124 replies to this topic

[wagtail]

The Murmurs Official Sky Watchers Thread.

A thread to post announcements about astronomical events, or to post a photo you took of an approaching storm front or even ye olde sunset pics etc.

So, I've been admiring Venus in the evening sky for a while now and noticed recently it was joined by another planet, but not being very scientifically minded in this area, I didn't know until this morning when it was being discussed on the radio that the planet is Jupiter and that on Sunday the two planets will form a  triangle with the crescent moon that should look real pretty.

[Kelly A]

I was noticing that too. I'll have to try to get a picture of it..

[Leilani]

Do we have to look North East Rebekah?  

And will it all be upside-down?

[wagtail]

No, westerly in the evening sky, it seems pretty much due west from here.  I'd say it's about 35-45 degrees above the horizon.  Here in Adelaide we're kinda lucky to have an oceanic sunset, so it's just that big watery expanse and the stars and planets hanging over it.  I have just got in from sunset and the two planets are bright in the sky but there is still the remnants of the orange glow of sunset...it's really beautiful.  

Also, Kelly mentioned photographing it, and it reminded me that when I did that macro photography camp trip a while ago, the bloke also ran a quick tutorial on taking star-trail photos with a digital camera.  Those that have tried it might notice that the long exposures result in lots of artifacts and noise.  The instructor took us through the process that you can use to over-come those issues, so if anyone is interested I can post the info on that.

Edited by wagtail, 28 November 2008 - 02:29 AM.

[Tronyé]

wagtail said:

The Murmurs Official Sky Watchers Thread.

A thread to post announcements about astronomical events, or to post a photo you took of an approaching storm front or even ye olde sunset pics etc.

So, I've been admiring Venus in the evening sky for a while now and noticed recently it was joined by another planet, but not being very scientifically minded in this area, I didn't know until this morning when it was being discussed on the radio that the planet is Jupiter and that on Sunday the two planets will form a  triangle with the crescent moon that should look real pretty.

This would be cool to do if light pollution wasn't so fucking horrible here.  I'd have to get about two hours out just to see a normal night sky.

[OldManRay]

A clear night sky in Seattle is uncommon in winter, and light pollution sucks here too.  But I'll enjoy reading what other people are able to see anyway.

[Tronyé]

OldManRay said:

A clear night sky in Seattle is uncommon in winter, and light pollution sucks here too.  But I'll enjoy reading what other people are able to see anyway.

Check these out:

http://ngm.nationalg...son-photography

Apparently light pollution was National Geographic's cover story and centerfold last month.

[wagtail]

Derek said:

This would be cool to do if light pollution wasn't so fucking horrible here.  I'd have to get about two hours out just to see a normal night sky.

Your place in Alice Springs should be nearly built by now, shouldn't it?  the view there would be grand, there's nothing like a central australian night sky, except for those places that can see an aurora on a regular basis.

Derek said:

Check these out:

http://ngm.nationalg...son-photography

Apparently light pollution was National Geographic's cover story and centerfold last month.

Shit.  that global pic is sad.  Thankfully too much of australia is desert [and growing] we'll probably just have that outer edge halo forever.

[goldberry]

I have to say looking up at Venus is great.  The "evening star", though its not a star at all.

A friend of ours has a rooftop deck (5 stories or so up) and it's pefect for the night time view (and other views generally)...about 3 years ago we looked toward Port Phillip Bay and could see the Halle Bop comet.

First time I've seen a comet.  I've only seen shooting stars before.

[Kelly A]

wagtail said:

Also, Kelly mentioned photographing it, and it reminded me that when I did that macro photography camp trip a while ago, the bloke also ran a quick tutorial on taking star-trail photos with a digital camera.  Those that have tried it might notice that the long exposures result in lots of artifacts and noise.  The instructor took us through the process that you can use to over-come those issues, so if anyone is interested I can post the info on that.

I wouldn't mind reading that. My digital still camera kinda sucks for night sky photos. I'm tempted to take out my camcorder instead (which is better in low light) and average the frames or something.

[OldManRay]

Derek said:

Check these out:

http://ngm.nationalg...son-photography

Apparently light pollution was National Geographic's cover story and centerfold last month.

Now I'm really missing the stars.  With light pollution and bad weather (clouds here, haze in North Carolina), I can't remember the last time I saw a sky full of stars.  When I was a kid, we had a cottage (a "crib") in Central Otago, where the air is dry and the skies are usually clear.  I had a small telescope and would spend hours outside on frosty nights finding objects in the heavens.  Even in my home town there was a lot to see on a clear night.  Now I'm almost surprised when I see a few bright stars, and I'd be lucky if I could make out more than one northern hemisphere constellation after living here 6 years.  This is depressing.  The stars used to mark the seasons as much as the weather did, and now they might as well not be there.

[wagtail]

Kelly A said:

I wouldn't mind reading that. My digital still camera kinda sucks for night sky photos. I'm tempted to take out my camcorder instead (which is better in low light) and average the frames or something.

Hi Kelly, the techinque he told us about, is just for taking shots of star trails, where you are essentially documenting the movement of the stars..I'm not sure of it's merit for those tricky low-light situations where you are basically wanting to portray a single moment in the sky. It might work okay. It's really just about being able to use camera settings that favour a good image, rather than compromising for the conditions with high ISOs and long shutter-speeds.

Basically you just do the usual things of making sure you have a good, stable tripod, a cable release or remote control would be handy.  What you do is basically take a series of photos and then using a photoshop script you merge the photos into one.  The script he recommended can be found here:  http://russellbrown....s_tech.html#new

I think it's part of a set of scripts that you will find if you scroll down the page.  For this project you use the merge-o-matic script and within that you, run "stack-o-matic" set to [maximum]

I haven't tried this yet, because I haven't got photoshop running on my laptop at the moment, so I'm hoping I have this all right for you....thre are tutorials on that site, that probably take you through the process.

Recommended Camera Setttings:

To reduce noise you select a lower ISO [200 to 400]
Set WB to daylight
set the f stop between 2.8 and 4
and you will use a shutter speed of around 30 seconds, which he says is the maximum you can use before you start getting problems with noise and artifacts in the image.

so with your camera secure on the tripod, set it on continuous shoot mode, and using a cable release to avoid camera shake, take a series of shots that will upon completion add up to the amount of time you would normally leave the shutter open on a still camera for the kind of star trail you want...and then you just merge all the pics running the photoshop script.

Obviously this process is very memory intenisve, so you need to make sure you have enough memory on your card for all those images.  The script will extract all the information from each file that is idenitical, and merge the parts that aren't.

Also, while the camera is taking that series of shots...you can run around with a handheld flash..and light up trees or object to get a bit of detail at ground level if you like, but that can look a bit gimmicky, in my opinion.

Er..I think that about covers it...I hope it makes sense.

It was interesting to find out that some photographers use similar photo merging technology to increase the depth of field in macro shots...it's a bit of a cheat, but I guess it's useful for scientific photography.

[wagtail]

So, last night got completely clouded out here.  I couldn't believe it, we've barely had a cloud in the sky for months, so that was kinda bad luck.  But tonight was pretty good, some cloud about, but I still got a nice view.  Essentially it looks like a big ole smiley face in the sky.....it's really bright...I tried to get some photos but tho capture the brightness of the stars, you have to over-expose the moon...I think I should have tried to photograph it earlier on dusk....that would have made a much nicer shot...but I was happy enjoying the view with a glass a wine.

[wagtail]

heehee!  I texted some friends earlier to tell 'em to take a look and they just texted back.."it's not a smiley face, it's a bloody big grin!".

[Kelly A]

Now it's a sad face.. :p

I've always had problems overexposing the moon too, even when I was using a film camera. These were taken with my camcorder with only marginal success. I need to get a decent still camera again one of these days before I try out your suggestions.

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Edited by Kelly A, 01 December 2008 - 05:49 PM.

[In the Corner]

Kelly A said:

Now it's a sad face.. :p

I've always had problems overexposing the moon too, even when I was using a film camera. These were taken with my camcorder with only marginal success. I need to get a decent still camera again one of these days before I try out your suggestions.

Hey, that's what I saw out my window a little while ago.  Cool, Kel!

[Leilani]

I'll add my pics later - due to being short and on ground level, I didn't achieve much of a triangle!  I also took my pics on Sunday - which was lucky as it was cloudy and rainy last night.  If it's nice tonight, I might go to a better vantage point.  And my old digital camera was way better at night shots than my fiance's brand new one!

[goldberry]

We used our camcorder last night from the window to film the Moon/Venus/Mars configuration.  It looked great.  A nice little triangle.

[OldManRay]

In the Corner said:

Hey, that's what I saw out my window a little while ago.  Cool, Kel!

And what I had no chance of seeing due to the Seattle permacloud.  Thanks for the pics, Kelly!

[Leilani]

Here you go:

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