Getting deep images of the Milky Way can take a lot of power from your DSLR’s battery. Using a dummy battery to power your camera means you can leave it running all night and you won’t have to change batteries. You power the dummy battery with a PegasusAstro DSLR Buddy, and that means you can also run a dew heater strap from the mains, or a big battery.
Tutorials
What’s an infinity corrected objective, and why use it in macrophotography?
An infinity corrected objective is a lens used for macrophotography. It looks very much like a microscope lens, and when you pair it with a tube lens it has quite a few advantages over more traditional macro lenses.
How to attach your phone to a telescope using a saxon ScopePix
Having a telescope is awesome. You can look at all manner of things astronomical and wonder. For many people, though, just seeing the Moon isn’t enough. To quote my millennial…
Read MoreUsing Lunt Telescopes to look at the Sun
With the Australian Solar eclipse coming in 2028, it’s time to get familiar with solar telescopes. With Lunt telescopes you can see the surface of the Sun using white light, or Hydrogen alpha and Calcium-K filters. These all show different aspects of what’s happening there. If you want to photograph it as well, there are cameras for that too.
Getting an image of a comet using the Benro Polaris
Bill used the Benro Polaris tracking mount to get images of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. This post tells the story of the expedition. He also reviews the Polaris.
What on earth do the numbers on the Pegasus adapters mean?
There are lots of different adapters available for all sorts of different jobs. PegasusAstro adapters have a consistent way of defining what’s on either ends, so you don’t end up scratching your head.
Building a truss telescope using truss blocks
Getting a good truss system together is hard. The carbon fibre rods have to be held rigidly, but they also have to be able to change the angle they’re sitting at. These truss blocks and ball joints do all that.
Using the WeMacro Rail to photograph the Sundew, an insectivorous plant
A plant that eats animals Drosera capensis is an insectivorous plant native to South Africa. Sundews thrive in low-nutrient soil because they’re able to gather their nutrients from “other sources”…
Read MoreAutoguiding: how much is good enough?
Autoguiding has revolutionised astrophotography. While your main imaging camera is off doing its job, a second camera keeps an eye on a star – any star – in the telescope’s…
Read MoreYour first image with the WeMacro Rail
Macrophotography is the art of getting images of tiny subjects onto a camera sensor. I’ve been asked about getting started in macrophotography, and specifically the least expensive way of getting your first image with the WeMacro Rail. This blog shows you how to go out and get your first image, so I’m going to get down to basics.
Protect your observatory! Setting up safety equipment
With a dome, you can simply open it up and begin imaging. But if you want to sleep as well, you need something keeping an eye on the weather so the dome will close if it’s about to rain. In this blog I’ve described a couple of gadgets that can do all that for you. I also talk about a couple of options to put the system together.
Diffraction spikes – what they are and how to get them right
Have you noticed that some astrophotographs have diffraction spikes coming from bright stars? They’re caused by the secondary mirror holder in reflector telescopes. Spiders, as they’re known, can give you nice spikes, but if they’re crooked or uneven, the spikes can look horrible. Here, I’ll show you how to get perfect spikes.
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What are high-speed filters?
Filters, and what are high-speed filters? Filters are great for astrophotography. They work by blocking out colours (that is, frequencies of light) that you don’t want. The images you get when you use a filter are made up of the frequencies they let through. Filters can’t, of course, enhance or amplify any frequencies, but by…
Getting wide field Milky Way images – powering your camera and dew heater
Getting deep images of the Milky Way can take a lot of power from your DSLR’s battery. Using a dummy battery to power your camera means you can leave it running all night and you won’t have to change batteries. You power the dummy battery with a PegasusAstro DSLR Buddy, and that means you can also run a dew heater strap from the mains, or a big battery.
Macrophotography of a Bindii with the WeMacro Rail
Remember those horrible prickles in summer lawns? They’re often caused by Bindii, which have vicious spikes that stick a seed to your foot. The plant spreads itself using you as transport. Bill took a macrophoto of the Bindii using a WeMacro Rail and a reversed lens. You can see how nasty this creature is.