Backyard Astronomy: an inside look at the community's interests and rakes beginners

Sorry if nothing put in the position of a hub Space: unfortunately hub called "space" or the like is not found. Just sorry for a certain amount of self-reflection in the following three paragraphs, but self-reflection is necessary because the post is critical with respect to a number of previously published, and typographical errors that are likely to present in my post (but it will be corrected to the extent that I will be their notice).


In writing his post me a series of spodvigla:

And you connect the telescope to the computer?
IT people on vacation: what about the telescope?
IT people on vacation: add a little astronomy?
IT people on vacation: the bells and whistles to the telescope

Thank you very much to the authors that they popularize amateur astronomy, but when reading these posts I have several times by the inconvenience and embarrassment clenched toes.
Maybe it's not so important: In the end, a resource Habrahabr IT Cove and amateur astronomy is a hobby, and everyone involved in a hobby as he likes. Or maybe not, and criticize, teach as a hobby can be engaged?

This is a post about the rake, which you most likely come if carried away such a beautiful, romantic, yet challenging hobby. My post is not very popular, it is designed for a person who has at least something to esteem (eg above mentioned posts that I did not like, although the authors I still put a plus in karma for the promotion). In the post may appear incomprehensible terms. If you strain it, please do not read.

For seed anecdote.
Coming to a store telescopes buyer, and asks:

- Can you buy a telescope for three thousand rubles?
- Well ... you can, but the lenses are plastic, and better not, that's better take a refractor for 6000. - Seller shows up on the most popular among students refractor
- Well, you can buy a telescope for 25 thousand? - Asks the buyer
- You can, - Responsible seller, pointing to the eight-Newton EQ5 - this is a very good telescope for beginners
- And it is possible to see the galaxy through the clouds? - Asks the buyer
- Unfortunately, we can not ... - Shakes his head dealer
- And have a telescope for 100 thousand? - Do not let the buyer
- Yes, that's - Seller displays on computerized and fancy Nexstar 11SE
- And it can be seen Andromeda day?
- Unfortunately, we can not - shakes his head dealer
- And why would he need such expensive?

It so happens that amateur astronomy has become my main hobby. I would like to share with habrasoobschestvom that suddenly decides to finding new hobbies, your experience. Maybe it is not the greatest, but your own. My good friend, whom I consider the best vizualschikom observer deep-sky objects in Moscow, and perhaps Russia, considers himself an observer with an average skill (comparing himself with observers around the world), I was a beginner, and all the newcomers, it turns out, are beyond classification. I do not know if I give this experience the right of writing a blog on the topic of amateur astronomy Habrahabr? I used to think that there is, does not give, but the above series of posts has changed that view, and I really wanted to write post that would have warned the novice amateur astronomy (not the classification of the familiar observer), from offensive on the rake i>, which can discourage seized hobbies i>.

"On any rake it? It's a hobby! They each engaged as he likes! "- Exclaims a skeptic, and will be right:
For example, IT Cams enjoy all sorts of high-tech whirring things, well, that's let and buy melkoskopchik with GoTo system for a limited budget. Let tinyscope after pointing to the point in the sky where the Galaxy "Igla» NGC 4565, so beautiful in the photographs, with their gas and dust clouds do not show any apartment through a kitchen window in the center of Moscow, not even a glass-enclosed veranda and a warm garden :) Home that melkoskopchik zhzhuzhit, flashing beautiful red lights on the console, and the owner of the equipment happy with the new gadget and prioscheniem to the sky, sitting in a warm and comfortable, is not it?

Or is it not so? If not, you are welcome under the cut. Otherwise, please do not read my mnogobukv about rakes, because attack on rakes hobby could even be a kind of masochism, and something to be nice coming!



To begin with, I consider it necessary to classify themselves amateur astronomers (the LA) and other stakeholders in terms of the LA.
Knowing classification easier without stepping on a rake, correctly fit into the group in which you personally will be more comfortable.
In any community has its own slang, and in any kommyuniti used insulting nicknames for people far from the community. Please do not be offended at me, since the classification was invented not by me:

Astro

Many Astro consider themselves "elite" LA, and even some of the "only true amateur astronomers", justifying it by the fact that they use sophisticated equipment, in many ways similar, or even the general to the fact that the professionals use.
All amateur astronomers are very open, friendly and always ready to share the skills that help them to engage in a hobby. Astrophotography such as open and friendly people, but compared with other groups of aircraft of their caste most closed: Astro Let you at the table on a meeting of amateur astronomy, will be treated with alcohol, tell a few stories, but what would you be among them his own, what would you respected, you have to invest in their equipment a lot of money, effort, labor (even a soldering iron!), spend a lot of time on defective series of images.
I would say that the successful start astrophotographer highly unlikely. Most likely, you will feel an inferiority complex to communicate with polite and kind snobs, , aimlessly spend rather big amount of money from your Astro friends in Vkontakte and Facebook, of course, be in a joyful shock, but experienced LA photographers smorschatsya nose and say, "Poor: rotate the field of view, aberration. And then climb the mount, smazh everything you SmAZ in right ascension! »
Best of all povizualit a year, and a year later, if you do not get tired, go back to the idea of ​​astrophotography by the fact that this is where lurk the most difficult and painful Stukalo rakes ...

If you still do not vnimete my warning, then the spoilers (sorry, could not shove everything under one spoiler) good way, which sometimes allows not disappointed эффекте Dunning-Kruger , when amateur gives confidence tips and more knowledgeable person fears. Better find yourself another astrophotographer LA runners astrofoto.

Astro is different to shoot deep sky (outer space), and the planets. Engage shooting planets easier.
The camera-SLR from Canon - dipskaya for astrophotography. Or webcam for photographers planets to start shooting in a small focus, and better astropeyzazhi. Buy it does not telescope, and bright lenses: fisheye, potrtretnik and 150mm telephoto Astrotraker and its clones A simple, clear and common mount HEQ5 the quality of the sky Post-Processing: in fact, most of the time astrophotographer holds, Pursuing a hobby for computer processing your images. It seems some tedious and not so romantic and interesting
Read more about the Canon: 1) No shoot cameras, iPhones and shoot through the eyepiece of the telescope! If you want to shoot distant space, you will only fit SLR camera. In fact, experienced LA photographers shoot to specialized CCD cooling, but I would not advise you to spend money on it, because you still can not get on a dedicated camera the results are to be better SLRs. Most of the people takes on Canon, some shot on Nikon. There are many legends about this, why Canon, happen sometimes holivary but Canon astrophotographer beginner should buy at least for what would be more more experienced colleagues were able to help him, because the Nikon almost no one takes off.
What is SLR? In fact, any :) I'm trying to shoot (until the results of which would be a shame not to show someone from LA I do not have a girlfriend but happy :) on the Canon 50D. If you already have a SLR, then shoot at it, do not spend money on a new one! But if there is no SLR, buy Semi-used camera like the Canon 60d, or if a problem with the donations, used amateur Canon 1100d. It is desirable that the camera was LiveView, and rotary screen. All DSLRs for LA has two main characteristics: they are the crop and fullfreym. Other characteristics are almost irrelevant: in fact, the high sensitivity of modern DSLRs matrices, thousands ISO, does not work for astrophotography. And the old Canon 30D can shoot better than Canon 70d, since the latter has a smaller pixel, and more noise due to quantum effects. Here at fullfreym cameras at the same megapixels less noise.

The camera shoots a series of frames, which are deducted from the special service (about Dark, Flat and other horrors can ask at astrophotographer characters). Further pictures are added, which increases the signal to noise ratio. Usually shutter when shooting a subject of deep space from 30 seconds to 6-7 minutes, which requires a special remote for the camera, or connect it to your laptop astrophotographer.

To shoot the planets you need specialized (do not worry, they're cheap, and used cheaper SLR) webcam. The fact that the quality of the images of the planet affects the atmosphere, it turbulёzh and hundreds of video frames selected some of the best of the planet, which is folded.



Glamour Canon 1100d, water mark of authorship deliberately did not remove

Read more about melenky focus 2) You want to shoot the galaxy? Or it is not necessary, and it is better to leave the fun for later? It is unlikely that you have something come out right now! The general rule: the smaller the focus, which takes novice, the more likely that he will do something worthwhile. Of course, I want to remove the globular clusters in the Andromeda Galaxy in the focus of two meters, but ... It is unlikely that you will be able to even a year :(

It is better to remove astropeyzazhi, here's a look how beautiful this panoramka:

pathspace.ru/images/Panoramas/teleskopes-krao/telescopes-krao1.html

Taken Leroy wonderful girl in the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory during the rally "Southern Nights».

Shooting through a telescope, of course, sacred, and gives a feeling of communion to something great, but in fact a telescope is just as big (telephoto) lens is manual.
You can remove the less detail, but in general, as beautiful and artistically with a small focus.
I would just like to warn against some zooms. When astrofoto astrosetapa structure should be rigid and zoom lenses often, after their intensive use of every wedding, "fail" inside. Used fixes in this regard where reliable. The author learns to remove the old lens Jupiter-37a.

However, if you want to shoot the planet, unfortunately, by the focal length you will not go anywhere.

about astrotraker 3) What is shooting at a small focus? There is a remarkable device as a astrotraker, and his many (often cheaper, and in some ways more successful!) Clones.

This equatorial mount that is tracking the rotation of the sky, very light and compact, which can be hung only SLR with a telephoto, or, in some cases, with a short, wide aperture refractor.





about HEQ5 You still do not want to shoot landscapes and want to shoot at the long focus (that is, through a telescope?)

Many criticized the "Chinese stuff» ©, but in fact, this mount has long been a "popular" for LA photographers from all over the CIS. A lot of LA familiar with it, so buying it, you are guaranteed to receive assistance astroforume when some problems.

It is not recommend to mount EQ5: I myself stepped on the same rake, and now I use it EQ5 with the "people's" box of production Ivan ion guiding. Firstly, disgusting mechanic with periodic errors, and secondly, poor design: I have several times when taking a series crowbar to tear out "with meat" their wires, and I had to torment friend LA with his hands that he is in repaired since I do not know how to solder, and all hands grow from a single location.
This is the case when saving money quite justified!

By HEQ5 you necessarily need to buy a pole finder, which would have put the polar axis around which the sky more accurately, and if you are going to photograph deep sky, the camera guide. The camera is inserted into the guide teleskopchik small (usually on top of the second finder telescope tube) connected to a computer that monitors the error of doing the mount (due to inaccurate billing and pereodiki polar axis). The program saw a few stars through the guide, and adjust the mount when needed. Without a guide difficult to shoot at shutter speeds longer than one minute, that is a device-must have!

And what to hang on HEQ5? Please do not chase the focus, and take yourself a refractor that with gear and focus flattenerom (optical parts, which corrects image distortion) will give you focus 600 or 400. The author is now trying to focus on the shoot with 600mm Maksutov-Kassegrenom and redukturom, ie I do not like everyone else, and there comes a rake!

And of course, the larger the aperture, the better. In general, you are unlikely to be able to shoot deep sky, that is, long exposure with a focus on HEQ5 more than a meter.

As for the planets, they do not need a guide. For them suitable HEQ5 in the base + Location Finder pole. Good idea to photograph the planet through katadioptrik (Shmidt-Cassegrain or Maksutov-Cassegrain) with focus at 2 meters.

about the quality of the sky The quality of the sky is of two types: the so-called siing and illumination. For planets important siing high, and for the lack of exposure dipskaya. More on that below. In general, suitable for astrofoto dipskaya yellow zone exposure, or better (for the desired blue galaxies, as well as for visual!)


Vizualschiki dipskaya What can we say about them? The Russian-language vizualschik-dipskayschik it is strange, frost (If he does not live in the South of Russia, Ukraine, or in the Central Asian republic) animal that likes to be viewed through the eyepiece of his huge Dobson weak, subtle hazy spot galaxies, globular star clusters, planetary nebulae. Some of these objects are so weak that they can be seen only with averted vision!
Hidden Text The eye has two types of light-sensitive cells: rods and cones. Unfortunately, colored sticks, which are concentrated in the center of the retina, are not able to capture the faint light of the deep sky objects: the human eye CCD, so you will never see most of the deep sky objects in color, as in many photographs. The color can be seen a few objects, such as a planetary nebula "Blue Snowball»
 
This is not your hobby, if you live in central Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, or in Siberia, and are not frost proof. Why is that? by the fact that in the summer with central Russia, too, the white nights (surprise! They are not only in St. Petersburg!) and the night in the summer and does not come, and continued until the morning twilight!
LA dipskayschiki in Moscow complete supervisory season on May 15, and it is only open on August 12th, the trip to the south of the Tula Region!
Most of the trips LA dipskayschikov negative temperature occurs when there is a steady anticyclone in winter and the temperature is below -15, sometimes -25!

Just add that a very bad idea to watch "in the country": it is completely pointless! All suburban settlements marred a local flare or flare from the nearest regional center. Such summer residences, which could be a distant visual space, in central Russia (Siberia, I do not know about), practically non-existent. Most of the young, under 40 years, people have never seen a truly dark sky. People think that if you barely see the Milky Way (and in fact they do not know how he can shine!), Then this is a good sky.

There are two types of exposure: local and global. Local vizualschika is important only as it knocks of dark adaptation, which many newcomers somehow neglected. In fact, the sensitivity of the eye, only that he was in the darkness, and after adjustment for 40 minutes in a thousand different times!




 


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