Cosmic Lens Imaging


Hi there, if you have ended up in my small corner of the internet then you have an interest, of some level, in astronomy or astrophotography. This is a lifelong hobby for most of us, for some of us it is an overwhelming experience that you may or may not come back to. I will try to inspire you enough for it to be the former. If you have read my pinned post, you know where I have developed my love for astronomy. It was nurtured by my mother who also shares a passion for the universe. Whether or not she knew the beast that would develop into I cannot be sure, however I have been fascinated since I was of an early age. In my blog you will find my journey into the vast cosmos, the frustrations of the MASSIVE learning curve and the joys of the realizations "clicking" into place. I hope you enjoy your stay and if you leave, I hope you come back! Keep looking up!


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Expectation Vs Reality


There is a barrier that appears before all stargazers, it happens at two separate points. Firstly, it is the observational difference between what we see compared to the images we see in magazines. And secondly at the transition between simply looking at those distant photons and capturing them.

That barrier can make or break a hobby, if you let it.

The learning curve for Astrophotography is BIG. it has many components that, if not done correctly or step missed can leave hours of work squandered and you teeming with frustration!

But luckily there is an abundance of youtube videos that allow you to take advantage of other people's trail and errors so that they can supply you with correct information.

The first image is almost 2 years on from the second image, and an extra 2500 dollars.

Info on the second image:

I took this shot from my back yard using what experienced astro photographers call a "Basic setup."

I used the following:

  • 10" Dobsonian telescope NON-GUIDED

  • Canon 600D

  • Prime focus (attached direct to the telescope)

  • ISO setting 1600.

  • Shutter speed 1.5s



I took 20 x 1.5s exposures of the nebula (light frames)

And 20 x 1.5s exposures of dark frames - lens cap on. These are needed to reduce the noise level in the light frames.

Then I stacked the images (both light and dark) in DSS (Deep Sky Stacker) a software used in astrophotography and combined both the stacked light frames and the stacked dark frames in Adobe Photoshop.


This results in a very dark image which you "stretch" and adjust to get the desired result. This is a prolonged process that I will cover in another segment.

The first image involved the following steps and equipment:


  • The Sky Watcher NEQ6 pro

  • The Sky Watcher ed80 refractor

  • 50mm finder scope

  • 600D Canon

  • IR shutter release with BULB mode

  • 70mm of spacers

  • Rechargeable battery pack with leads



Firstly, with any guiding/tracking mount you need a good polar alignment. Note my first polar alignment took the best part of 2 hours in a dark sky with assistance. Now it takes me a few minutes.

Secondly you need to balance the mount with all the gear on it including the camera.

Third, choose your target and try not to get distracted by the many other possibilities.


Then start shooting.

The image is 12 x 180s exposures with the same amount of and time span of dark frames. Then I followed a much more complex process using Pixinsight (an advanced software) while having guidance from Astrodude (Mitch) on YouTube - almost 3 hours, to result in the image you see. I could have done a lot more to that image too...

So, you see, it can seem like a daunting off putting process. The important thing is to remember that many others have been here and succeeded through failure to provide the help to others via YouTube and blogs.

It gets frustrating and makes you wonder what the point is BUT do not let it kill your passion. If it is not for you, you can always go back to observations and recording findings before trying again.

Until next time, keep looking up.