Replies to post #41 on Astronomy - Starry Night

[MorningLightMountain]

I have something like this, but for the transit of Venus, I just held the camera to the eyepiece, since I was also doing some visual observing.....



http://www.telescope.com/Astrophotography/Camera-Adapters-T-Rings/Orion-SteadyPix-Universal-Camera-Mount/pc/-1/c/4/sc/62/p/5228.uts

PS:

The afocal method is a posh name for a simple thing- it means just putting the camera up to the eyepiece and taking the picture.

Afocal photography can be done using any camera, but digital cameras are best for this method (see my camera guide) because you get the chance to see the photo immediately and you can quickly learn from your mistakes and pick up the technique. You can't use ordinary digital cameras for all astrophotography methods as they can't do long exposures, but with the afocal method only short exposures are required.


This method is good for photographing the moon and planets. The moon is the best place to start, it's easy to find and very bright, which makes photographing it very easy. The moon only requires exposures smilar to daylight (1/250th-1/30th) so experiment to find the best exposure (or, especially if you're using film, heres a good exposure guide). Pictures of a half or crescent moon look better than pictures of the full moon, because the light casts shadows on the moon's craters.

http://www.astronomyforbeginners.com/astrophotography/afocal.php