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Tanja & Cory will be speaking at the West Rand Astronomy Club

February 26, 19h00
Venue: Dutch Reformed Church, 844 Corlette Avenue, Witpoortje.
Telescopes will be set up for viewing (weather permitting)
Cost: Donation of R10 for use of the venue which includes tea / coffee

(Unable to attend? Leave your question in the comment section below for us to answer)

Introduction

The astrophotography talk touches on all topics from equipment, styles of astrophotography to processing skills. After each section we’ll have a Q&A.

Topics:

Equipment

• German equatorial mounts, why these are the best choice for AP
• Different OTAs. (APO / Newt / SCT. Etc) What to use & what not to use. Choose your OTA based on your photography interests.
• Beginners: why choosing a short focal length will yield better results.
• Mounting / tracking & guiding to image with DSLR and lens for wide field.
• Tracking & guiding explained
• DSLR & CCD photography
• DSLR: Best cams to use & modifications
• Accessories / Filters

Setup

• Balancing / leveling
• Stability
• Polar alignment
• Focussing
• Tracking
• Cable routing, drag

Acquisition

• Software
• Shooting tethered
• SNR Signal to noise ratio explained : how many frames are best
• Exposure lengths
• What is the histogram
• Choosing your ISO
• Effects of ambient air temperature on the camera sensor
• Shooting to card

Guiding

• What’s guiding? The benefits it brings to your AP
• Equipment and software

Calibration frames

• What are they and why we use them
• Shooting darks / bias / flats
• How to use them

Processing

• Preprocessing: calibration / alignment / integration
• Dynamic range
• Histogram stretching
• Curve manipulation
• Noise reduction and sharpening
• Software packages

Images Q & A

We’ll be talking through some of our DSO and wide field images, discussing setup and processing.
Review of member’s images – tips and advice on getting better results.

Learn more about the WRAC