Help requested.

Hi everyone,

I have just moved to a new college and one of the first things I am going to have to do is switch the astronomy course from film to digital.

So, I am looking for suggestions for digital cameras that can be attached to the telescope for use by students during obseving labs. They do not have to be particularly fancy and cost is a consideration as the department would need to purchase 4 -6 of them. The key point would be connecting to the scopes and ability to take longer exposures.

Thanks for any help.

Maurice

Its really a question of money, how big is your budget? If you really want to do long exposures properly tbe CCD chip needs to be cooled so that the noise/dark current is reduced to a reasonable level. This is expensive...

If you can spend a few thousand per camera, then there are several options available, the Sbig cameras are probably your best bet, well supported, rugged, maybe even student proof. SBIG provides good tech support, the cameras are designed to be repaired and they are build like one would expect of a scientific grade instrument. One can spend any amount on such a camera, high end cameras are made by Apogee and Finger Lakes as well. Somewhere in here is Starlight Express.

If your budget is more limited, then SAC makes some cooled cameras in the $500 range but from what I have seen, I not consider them rugged enough for use by students. These are essentially modified webcams.

One can use various consumer digital cameras like some of the Canon and Nikon models that allow for long exposures but again these are not really well suited for the job though with work, people do get some pretty amazing photos, but that is not the norm. A patch type solution for an enthusiast, not a good solution for an educational instution IMHO. Still if one is limited in funds, the Canon A60 maybe be your best bet, it goes for something around $150.

There are also Digital SLRs like the Canon Rebel, but these are around $1000 and have a plastic body, no cooling, so if you have this sort of money, a cooled camera is probably best.

At the low end, one can always have the Electronics shop modify some webcams (only some models) for long exposure work, again not the best solution.

I have attached a 30 second exposure of M42/M43 done with a cooled camera similar to the SBig ST-237, the scope was a 130mm F5 Newtonian.

Bottom line is that to do it right, one needs to either use film or a cooled CCD.

Jon

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