Night Sky & Astrophotography

25.03.2021, 07:33 #1

Handyknipser

Questions and Answers

Hello everyone,

Some of you have already seen and liked a few of my photos. Astrophotography is a very specialized field that requires a lot of patience.
If you have any questions about the topic, feel free to ask—I’m happy to help where I can.
I can also offer virtual courses on equipment, techniques, and post-processing.

Best regards,

Michael

25.03.2021, 18:31 #2

Franz Perner

Hello Michael. Your photos are quite unique. I really like them all.
Astrophotography probably won’t become my area of expertise. But I’m still very interested in learning about your approach—from your equipment to the planning, and of course the actual process of your work.
Looking forward to some interesting posts from you.

Best regards, Franz

25.03.2021, 19:11 #3

Michael Geissel

Handyknipser

Hello Franz,
To prepare: The sky should be completely clear—thin clouds will blur the stars, and light pollution from nearby towns will be even more noticeable on the sensor.
Here’s a simple setup: a tripod, a sturdy ball head, and an EOS 500D with a 50mm prime lens.

Is this doable??? YES

For an APS-C sensor, you use the rule of 300: lens focal length (50mm) = 6 seconds exposure

So I can expose for 6 seconds without the stars turning into trails. (For full-frame, the factor is 500)
Let’s say you want to capture the center of the Milky Way, which will soon rise in the south over the horizon. You pick a fixed point through the viewfinder. Since I’m not using a tracking mount, the object will eventually drift out of frame, so I take about 3 minutes’ worth of 6-second shots. Then I realign the camera to the fixed point and repeat as many times as I want. After 10 minutes, I have around 90 images; after an hour, about 540. These RAW files are then imported into the program DeepSkyStacker and marked as lights. (There’s a great German tutorial on YouTube for this.) That’s how you get your first astrophotography image.

Focusing can be a bit tricky since the focus ring often doesn’t stop at the end of the range—you have to experiment a bit.
Avoid shooting when the moon is too bright, as it kills all the green and blue tones.

That’s it for now

25.03.2021, 19:20 #4

Korbinian Ring

Profifotograf

Michael, I may not be new to the field anymore, but I’ll definitely reach out to you with a few questions when I’m able to get back into Astro again

25.03.2021, 19:22 #5

Michael Geissel

Handyknipser

With pleasure!

25.03.2021, 19:23 #6

Michael Geissel

Handyknipser

@Korbinian Ring Absolutely, I'd love to!

25.03.2021, 19:23 #7

Klaus Betke

Hobbyfotograf

Thanks for the info!

Question: Is DeepSkyStacker a dedicated program for this type of photography? Can you also use other software, like "Helicon," for this purpose?

25.03.2021, 19:25 #8

Michael Geissel

Handyknipser

@Klaus Betke I'm not familiar with Helicon, but DSS is free software, as is Fitswork. Both are needed for this.

25.03.2021, 19:26 #9

Klaus Betke

Hobbyfotograf

Thanks

Helikon is used for stacking with macros

This entry has already been edited

25.03.2021, 19:33 #10

Michael Geissel

Handyknipser

@Klaus Betke DSS picks stars for alignment, which wouldn’t work well for macro shots

26.03.2021, 06:58 #11

Korbinian Ring

Profifotograf

Great, since we're already on the topic...

I took advantage of the weather yesterday to photograph the moon again. There's one thing I haven't managed to do so far: stacking multiple images. What's the best way to do that for the moon, and which software is best suited for it? I've tried Fitswork, but somehow it just doesn't work. If that's the right choice, then I'm definitely doing something wrong—I can't even stack two photos...

26.03.2021, 07:17 #12

Michael Geissel

Handyknipser

@Korbinian Ring check this out: www.mondfotografie.de/hochaufloesende-mondbilder-erstellen/

26.03.2021, 08:35 #13

Korbinian Ring

Profifotograf

I've actually been there before.
I'll give it another shot later. My problem was, or still is, that I mark the most noticeable points, but in the end, the two photos never quite line up.
But I'll try again and get back to you. If you send me the link, the method should work, so it must be something on my end.

27.03.2021, 09:31 #14

Korbinian Ring

Profifotograf

What file types does Fitswork actually support? The RAW files from the 90D aren’t recognized. I followed the website’s recommendation and converted them to DNG, but those aren’t recognized either.

Update: I tried opening them through Photoshop, and that worked perfectly. (Though the photos themselves weren’t great—I find manual focusing really tough with such a long focal length...)

By the way, is there something like the 500 rule—relating shutter speed, focal length, and maximum exposure time—that applies to the moon as well?

This entry has already been edited

27.03.2021, 10:45 #15

Michael Geissel

Handyknipser

Tiffs and Fits are the file types you work with there. You'll have to try it out to see if it recognizes the RAW files.

27.03.2021, 10:47 #16

Michael Geissel

Handyknipser

@Korbinian Ring No, there’s no rule for that since the moon moves at a different speed.
Don’t make the images too bright to avoid blown-out highlights.

05.04.2021, 11:49 #17

Franz Perner

Hi Michael, you’ve definitely piqued my curiosity now. I finally had some time today to go through your comments—thanks for that. The DSS software you mentioned, I could only find it for Windows. Is there a version for Mac, or do you know of any similar programs for Mac?
I still have some time since I sold my camera and the new one probably won’t be available until summer. It’ll be full-frame again. Right now, I have a 55mm f/1.8 lens. For Milky Way photography, most recommend something between 20-24mm, also at least f/1.8.

Cheers, Franz

05.04.2021, 12:10 #18

Michael Geissel

Handyknipser

@Franz Perner Here are some alternatives if you're working on Apple platforms

Here are some links to software:
Capture Software (Deep Sky, Lunar, Solar):
- Nebulosity (for CCD and DSLR): $95 - http://www.stark-labs.com/nebulosity.html
- EOS Utility (Canon DSLR only): free with Canon DSLR
- AstroDSLR (DSLR only): €15 - http://www.cloudmakers.eu/astrodslr/
- AstroImager (CCD only): €15 - http://www.cloudmakers.eu/astroimager/

Capture Software (Planets):
- oaCapture: free - http://www.openastroproject.org/oacapture/
- Planetary Imager: free - http://blog.gulinux.net/en/planetary-imager

Guiding:
- PHD2: free - https://openphdguiding.org
- AstroGuider: €10 - http://www.cloudmakers.eu/astroguider/

Image Processing - Pre-Processing (Calibration, Registration, Debayering, Stacking, etc.)
- Nebulosity: $95 - http://www.stark-labs.com/nebulosity.html
- Observatory: €90 - http://codeobsession.com/observatory/
- PixInsight: €275 (230 EUR plus VAT) - https://pixinsight.com

Image Management:
- Observatory: €90 - http://codeobsession.com/observatory/
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom: €12 per month (includes Photoshop) - http://www.adobe.com/de/products/photoshop-lightroom.html
- Photos: free - included with Mac installation

Image Processing - Post-Processing (Deep Sky):
- Nebulosity: $95 - http://www.stark-labs.com/nebulosity.html
- StarTools: 65 AUD (about €45) - http://www.startools.org
- PixInsight: €275 (230 EUR plus VAT) - https://pixinsight.com
- Photoshop: €12 per month (includes Photoshop Lightroom) - http://www.adobe.com/de/products/photoshop.html
- Pixelmator: €33 - http://www.pixelmator.com/mac/
- GIMP: free - https://www.gimp.org
- Acorn: $30 - https://flyingmeat.com/acorn/

Image Processing (Planets):
- Lynkeos: free - http://lynkeos.sourceforge.net

Planetarium Software:
- Sky Safari: €11 / €33 / €65 - http://skysafariastronomy.com
- Cartes du Ciel: free - https://www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/start
- Stellarium: free - http://www.stellarium.org/de/ Cheers, Michael

05.04.2021, 19:04 #19

Franz Perner

Hello Michael,

I can only say thank you—you really put a lot of work into this. I’ll take a look at everything over the next few days.

Thanks again for the detailed overview.

Best regards, Franz

05.04.2021, 20:02 #20

Michael Geissel

Handyknipser

@Franz Perner You're welcome, Franz!

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Night Sky & Astrophotography