Introduction to Astrophotography by Conrad Cardano

Skyscrapers is happy to announce a workshop for astrophotography hosted by member Conrad Cardano. Designed for beginners, the program will include a lecture and outdoor, hands-on experience (weather permitting).

Back in the early 1970s, I tried my hand at astrophotography with film, a DLSR camera, and a 6-inch telescope on a motorized Edmund Scientific equatorial mount. You would have to expose the whole roll of film (a 20 or 36 exposure roll), take it to a drug store to be processed, wait a week, and then see the results. Did I say it was frustrating? Oh, yes it was. Many things could go wrong: maybe the mount jiggled and blurred the image, maybe an airplane flew across the image and ruined it, maybe it wasn't in good focus, maybe the drug store lost your roll of film.

Today, astrophotography has never been better; however, there is more to
learn than in the 1970s. This presentation “Intro to Astrophotography” is meant for people who have never tried astrophotography but would like to.

Topics covered:

* The Camera Sensor
- CMOS and CCD
- Sensor size
- Pixel size, well depth, and bit depth
- Color vs Monochrome

* Types of Cameras
- DLSR, Smartphones, and Dedicated Astro Cameras

* Mounts
- Stationary Camera tripods
- Motorized mounts
- Camera Tracking mounts
- Goto

* Laptops vs Desktops Computers

* Techniques
- Focus
- How long an exposure
- How high the gain
- The “dark frame”
- The “Flat” frame

* Capture Software
* Processing Software
* Free vs $$$
* The future?
 The future?

Видео Introduction to Astrophotography by Conrad Cardano канала Seagrave Observatory, Skyscrapers, Inc.