Just a quick blog post tonight and one that has NOTHING to
do with US politics (cue whoops of delight from every reader – all four of you).
The other night I set up my telescope with a webcam attached
and got a few photos.
I was quite surprised that a pic I put on Facebook got a few
likes so I thought I’d write a post about how I did it (pics and video at the
end if you want to miss the next few paragraphs).
The photos were taken with an Xbox webcam that I adapted to
fit into the telescope viewfinder.
To do this I just copied some advice from another blog (see http://astrobeano.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/xbox-360-webcam-for-astrophotography.html).
In essence you open it up and remove the LEDs and lens before
sticking on a tube to help the camera focus.
Below is a pic of my DIY – not brilliant but it got the job
done!!
Next up, hook up the camera to the ‘scope (mine is a
Skywatcher 150P if anyone cares).
Here is my set up, which was messed around slightly by a
road light in my back yard.
Next all I did was point it at the Moon and get some pics
and a video. Have a look below and enjoy!!
Four seas - from top Mare Seranatis, Mare Tranquilum (home to the Apollo 11 landing site) and the top of Mare Nectaris, to the right is Mare Crisium
Two craters - Kepler and Copernicus, named after two great astronomers. Kepler is 110 million years old, Copernicus about 800 million years old.
Crater at the 'bottom' of the Moon called Tycho - named after another astronomer, this crater is around 108 million years old.
Finally a video for your enjoyment. It is a minute long and pretty boring but I'm really pleased with it. The telescope is stationary as the Moon passes the lens.
