliezap
12-22-2012, 01:00 PM   #3
Moderator
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
OrchidJulie's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Magic City
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 6,812
Wow! Just Wow!

Gorgeous!
12-22-2012, 09:38 PM   #4
New Member




Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: montréal, QC
Posts: 1
Amazing, great photo !!

12-22-2012, 11:34 PM   #5
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
Bob Harris's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Canon City, Colorado
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 18,477
Damn, that is amazing to say the least. TFS.
12-23-2012, 12:24 AM   #6
Veteran Member
Dr_who's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 777
Original Poster
The interesting thing is this was done within the city, i wanted to test the new camera for astrophotography and didn't want to wait till I could go outside of the city. Should be a treat when I get that chance.
12-23-2012, 03:02 AM   #7
Senior Member




Join Date: Sep 2010
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 232
Amazing....I don't know much about astro-photography but how did you managed to prevent star trails with such a long exposure? I find the limit before star trails appears is 20 sec or less.

12-23-2012, 06:07 AM   #8
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
baro-nite's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: North Carolina, USA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 5,294
Well, that is a stunner, and thanks for the detailed technical info. The K-5 IIs is clearly a great match for astrophotography, in the right hands! Certainly a brand-appropriate scope for this shot.

catastrophe: look up the mount; it's a computerized telescope mount that automatically tracks the rotation of the "celestial sphere". Back in the old days one would have to do this manually, looking through a guide scope at a guide star and carefully keeping it centered all through the long exposure.
12-23-2012, 06:49 AM   #9
Veteran Member
daacon's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Alberta,Canada
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 20,914
What they all said wow and outstanding.
12-23-2012, 07:05 AM   #10
Veteran Member
Na Horuk's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Slovenia, probably
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 11,186
Pretty amazing
12-23-2012, 12:50 PM   #11
Veteran Member
Dr_who's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 777
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by catastrophe Quote
Amazing....I don't know much about astro-photography but how did you managed to prevent star trails with such a long exposure? I find the limit before star trails appears is 20 sec or less.
Catastrophe - baro-nite is right, the mount is a motorized mount that is aligned with polar north. Even so to get perfect alignment to 4 minutes you have to be really dead on the alignment. So a added gadget used is a Orion Autoguider which is connected to a low end 5" notebook. Doesn't need to be highend computer or anything, but it just watches a selected star and tells the mount to make very minor changes over time to keep it on its course. You still need to be polar aligned however and can't just follow a star as it can't compensate for field rotation. Blablabla going off on a rant.

Baro-nite - It certainly is a perfect brand-appropriate scope!

I really do look forward to going out of the city and giving it a go, but its been overcast and snowy for awhile now
12-24-2012, 04:22 AM   #12
Veteran Member
thoughton's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Saffron Walden, Essex
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 362
Fabulous!
12-31-2012, 03:16 PM   #13
Forum Member




Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central Ontario
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 57
great focus, very good!!
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
camera, exposures, ngc, orion, photo
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Night Orion Nebula, 12 Images Stacked Colorado CJ Post Your Photos! 11 03-11-2012 08:39 PM
Night Flying through the Orion constellation. charliezap Post Your Photos! 7 01-31-2012 02:56 PM
Dropped my new K5 on a Samari Sword! SlickYamaha General Talk 6 09-26-2011 08:37 AM
Part of Orion ajuett Post Your Photos! 4 02-28-2009 11:14 AM
The SWORD Trawlerman Post Your Photos! 5 02-14-2007 11:54 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:12 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top