Kier The 100 Best Astrophotography Targets

A Monthly Guide for CCD Imaging with Amateur Telescopes
2009
ISBN: 978-1-4419-0603-8
Verlag: Springer US
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 360 Seiten

Reihe: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series

Any amateur astronomer who is interested in astrophotography, particularly if just getting started, needs to know what objects are best for imaging in each month of the year. These are not necessarily the same objects that are the most spectacular or intriguing visually. The camera reveals different things and has different requirements. What objects in the sky tonight are large enough, bright enough, and high enough to be photographed? This book reveals, for each month of the year, the choicest celestial treasures within the reach of a commercial CCD camera. Helpful hints and advice on framing, exposures, and filters are included. Each deep sky object is explained in beautiful detail, so that observers will gain a richer understanding of these astronomical objects. This is not a book that dwells on the technology of CCD, Webcam, wet, or other types of astrophotography. Neither is it a book about in-depth computer processing of the images (although this topic is included). Detailed discussions of these topics can be found in other publications. This book focuses on what northern latitude objects to image at any given time of the year to get the most spectacular results.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kier, Ruben

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1.1;The 100 Best Targets for Astrophotography;3
2;Preface;6
3;Acknowledgements;8
4;Contents;10
5;Introduction;15
5.1;How This Book Differs from Observing Lists;15
5.2;How the Targets Were Chosen;16
5.3;What Are We Looking at?;17
6;Best 100 Astrophotography Targets;20
7;January: Mostly Nebulae;21
7.1;January 1: Spiral Galaxy IC 342;22
7.2;January 2: Pleiades Open Cluster;25
7.3;January 6: California Nebula;28
7.4;January 21: Witch Head Nebula;31
7.5;January 24: Flaming Star Nebula;34
7.6;January 26: Tadpole Emission Nebula;37
7.7;January 27: Open Cluster M38 with Open Cluster NGC 1907;40
7.8;January 29: Crab Nebula Supernova Remnant;43
7.9;January 29: Orion Nebula and Running Man Nebula;46
7.10;January 31: Horsehead and Flame Nebulae;49
8;February: Clusters and Nebulae;52
8.1;February 1: Reflection Nebula M78;53
8.2;February 2: Open Cluster M37;56
8.3;February 6: Angel Nebula;59
8.4;February 6: Open Clusters M35 and NGC 2158;62
8.5;February 9: Jellyfish Nebula;65
8.6;February 12: Rosette Nebula and Cluster;68
8.7;February 14: Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster;71
8.8;February 24: Thor’s Helmet;74
8.9;February 27: Medusa Nebula;77
8.10;February 27: Eskimo Nebula;80
9;March: Clusters and Galaxies;83
9.1;March 1: Open Clusters M46 and M47;84
9.2;March 2: Spiral Galaxy NGC 2403;87
9.3;March 20: Ancient Open Cluster M67;90
9.4;March 30: Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 2903;93
10;April: Galaxy Pairs and Groups;96
10.1;April 5: Galaxies M81 and M82;97
10.2;April 10: Little Pinwheel Galaxy;102
10.3;April 11: Hickson 44 Galaxy Group;105
10.4;April 17: Galaxy Pair M95 and M96;108
10.5;April 24: Owl Nebula M97 with Galaxy M108;111
10.6;April 26: Galaxy Trio in Leo;114
10.7;April 26: Hamburger Galaxy NGC 3628;117
10.8;April 30: Galaxy Pair NGC 3718 and NGC 3729;120
11;May: Diversity of Galaxy Shapes;123
11.1;May 6: Galaxy M109;124
11.2;May 11: Silver Needle Galaxy;127
11.3;May 11: Galaxy M106;130
11.4;May 12: Galaxies M100 and NGC 4312;133
11.5;May 13: Markarian’s Chain;136
11.6;May 16: Needle Galaxy;139
11.7;May 17: Sombrero Galaxy;142
11.8;May 17: Whale Galaxy and Hockey Stick Galaxy;145
11.9;May 19: Ringed Galaxy NGC 4725;148
11.10;May 19: Spiral Galaxy M94;151
11.11;May 21: Black Eye Galaxy M64;154
11.12;May 24: Sunflower Galaxy M63;156
11.13;May 29: Whirlpool Galaxy M51;159
12;June: Globular Clusters and More Galaxies;162
12.1;June 1: Globular Cluster M3;163
12.2;June 6: Pinwheel Galaxy M101;166
12.3;June 25: Splinter Galaxy;169
12.4;June 26: Globular Cluster M5;172
13;July: Just Globular Clusters;175
13.1;July 17: Great Hercules Cluster;176
13.2;July 18: Globular Cluster M12;179
14;August: Planetary and Emission Nebulae;182
14.1;August 5: Cat’s Eye Nebula;183
14.2;August 6–7: Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae;186
14.3;August 7: Lagoon Nebula;189
14.4;August 10: Eagle Nebula;192
14.5;August 11: Swan Nebula;195
14.6;August 15: Globular Cluster M22;198
14.7;August 18: Wild Duck Cluster;201
14.8;August 19: Ring Nebula;204
15;September: Autumn Assortment;207
15.1;September 1: Barnard’s Galaxy;208
15.2;September 5: Dumbbell Nebula;211
15.3;September 8: Crescent Nebula;214
15.4;September 14: Fireworks Galaxy and Cluster NGC 6939;217
15.5;September 17: Veil Nebula, “Witch’s Broom” of Veil;219
15.6;September 19: Eastern Loop of Veil: The Network Nebula;221
15.7;September 18: Pelican Nebula;224
15.8;September 20: North American Nebula;227
15.9;September 20: Fetus Nebula;230
15.10;September 21: Iris Nebula;233
15.11;September 28 and 29: Globular Clusters M15 and M2;236
15.12;September 30: Nebula IC 1396 and the Elephant’s Trunk;239
16;October: Halloween Treats;242
16.1;October 4: Cocoon Nebula;243
16.2;October 9: Wolf’s Cave and the Cepheus Flare;246
16.3;October 13: Helix Nebula;249
16.4;October 14: Stephan’s Quintet;252
16.5;October 15: Deer Lick Galaxy Group;255
16.6;October 19: Flying Horse Nebula;258
16.7;October 20: Cave Nebula;261
16.8;October 26: Bubble Nebula and M52 Cluster;264
16.9;October 27: Blue Snowball Nebula;267
17;November: The Great Galaxies;270
17.1;November 1: Andromeda Galaxy and Companions;271
17.2;November 2: Skull Nebula and Galaxy NGC 255;274
17.3;November 17: Sculptor Galaxy;277
17.4;November 18: Pacman Nebula;280
17.5;November 25: ET Cluster;283
17.6;November 29: Triangulum Galaxy;286
17.7;November 30: Spiral Galaxy M74;289
18;December: Celestial Potpourri;292
18.1;December 1: Little Dumbbell Nebula;293
18.2;December 5: Nautilus Galaxy NGC 772;296
18.3;December 10: Double Cluster;299
18.4;December 11: Outer Limits Galaxy;301
18.5;December 11: Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 925;304
18.6;December 14: Heart Nebula and December 18: Soul Nebula;307
18.7;December 18: Spiral Galaxy M77;310
19;Getting Started in CCD Imaging;313
20;Equipment for Astrophotography;314
20.1;First and Foremost, the Mount;315
20.2;Beginner Scopes for Imaging;316
20.3;Choosing a Camera;318
20.4;Autoguiders;320
20.5;Investing Wisely in Software;322
21;Acquiring the Image;323
21.1;Siting the Telescope;324
21.2;Polar Alignment;326
21.3;Choosing the Target;328
21.4;Calculating Your Fields of View and Scale;330
21.5;Finding, Centering, and Framing the Target;332
21.6;Focusing;334
21.7;Autoguiding;336
21.8;Exposing;338
21.9;Dark Frames;340
21.10;Flat Fields;342
22;The Order of Image Processing;344
22.1;Image Reduction/Calibration;345
22.2;Optional Steps;346
22.3;Aligning Images;347
22.4;Combining Images;348
22.5;Deconvolution;349
22.6;Color Combining;350
22.7;Histograms and Curves;351
22.8;Luminance Layering;353
22.9;Color Enrichment;355
22.10;Image Sharpening and Blurring;356
22.11;Dealing out Gradients;358
22.12;Final Cleanup;359
23;About the Author;360
24;Index;362