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All kind of astronomical observations, including astrophotography, is very
difficult in the surrounding of a light polluted city. Nevertheless,
it is possible to get quite good results using the digital ccd technique.
Most of the images shown on my homepage were taken at different sites
in the Rhein-Main region in Germany. Depending on the site fst is between
4,5mag and 5,5mag at zenith, decresing rapidly towards the horizon.
Better suited are dark observation sites, about 50 to 60 km outside of the city
where stars of 6.0 mag are visible in clear and dark nights. Nevertheless,
transport and setup of the equipment is not easy.
My equipment is lightweight and compact to make tranport possible. The total
weight of all parts of the setup is still about 120 kg with the heaviest part
weighting 25 kg.
Making photos from your backyard has a lot of advantages, especially in Winter.
To registrate faint objects with the ccd camera I need to extend the exposure
time compared to a dark site. Even image processing is more complexe because of
the effects due to the light pollution.
The lower picture shows the tube of the 10" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (SCT)
mounted on the Losmandy G11. I need two counter weights (15 kg) to balance the
optical tube on the mount. The small device on top of the power supply box is
the FS-2 drive unit.
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