Webcam & LPI Imaging - Stargazing

Webcam & LPI Imaging

David Haworthhttp://www.stargazing.net/david

Copyright 2004

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Philips 740 ToUcam & Meade LPIOrion 80mm Refractor 400mm Focal Length

Meade LPI ToUcam

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Agenda

It is all about stacking

Camera Comparisons

Philips PCVC740K ToUcam

Meade Lunar Planetary Imager (LPI)

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Webcam AVI Movie Saturn ToUcam 740

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First 9 Images of 1400 Images ToUcam 740

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1024 Images Stacked Out of 1400 Saturn ToUcam 740

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Astroimaging Cameras Comparisons

D70 Digital SLR

990 Digicam

ST-237 CCD 35mm Film

740 Webcams Meade LPI

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Camera Exposure Times Video Cameras

2.8h17m1.7m10s1s.1s

.01s.001s

Webcams

Meade LPI

Video

Digital CamerasCCD CamerasFilm Cameras

SingleImage

ExposureTimes

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Field of View (FOV)Focal Length Determines Image Size at Focal Plane

Telescope Lens

Image Sensor Size Determines

Field of View

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Field of View (FOV)Focal Length Determines Image Size at Focal Plane

Telescope Lens

Smaller Image Sensor Size Has

Smaller Field of View

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Cameras FOV ComparisonsUsing Orion 80mm Refractor 400mm Focal Length

D70 Digital SLR

990 Digicam


740 Webcams Meade LPI

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Cameras FOV ComparisonsUsing Orion 80mm Refractor 400mm Focal Length

D70 Digital SLR

990 Digicam


740 Webcam Meade LPI

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Nikon D70 FOVUsing Orion 80mm Refractor 400mm Focal Length

Digital SLR640 x 480

crop

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Nikon 990 FOVUsing Orion 80mm Refractor 400mm Focal Length

DigicamsNikon 990afocal with

14mm eyepiece640 x 480 crop

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Exposure vs. Focal LengthFocal Ratio is third parameter

10 50 100 500 1,000 5,000 10,000Focal Length in mm

2.8h17m1.7m10s1s.1s

.01s.001s

Exposure

Stars Fields & Large Nebula

Moon &

Sun Planets

Small Deep Sky Objects

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Exposure vs. Focal LengthShort Exposure Cameras


2.8h17m1.7m10s1s.1s

.01s.001s

Exposure

Webcams

Galaxies &Small Deep Sky

ObjectsStars Fields & Large Nebula


Meade LPI Moon &

Sun Planets


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Exposure vs. Focal Length Mounts


2.8h17m1.7m10s1s.1s

.01s.001s

Exposure

Low Quality Mounts

High Quality Mounts



Moon &

Sun Planets


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ToUcam ImagingAdvantages

Disadvantages

Hardware

Software

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ToUcam PRO Advantages Philips PCVC740K ToUcam PRO

Good for bright objectsMoon, Sun & Planets

Acquire many images very quickly

Low cost if you have a laptop with USB

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ToUcam PRO Advantages Philips PCVC740K ToUcam PRO

No external power is needed

Smallest pixel size 5.6µm

Small & light weight

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Disadvantages

Hardware

Software

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ToUcam PRO DisadvantagesPhilips PCVC740K ToUcam PRO

Not good for deep sky objects

Limited to short exposuresTypical max 1/25 sec.Special max 1/5 sec. mode

640x480 size

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Typically images are noisy

AVI compression

Dropped frames

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Light leaks through white plastic case when solar imaging

Hard disk is filled quickly140 sec. = 620 MB AVI file

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Disadvantages

Hardware

Software

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Orion Atlas 10 Reflector on G-11 254 mm aperture, f/4.7 focal ratio, 1200 mm focal length

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Cooling the Mirror Before Imaging

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FocusingDiffraction Focusing

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Beta Lyra Double Star 46” Diffraction Focusing

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Finding the Planet Cross Hairs Eyepiece

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Solar Imaging

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Disadvantages

Hardware

Software

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ToUcam VLounge

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ToUcam VLounge

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ToUcam VRecord

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ToUcam VRecord

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ToUcam VRecord

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ToUcam VRecord

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ToUcam VRecord

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ToUcam VRecord

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ToUcam VRecord

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ToUcam VRecord

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ToUcam VRecord

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Saturn 1/19/2004Orion Atlas 10 Reflector on G-11

Tele Vue 5x Powermate (effective >f/23.5, >6000 mm)

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Cor Berrevoets RegiStaxhttp://aberrator.astronomy.net/registax/

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Saturn 1/19/2004RegiStax: 1024 Images Stacked a 2x

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Wavelet, Gamma, Brightness Processed

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Wavelet, Gamma, Brightness ProcessedPhotoshop: Unmask Sharpen, Color Balance, Resize to 1x

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Wavelet, Gamma, Brightness ProcessedPhotoshop: Unmask Sharpen, Color Balance, Resize to 1x

Resize to 0.5x, Unmask Sharpen,

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Orion Atlas 10 Reflector on G-11Tele Vue 5x Powermate (effective >f/23.5, >6000 mm)

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Moon with Good Seeing

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Moon ToUcam Image Processed

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Sun ToUcamUsing Orion 80mm Refractor 400mm Focal Length

ToUcam301 images

stacked

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Meade Lunar Planetary Imager (LPI)Advantages

Disadvantages

Software

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Meade LPI Advantages

Good for bright objectsMoon, Sun & Planets

Real-time image processingElectronic eyepieceSelecting, stacking & sharpening

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Acquire many images quickly

Low cost if you have a laptop with USB

No external power is needed

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No compression

Small & light weight

Color balance is better than the 740 on Jupiter

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.001 to 16 seconds exposureSome bright deep sky objects are

possible

Save images in different formats

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Disadvantages

Software

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Meade LPI Disadvantages

Less sensitive to light than 740

No solar image mode

No color balance

Software crashes

640x480 size

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Disadvantages

Software

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Meade LPI Autostar Suite

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Meade LPI Imaging

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Meade LPI Imaging

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LPI Real-time Image Processing

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One Image versus Image Processing

One Image

LPI

One Image with Image Processing

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One Image

LPI

22 Images stacked LPI Processed at the

Telescope

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22 Images stacked LPI Processed

LPI

22 Images stacked LPI Processed, RegiStax Wavelet

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22 Images stacked LPI Processed

LPI

22 Images stacked LPI Processed, RegiStax Wavelet, Photoshop

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One Image with Image Processing

LPI

22 Images stacked LPI Processed, RegiStax Wavelet, Photoshop

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Sun 7/25/2004Photoshop Version CS, unsharp mask and crop

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LPI Images 4/26/2004Argonaut™ 150mm Maksutov-Cassegrain & 2X Barlow

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Moon 5/1/2004Orion Argonaut™ 150mm Maksutov-Cassegrain on EQ-3

Tele Vue 2x Barlow (effective >f/24, >3600 mm)

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Cor Berrevoets RegiStaxhttp://aberrator.astronomy.net/registax/

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Moon 5/1/2004Registax Version 2.1.14.0 beta, wavelett processed

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Moon Clavius Craterlets 5/1/2004Photoshop Version CS, unsharp mask, levels, and crop

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Jupiter & Moons Orion Argonaut™ 150mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope

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Webcam & LPI ImagingTime to useAvailabilityCost

Ready to useSean’sAstronomyShop

$150LPI

Less than 5 minutesNot available,Replaced by840

$93 +$75 IRF$20 Adp.

740

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Webcam & LPI ImagingDisadvantagesAdvantages

Less light sensitive, software crashes

Real-time image processing, good color balance, electronic eyepiece

LPI

Large AVI files, long image processing time

Good light sensitivity,Smallest pixels, ready to use adapters

740

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Astroimaging Informationwww.stargazing.net/david/

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Webcam & LPI Imaging - Stargazing