Welcome to the A.S.I.G.N. Astro-Image Gallery

In 2000, I began imaging with a Minolta 35mm film SLR on my Celestron 11 inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope, (SCT), with limited success.

Over a few years, I have wrestled with many challenges in the steep learning curve that is astrophotography. A couple of years ago, I upgraded to a Canon Digital SLR and added a Skywatcher ED80 Refracting telescope, both for imaging and guiding on top of the SCT.

Soon after that, a Phillips Toucam Pro 840K was added to try some planetary work through the Celestron.

Most recently A.S.I.G.N. Observatory has been refitted with a new ED120 APO Refracting telescope, mounted on an EQ6 Pro German equatorial mount, along with an Orion Starshoot Pro CCD imaging camera.

I would like to thank all the wonderful people all over the world on the amateur astronomy forums for their encouragement, advice and assistance in the continuing effort to master this technique.

Praise God for all of His creation and the fellowship of all you amazing people.

Nebulae

Nebulae are amazing and beautiful places within our very own Galaxy. They are vast regions spanning hundreds of light years across, where basic to exotic elements of gas and dust conglomerate to form stellar nurseries.

Galaxies

Our own galaxy contains over 400 billion stars and is suprisingly easy to photograph from within! There are few things outside our galaxy that are visible tothe naked eye. Andromeda, our nearest neighbouring galaxy, and the large and small magellanic clouds, our two companion orbiting dwarf galaxies.

To see other galaxies beyond our own, we must look deeper with telescopes to capture their beauty and magnificence.

Planets

ASIGN's planetary photographs were taken at varying video intervals and frame rates, using a Phillips ToUCam Pro II 840K webcam.

Although you would think that imaging deep space objects would be hard, planetary photography is not without its own unique challenges.

Distant galaxies are comparatively huge in angular distance, whereas planets are so much smaller. To capture these in sharp detail and blow them up to a point where the detail is visible but not lost is difficult at best.

The biggest problems I have found with planets is image stability affected by atmospherics and thermal problems within the imaging train.

Unfortunately, A.S.I.G.N. is currently not ideally set up for planetary imaging, so these images are becoming quite dated.

Lunar

ASIGN's lunar photographs were taken through a telescope at varying exposure lengths with a Canon EOS 400D DSLR and a Phillips ToUCam Pro II 840K webcam.

Solar

A.S.I.G.N. Observatory is not currently set-up with the appropriate filters to image the sun.

Warning: Viewing and photographing the sun is extremely dangerous!

Without the appropriate filters in FRONT of the objective aperture, permanent damage can occur to eyesight and equipment.

Globular Clusters

Scattered around the sphere of our galactic central bulge, are these fascinating and beautiful spheres of stars. These often contain millions of stars, densely packed at their cores, thinning out towards their exterior.

Comets and Meteors

Comets are often large bodies of rock and ice that circle in regular and repeating orbits through our solar system. Sometimes they come so close, that the sun cooks them and melts away some of this material. This can form spectacular tails as the ionised gasses are blown away in the opposite direction of the suns radiation. Smaller fragments and debris left behind can enter the earth's atmosphere as we pass through the trail and burn up in spectacular fireworks displays in the form of regular meteor showers.

Widefields

Sometimes you just want to take a photograph of the whole sky or an entire constellation. Throw the camera on a mount by itself with no telescope and just track the stars during your long exposures. You will look with your eyes and see a few stars, but the camera will reveal in no time that there is a lot going on behind those few you can see!

Space Paintings

Using the airbrush tools in Photoshop and a blank canvas, the sky really is the limit. This great little cloudy night pastime can really stretch your imagination!

Daytime Photography

For a little while now I have been practicing daytime photography. Since I have been at the long-exposure work for years I discovered that daytime photography is not without many of it's own unique challenges. It is good to learn both to give you some all-round experience and knowledge, not to mention awesome fun!

Click here to view my progress.