Transits of Mercury and Venus Deep Sky: older pictures Deep Sky: broad band Deep Sky: narrow band Observatory at Home Observatory in Heeze Grandchamp August 2006 My family Cocky's page   new website (per 5 June 2012)

CCD-ASTRO-PHOTOGRAPHY by Arie Nagel, Netherlands My hobby is ASTRO-PHOTOGRAPHY, i.e. photography of the sun, moon, planets, stars, asteroïds and comets. Also nebulae, within or outside our galaxy. After years of practicing 'wet-photography', I started ccd-photography during fall 1997. The beauty of ccd-photography is that you have instant results. Furthermore the results are digital, so they are ready for computer-imaging. And in light-polluted areas, ccd-cameras can detect weaker lights than would be the case with conventional cameras. However, ccd-cameras are expensive. The larger the ccd-chip, the more expensive. Therefore most people use cameras with a tiny chip. A common camera is the ST-10 type of SBIG, which uses a chip of 10 x 15 mm. It is like photographing the heavens through a key-hole. However, most objects are small and fit within this area when using an amateur telescope.    Left: preparing for the night. ST-8E camera on a 4" f/4 Newton. The larger Newton is an 8" f/4.5. The mount is carried by a wooden yoke that is hanging at the roof. All home made, except for the camera.