Hall - Getting started : long exposure astrophotography

Copyright 2013 by Allan Hall

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Allan Hall
1614 Woodland Lane
Huntsville, TX 77340
www.allans-stuff.com/leap/

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Front cover background: Rosette Nebula, Copyright Allan Hall

Front cover smaller images left: M13, Copyright Allan Hall

Front cover smaller images center: Helix Nebula, Copyright Allan Hall

Front cover smaller images right: M74, Copyright Allan Hall

Back cover: Copyright Allan Hall

Section title page images: Copyright Allan Hall

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Adobe product screenshot(s) reprinted with permission from Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Star charts printed from AstroPlanner V2, used with permission, Paul Rodman, Author

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For Big...

My primary imaging scope aligning on a target

As a photographer and someone who was infatuated with all things space related it seemed natural that I would put the two together. After all, I grew up in the great space era spanning from the Apollo programs through Skylab, Mir, the shuttles and now with the ISS and private space carriers.

My father was quite an active private pilot and I learned to fly before I could see over the dash. The skies are beautiful over the countryside at ten thousand feet, and this got me wanting to see more of it.

The first experience with real astronomy was with a horribly under mounted EQ reflector that I managed to buy one year after working more holiday hours than any sane person ever should. This was back in the pre-internet days and in a small town for someone who had to work three solid days during Thanksgiving just to afford a $300 telescope there were not a lot of places to turn for help. And so I hated that scope, not because it didnt work, but because I could never learn to use it. Fortunately, it still survives and gets used with a good friend and his three small children.

It wasnt until later in life that I finally acquired the means and time to actually pursue amateur astronomy as anything more than occasionally looking up at the sky with wonder and frustration. Finally I thought I could do something with this! Whats more, I had the photography equipment that should allow me to not only look at objects, but capture them. Then I realized something horrible, the information on astrophotography I could find was sparse, outdated and incomplete from a beginners point of view.

I read several books, searched the Internet and poured over online forums. Nowhere was there a really good starters guide on serious astrophotography. Sure, there were some good books but they mainly focused on a brief overview of the ideas coupled with tutorials on a specific piece of software that I had never heard of and couldnt find anyone who actually used it. What I wanted, what I really needed, was something that covered pretty much all the theory and most of the practical application all in one place.

Still, I pushed ahead, determined to make a go of it. It was at this time that an astronomy club of which I was a member asked me to speak at their beginners meeting. I was flabbergasted. Why would anyone in their right mind want someone who has been doing this all of four months to speak at their meeting? Then it hit me, because I had only been doing this four months I had a very unique perspective.

The problem was I hadnt really thought about it, but I still gave it my best shot. I cobbled together the foundation of what would eventually become this book, approximately nineteen pages of notes and scribbles of how I made things work. Unfortunately I had little time to prepare what I would say, and spent most of that time working on the paper and some prints to mount and show, so my speaking left a lot to be desired. I recorded the whole thing so I could go back and laugh at myself, which I still do.

This book is an attempt to rectify all the problems I found when I started down the path.

Before we begin I feel it is only right to thank a few people. First and foremost is of course my wife Sue Ann. Without her understanding and support none of this would have been possible. Mike Prokosch for helping me at the local observatory. Don Taylor for answering a never-ending stream of questions at the local observatory all night long, for more nights than he probably cares to remember. The Sam Houston State University Physics Department for sharing their fine facility with the local amateur astronomy organizations. The sales and service team at Orion Telescopes for helping me get the exactly correct setup for what I wanted to do and for helping me iron out the kinks. Tom Field from R-Spec for his unbelievable support in spectroscopy. George Marsden from the North Houston Astronomy Club for asking me to speak at the Novice Session which started all this writing mess (by the way George, my wife knows you are to blame for all the time I spent writing this, and for making her read it over, and over, and over. Dont open any packages from her