2009-06-06

Backyard Astrophotography - 365 days of Astronomy special

Hi folks - both fans of the the process diary, and fans of astronomy! In this very special podcast, I talk to Kynan Stephenson about his new hobby: backyard astrophotography.

The podcast can be downloaded by subscribing in iTunes to the excellent 365 Days of Astronomy podcast feed, or by going to the official blog: 365 days of Astronomy

Below are a few photos Kynan sent me. Here is Kynan's telescopic rig:

From astrophotography

If you're interested in setting something up to take pictures of night sky objects, there is a fantastic forum here: iceinspace.com.au mainly made up of Aussies! There, you'll find a supportive community eager to help you with your questions on how to get started.

Now for the mind-blowing bit. Below are some recent shots Kynan took from (practically) his backyard:

A sun spot
From astrophotography


Alpha Centauri
From astrophotography


Carina Nebula
From astrophotography


Omega Centauri
From astrophotography


Orion Nebula
From astrophotography

His camera is not that great: a Canon EOS 300D digital SLR which maxes out at only a 6 Megapixel resolution. I would be fascinated to see what a higher resolution capture would look like, but from what you see here, it's pretty clear that the optics and calibration are sufficient to get dazzling shots from the ground - and not too far from a major city!

1 comments:

Tom said...

I had no idea that such amazing images could be captured by equipment like that. Interesting post.

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