Small Refractor CCD Imaging David Haworth http www

Small Refractor CCD Imaging David Haworth http: //www. stargazing. net/david/

Agenda n Equipment n Imaging session n Image processing n Advantages n Disadvantages © 1999 David Haworth Small Refractor CCD Imaging Page: 2

Equipment CCD Cookbook CB 245 camera n Orion Short. Tube™ 80 mm refractor n – 400 mm Focal length – 13 x 10 arc second/photosite n Piggy back on Celestron CG-11 Schmidt. Cassegrain telescope © 1999 David Haworth Small Refractor CCD Imaging Page: 3

CCD Cookbook CB 245 Camera Interface to PC Water Cooling Spectra Astro Systems Shutter Camera Head

IR Filter to Reduce Focusing Problem CCD IC Spectra Astro Systems Shutter Santa Barbara Instrument Group IR Filter in T-mount extension tube

Monitoring CCD Temperature CCD IC Thermistor mounted on CCD IC Typical from water = 62°F

Spectra Astro Systems Shutter for Taking Dark Frames

CCD Cookbook CB 245 Camera T-ring with IR Filter Spectra Astro Systems Shutter

CCD Cookbook CB 245 Camera Mounted on Orion Short. Tube Refractor CCD Camera T-ring Camera Support

T-ring Camera Support

Orion Piggy Back on Celestron CG-11

Imaging Session n On the driveway observing n Reducing setup & tear down time n Typical imaging session n Dark frames n Multiple images © 1999 David Haworth Small Refractor CCD Imaging Page: 12

Telescope is Setup on a Dolly

Telescope is Lifted on Blocks

Astro Trailer

Computer Ready to Control the Camera

Ready for Night Time Imaging Roll a way Table With Dew Cover Astro Trailer CCD Cooling Water

Cooling the CCD Camera Water Thermometer Open System Cooling Water Pump (12 VDC)

Quick Disconnect Water Hoses

Image Processing n Richard Berry's software – Multi 245: calibration & stacking – CB 245: Kunihiko Okano's Digital Development functions © 1999 David Haworth Small Refractor CCD Imaging Page: 20

Multi 245: Stacking Multiple Images One 15 Seconds Image 31 - 15 Seconds Images

CB 245: Kunihiko Okano's Digital Development M 13 Without With

Image Processing n Software Bisque CCDSoft CCD Astronomy software – Brightness & contrast adjustment, rotating image, resampling the image to correct aspect ratio and saving the image as a JPEG file n JASC Paint Shop Pro software – Image cropping & creating mosaics © 1999 David Haworth Small Refractor CCD Imaging Page: 23

CCDSoft - Aspect Ratio Resampling M 42 242 x 252 187 x 252

Paint Shop Pro - Crop Star Blooming M 37 Uncropped Cropped

Paint Shop Pro - M 31, M 32 & M 110 Mosaic M 32 M 110

Advantages n Large field of view – 55 x 41 arc min. vs. CG-11 12 x 9 arc min. – Large object imaging n M 8, M 33, M 42, M 78, etc. Finding objects is easier n Reduced polar alignment errors effects n Reduced tracking errors effects n © 1999 David Haworth Small Refractor CCD Imaging Page: 27

Large Field of View 41 x 55 arc min. M 33 M 78

Large Field of View 41 x 55 arc min. M 81 & M 82 Horsehead B 33

M 11 & Dark Nebulas

M 8 M 17

Disadvantages n Small objects do not image very well – M 57, M 72, M 75, M 76, etc. n Small 80 mm aperture © 1999 David Haworth Small Refractor CCD Imaging Page: 32

Small Objects do Not Image Very Well M 57 M 76

Small 80 mm Aperture NGC 7331

Zoom in NGC 7331 14. 7 ? 15. 2 16. 9 14. 5 10. 3

STSc. I Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) 48 -inch NGC 7331 ?

Other Images n 70 Messier objects – ITS ‘ 99 CD-ROM – http: //www. stargazing. net/david © 1999 David Haworth Small Refractor CCD Imaging Page: 37