My meager Astrophotos
Welcome! My name is David Ryle and these are a few of my various attempts at astro-imaging. I have a black and white hand scanner by Logitech, a HP scanjet 5470c flatbed color scanner with a transparency/slide scanner attachment, Corel PhotoPaint(TM), and Adobe Photoshop(TM) to try to get them into the computer. My equipment includes a cheap tripod with a home-made Barn-Door tracker, a Meade LXD300 equatorial mount with RA drive, a Celestron 80mm f/11.4 refractor guide scope, an 8" f/6 Meade Starfinder Dobsonian reflector on an EQ Platform, and a pair of Pentax 20x60 binoculars. I have two cameras, a Nikon FM, and a Canon TLb. The lenses I use are 24mm, 28mm wide-angles, 50mm, 70-210mm, 80-200mm, and 80-300mm zooms, and a 500mm f/5 Maksutov mirror lens. I have a Philips Vesta Pro 690 CCD webcam with the Steve Chambers modification. The print films I use are Fujifilm Superia X-tra 800, Superia X-tra 400, 1600 ASA, and Kodak Royal Gold 400. The slide films I prefer are Kodak Elitechrome 100 and 200, Fuji Provia 100, and Fujichrome Velvia 50 ASA for long exposure trailing effects.
I observe from Wichita Falls, Texas where I live. My sky there is class 5 on the Bortle scale. I also observe and photograph from Mankins, Texas only 24km east of Wichita Falls. The skies there are class 4. I am a member of the TAS Texas Astronomical Society, a division of the Astronomical League, and the AAVSO American Association of Variable Star Observers.
I need to thank several fellow amateur astronomers from around the globe for their selfless efforts at helping me to learn the art of astrophotography. Especially Dr. Russell Cockman of Scotland, and his merry band of Scottish astronomers in the Association of Falkirk Astronomers (AFA). Others include Comet61, whose understanding of the finer points of the instruments have helped me to squeeze a lot out of inexpensive gear. And last, but not least, is Andy MacKenzie of Oxford England. His accomplished skill has been an inspiration for me to pursue the deep sky realm (with limited results, so far!) I hope to keep improving in the hobby, and I realize I would be still crawling in my efforts if it weren't for these fine fellows. Thanks guys!
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Meteors and Comets
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Wide-field piggyback
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Deep Sky
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Miscellaneous
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Solar System
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| My Equipment |
The Summer Milky Way. 50mm lens on a barndoor tracker.
The Orion Constellation and surrounding emission nebulae. Barnard's loop is seen to the left of the belt along with IC 434 (Flame and Horsehead nebulae), and M42 the Great Nebula of Orion. Kodak Elitechrome 100 slide emulsion. 50mm f/1.8 for 30 minutes. 2 images stacked and level adjusted in Photoshop.
This is a zoom lens error. I set the camera up with the lens at 70mm and by the time the shot was finished it had slid back to 210mm. Strange effect.
The Pleiades Cluster in Taurus.
The California Nebula in Perseus.
M42,M43, and NGC1977 in Orion, Sigma Orionis is at top left. 300mm f/5 macro zoom lens for 20 minutes on Kodak Ultra Zoom 800 ISO print film. There should have been more nebula showing at this fast of a speed, but the emulsion didn't pick up red very well. The Soligor lens would not focus at infinity either. The blue halos around the stars is an indication of the poor quality of the lens as well. I merely display this as an example of the guiding and tracking abilities at 6x using zoom lenses.
Orion again. These are the nebulae, M42, M43, NGC1977, NGC2024, IC434, and the inside edge of Barnard's Loop in the upper left corner. 200mm f/4 lens on Elitechrome 200 for 40 minutes.
Miscellaneous
This is the only picture I could find time to take of the wonderful planetary/lunar alignment we experienced on July 18th, 2001. This was done on Fujicolor 1600 film at f/4, for 3 minutes. The sun was about an hour away from rising, but the washed out horizon is due to the skyglow from the city lights in the northeast 2 miles away. I took this at 5:15 A.M. CST (10 AM UT), from my driveway. I waited for Jupiter to rise and I wished I had tried a shorter exposure time. It would have worked better I'm certain. Venus is the brightest blob of the three triangle set. The upper triangle point is Saturn, and beside them to the right is Aldebaran in Taurus. The Moon and Jupiter are completely washed out. In the actual print I can see a lighter blob. It is probably Jupiter, because the Moon was only about 14° crescent. Here is a planetarium view of the actual alignment from my location using Tasco SkyWatch(TM) software.
This is the same image from above, after enhancement in Adobe Photoshop. The Crescent Moon is a blue blurry smudge just above the houses. Jupiter is too low to be seen yet, Saturn and Venus are just to the left of Aldebaran in Taurus. The big blue dot is Venus.
Crepuscular rays at sundown before a thunderstorm. Looking east. Notice the lightening flashes in the clouds. The interesting thing was the rays were crossing from the western horizon behind me, all the way overhead to the eastern horizon where the camera is pointed.
Fixed camera star trails. Aimed at Polaris. Fujifilm Velvia 50 at f/2.8 through a 24mm lens for 3 hours.
Aurora Borealis November 5,2001. 15-30 seconds at f/1.8 50mm lens on Kodak Elitechrome 100. This photo was featured at spaceweather.com gallery.
The Zodiacal Light after astronomical twilight on January 12th, 2002. 28mm f/2.8 lens on Fujichrome Superia XT 400 print film for 5 minutes. Hard to see, but the lighter swath running from middle-right at the horizon to upper left is the ZL. It is a bit whiter than the rest of the sky. Heavy vignetting and a slight reciprocity failure show up here, as well as the lights from a small town 30 miles down the highway. Raw scans, no enhancement. The actual ZL was so much brighter than these poor images can show. The glow stretched up twice the height of the shot into the sky. Mars is the bright "star" in the upper area, marking the ecliptic from the western horizon.
Waning gibbous Moon at sundown. I just like the colors. Kodak Elitechrome 100 and 50mm lens at f/2.8 for 1/125 second. Cropped in Photoshop 6.
The New Moon and Mercury at sunset. 50mm f/2.8 for 1 second on Kodak Royal Gold 400.
using the Drift Method of polar alignment
M32,M31, and M110 galaxies in Andromeda. Fuji Superia XT 400 print film. 210mm f/4 lens. 30 minute guided exposure. Enlarged.
M32,M31, and M110. Compare to above. 300mm f/5 lens for 30 minutes on Kodak Royal Gold 400.
The star Alnitak(zeta Orionis) and region in Orion. The Flame nebula (NGC 2024), and the Horsehead nebula (IC 434). 500mm f/8 lens on Elitechrome 200 for 30 minutes. Four shots stacked and level adjusted in PhotoShop 6.
This image was made for a friendly competition between myself, Ron L Hodges, and Andy MacKenzie. Ron has a great wide-field image, and Andy's image was far and away the best. I, of course, came in a strong third. LOL!
The North American Nebula in Cygnus. My first wide-field shot on the barn-door tracker. 210mm f/4 lens for 15 minutes Kodak Elitechrome 100.
The Lagoon and Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius
This is the Helix Nebula at f/4 for 40 minutes. Kodak Elitechrome 100(enlarged)
M101 galaxy in Ursa Major. This is an enlarged photo, channel split to reveal the blue spectrum only. There is a large amount of tracking error present, but I was astounded to actually see the galaxy at all. It is the hazy patch in the middle. Kodak Elitechrome 100 ASA film at f/4 for 20 minutes.
The Great Nebula in Orion. This was my first attempt at prime focus using my Nikon and the Celestron 80mm f/11.4 refractor. Fuji Superia XT 400 print film for 4 minutes at f/11.4. No guiding was done on this shot.
M42 again. 300mm f/5 lens for 30 minutes on Kodak Royal Gold 400.
Rosette Nebula in Monoceros. 300mm f/5 lens for 30 minutes on Kodak Royal Gold 400 print film.
The Pinwheel Galaxy (M33). 300mm f/5 lens for 30 minutes on Kodak Royal Gold 400. Enlarged.
This is my first try at the planets. It is done through my telescope using the 6mm EP, and done on Fuji 800 ASA. Not much to look at, but I was really excited the first time I realized I could do even this good. ;-)
February 20,2002 quarter moon prior to the Saturn/Lunar eclipse. 50mm lens afocal coupled to 8" f/6 telescope through a 26mm plossl eyepiece. Ilford XP super 400 black & white print film.
March 20,2002. One month later from the above shot. Prime focus on Fuji Provia 400F slide film. Processed in black and white to rid the frame of the strong coloration.
Earthshine on Luna. Fuji 400 ASA at prime focus on my 203mm f/6 telescope for 20 seconds while tracking on an equatorial platform.
Saturn through the 8" reflector. The camera was afocal coupled using a 6mm eyepiece. No photo enhancement here.
The Moon and Jupiter in conjunction. F/2.8 for 2 seconds. (enlarged)
Composite photo of Jupiter and 4 Moons. Kodak Elitechrome 100 1/60 second and 1 second exposures. Negative projection through 8" f/6 reflector.
This is an animation of the Lunar/Saturn occultation on November 30,2001. The planet is to the right of the Moon. It is a bit difficult to see with the dust spackles looking almost as bright.
Lunar/Saturn occultation of December 28,2001. Photo published at spaceweather.com gallery.
Sunspot group of December 31,2001. The large group on the left limb is 9767. It spawned a class X3 flare on December 28,2001. Baader AstroSolar filter through my 8" reflector on Kodak Elitechrome 100 for 1/125 second.
The annular eclipse of December 2001.
1/1000 second exposure on Fujifilm Superia XT 400 at f/6 using a 1220mm telescope through a Mylar filter. Notice the sunspot groups 9727 at top and 9733 in the middle. The lunar limb has a hint of irregularity caused by the cratered surface of the Moon.
This is the same eclipse as above shot through the trees. The telescope was focused on the branches for an effect. Photo published at spaceweather.com gallery.
The lunar/planetary event of May 14th, 2002. All the major planets were visible at one time along with the moon. This image shows Jupiter at top, the Moon and Venus in conjunction, and Mars below, with Saturn just peeking through the low clouds. Mercury was out, but behind the clouds so it didn't make the shot. Taken with a 50mm lens on Fuji 400 ASA.
The moon and Venus on the 14th of May 2002. Taken through a 500mm Maksutov lens on a fixed tripod. Fuji 400 ASA film for 5 seconds at f/5.
Leonids 11/18/2001
I took these photos from an observing site in east Texas. The skies were class 5 (Bortle Scale), and mostly cloudy. All shots were taken using Fujichrome Superia XT 400 and 800 print film. 28mm f/2 lens at 3-5 minutes on an equatorial mount.
A fireball in the eastern sky. Photo published at Astronomy.com, and Space.com galleries.
This photo was found 2 months later after the last of a roll of film was finished that was left in the camera. Orion is in the lower right, and Gemini is upper left. Jupiter shines brightly above the meteor.
Coming out of a cloud.
Two meteors headed for Ursa Major.
Comet C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR)
In Sculptor constellation on December 9, 2001. It was magnitude 4.6. 20 minute exposure on Fuji Superia XT 400 film through a 210mm f/4 lens.
Comet C/2002 C1 (Ikeya-Zhang)
Comet C/2002 C1 (Ikeya-Zhang) on March 20,2002. 50mm lens for 30 seconds unguided on Fuji Provia 400F slide film.
Ikeya-Zhag again in Pisces. At 210mm on Fuji Provia 400F film for 5 minutes. March 7, 2002.
April 2002. In Andromeda near Mirach. Venus is the bright object at lower left. Shot on fixed tripod with AGFA 800 print film using a 50mm lens for 10 seconds. This photo was published at Astronomy.com gallery.
Taken the same night as above just at twilight on a fixed tripod for 10 seconds using a 500mm f/8 lens and AGFA 800 print film. The bright star Mirach is to the left of the comet.
comments or suggestions, email me at davidr@wf.net