One-Shot Color Astronomical Imaging: In Less Time, For Less Money! (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series Book 2)

"This book shows amateur astronomers how to use one-shot CCD cameras, and how to get the best out of equipment that exposes all three color images at once. Because this book is specifically devoted to one-shot imaging, "One-Shot Color Astronomical Imaging" begins by looking at all the basics - what equipment will be needed, how color imaging is done, and most importantly, what specific steps need to be followed after the one-shot color images are taken. What is one-shot color imaging? Typically, astronomical cooled-chip CCD cameras record only one color at a time - rather like old-fashioned black & white cameras fitted with color filters. Three images are taken in sequence - in red, blue, and green light - and these are then merged by software in a PC to form a color image. Each of the three images must be taken separately through a suitable color filter, which means that the total exposure time for every object is more than tripled. When exposure times can run into tens of minutes or even hours for each of the three colors, this can be a major drawback for the time-pressed amateur. "One-Shot Color Astronomical Imaging" describes the most cost-effective and time-efficient way for any amateur astronomer to begin to photograph the deep-sky." -- Publisher's description Annotation. This book shows amateur astronomers how to use one-shot CCD cameras, and how to get the best out of equipment that exposes all three color images at once. Because this book is specifically devoted to one-shot imaging, "One-Shot Color Astronomical Imaging" begins by looking at all the basics - what equipment will be needed, how color imaging is done, and most importantly, what specific steps need to be followed after the one-shot color images are taken. What is one-shot color imaging? Typically, astronomical cooled-chip CCD cameras record only one color at a time - rather like old-fashioned black & white cameras fitted with color filters. Three images are taken in sequence - in red, blue, and green light - and these are then merged by software in a PC to form a color image. Each of the three images must be taken separately through a suitable color filter, which means that the total exposure time for every object is more than tripled. When exposure times can run into tens of minutes or even hours for each of the three colors, this can be a major drawback for the time-pressed amateur."One-Shot Color Astronomical Imaging" describes the most cost-effective and time-efficient way for any amateur astronomer to begin to photograph the deep-sky Anyone who has seen recent pictures of the many wondrous objects in space has surely been amazed by the stunning color images. Trying to capture images like these through your own telescope has always seemed too time-consuming, expensive, and complicated. However, with improvements in affordable, easy-to-use CCD imaging technology, you can now capture amazing images yourself. With today's improved "one-shot" color imagers, high-quality images can be taken in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost, right from your own backyard. This book will show you how to harness the power of today's computerized telescopes and entry-level imagers to capture spectacular images that you can share with family and friends. It covers such topics as - evaluating your existing equipment, choosing the right imager, finding targets to image, telescope alignment, focusing and framing the image, exposure times, aligning and stacking multiple frames, image calibration, and enhancement techniques! - how to expand the number of objects you can "see" with your telescope, especially in the light-polluted skies near urban areas - image-processing routines specific to today's popular one-shot color imagers Front Matter....Pages i-xx Some Background....Pages 1-15 Choosing the Right Stuff....Pages 17-32 Your Imaging Session: An Overview....Pages 33-42 The Planning Stages in Detail....Pages 43-57 Setting Up Your Telescope and Polar Aligning It....Pages 59-70 Focusing and Framing....Pages 71-83 Calibration....Pages 85-97 Taking Exposures and Auto-Guiding....Pages 99-111 Histogram Display and Stacking....Pages 113-126 Image Processing and Enhancement....Pages 127-156 Displaying Your Images and Other Possibilities....Pages 157-166 Back Matter....Pages 167-191