Swansea Astronomical Society Blog

A sub 30 GBP Vivitar Vivicam T027 fixed focus, 12 MP compact camera set to monochrome, was fitted to a 15mm Ultra Wide, long eye relief eyepiece using a Practika afocal mount:

This rig was attached to a 127mm, f/10 Maksutov and the Moon was imaged in 5 overlapping zones.

The resulting images were stitched together into a mosaic using Microsoft ICE:
Click on the image to get a larger view.


The 15mm eyepiece was replaced with a 9mm, Ultra Wide, long eye relief eyepiece and Jupiter was imaged:

This was a single shot. More shots would have allowed Registax to reduce the noise/signal ratio. This will be the subject of a future experiment.

A Pentax K-x DSLR fitted with an IR/UV cut filter was placed at the prime focus of the Maksutov and the crescent Moon was imaged in a single shot:
Click on the image to get a larger view.


Earlier in the evening, the Moon and Venus made a beautiful spectacle in the south western sky:
Imaged on auto with a Pentax Kx DSLR.
Click on the image to get a larger view and to see Venus clearer:


Steve Wainwright