Photographing Venus (or a star)

[Clive Kirby]

Hi Where was it and when?
Venus would rise in the east before the sun and appear in the west after the sun has set. Although it is a planet it appears as a bright star but because it is closer to the sun than we are, it has phases like the moon, which you may see if the image is magnified.
Another bright object in the sky at the moment is the planet Jupiter, which is in the east after sunset and passes high over head as the night progresses. Again this is a planet, but because it is further from the sun you will not see phases but even at a low magnification you should see a disk.
Sirius a star rises in the south south east some time after sun set and remains fairly low in the sky. I would think that you are seeing something similar to this in Vancouver although you might not see Sirius if your latitude is a lot higher than mine in England.
Hope this is helpful.
Clive

[ajohnw]

There are many designs for scotch mount / barn door star tracking systems on the web. They aren't that difficult to make and will provide adequate accuracy for sensible camera exposures via a camera lens.

These days very long exposures aren't the usual way of doing things. The exposure needs to be long enough to capture some light at the required level. Several exposures are taken and the results are aligned and stacked along with dark frame subtraction and even flats for calibrating the cameras light response. Plenty of info on the web. It seems to me that there will be a trade off between exposure time and iso settings and number of exposures but web info specifically aimed at using a camera plus lens suggest max iso. Camera lenses have been used for photographing star field for a long long time due to the ease of obtaining wide field views. Ideally there is a need for no moon as well as little light pollution.

John
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John
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[Downrigger]

The raw photo in Picasa so you can see it better. Here I did capture the beautiful haze around it but the star or venus is just a blob

Planets should resolve to sharp discs at sufficient magnification whereas stars will remain point sources, the haze here is from out atmosphere but makes it interesting. I think most advice on astrophotography advises fairly wide open shooting no more than your lenses sharpest stop on down to it's biggest aperture. Streaking (from our motion, not the star's or planet's) sets in as you approach a minute of exposure.

This is a non-technical but idea filled presentation on shooting the night sky that I liked: http://photography.nationalgeographi...ips/night-sky/

[Nancy Moran G]

I can't help on the technical side, but there is of course, an App for the night sky identifying stars/planets. I have StarWalk but there are ALOT of others.
Nancy

[Brownbear]

Thanks for sharing. Yes, interesting and just nice to know.

Yes, the image was taken on Dec. 4, 2013 around 7pm. It was visible every evening during the last week of November and well into December. Photographed about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta, latitude 21.5, longitude -105.0. I think it was an easterly direction, but I'm not sure if it would be a bit NE or SE.

This is probably more info than is needed, but I find it interesting.

http://amedleyofpotpourri.blogspot.c...e-visible.html

I think the photo was taken last month? If so it was likely Venus, but could have been Jupiter.

[Brownbear]

Hi Andrew,

I wanted to capture the illusion of the planet that looked like a star, ie; the beautiful scene that I saw. Yes, I've seen images of star trails and that is something that I would love to try one day because those images are beautiful. Thank you.

I'm not sure what your expectations may be in photographing a star or planet. With a planet and the appropriate optics you should be able to resolve a disc and even some detail in contrast or structure. I expect resolving a planet to more than a disc would require a telescope as part of the optical system. With a star any shape or form you see is likely an aberration or artifact of the optics and sensor. It is rather interesting to do a time exposure of the sky and see the trails made by stars as the Earth rotates.
Andrew

[Brownbear]

Hi Clive,

This photo was taken on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, Latitude 21.5 Longitude -105. The moon was full or almost full on the days that I could see it, around the end of November and into December.

I think it was East because the sun was setting behind a mountain. It could be seen to the left of the mountain during the early evening hours, and yes it appeared low in the sky.

Yes, helpful and nice to know. Thank you.

Hi Where was it and when?
Venus would rise in the east before the sun and appear in the west after the sun has set. Although it is a planet it appears as a bright star but because it is closer to the sun than we are, it has phases like the moon, which you may see if the image is magnified.
Another bright object in the sky at the moment is the planet Jupiter, which is in the east after sunset and passes high over head as the night progresses. Again this is a planet, but because it is further from the sun you will not see phases but even at a low magnification you should see a disk.
Sirius a star rises in the south south east some time after sun set and remains fairly low in the sky. I would think that you are seeing something similar to this in Vancouver although you might not see Sirius if your latitude is a lot higher than mine in England.
Hope this is helpful.
Clive

[Brownbear]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. I started this thread simply because I wanted to know why I couldn't manage a photo of a star or a planet, that I could see so clearly. Whenever I can't do something I like to know why. And since it seems impossible to capture the beautiful "illusion" that I saw, in future I will be happy with just enjoying the vista.

John, I do intend to try star trails one day, the next time I manage to get out of the city.

Photo Nut, Appreciated but photographing planets is too technical for me. If I could capture the illusion of a star, and could afford it I would buy a telescope, but for now I will just enjoy the scene.

Mark, thank you for sharing the link on star trails. Very informative and the photos are breathtakingly beautiful.

Nancy, I think I need to do some reading on stars and planets as my knowledge in this area is sadly lacking. I could also see several gorgeous stars and formations that I couldn't identify, and it would be nice to know.

John, Thanks for sharing. Good to know for future. The moon was almost full, and full, so it was a bright night.

Andrew, Thank you.

[Andrew76]

Hi Christina. My friend has said that there's probably not a lot more you can accomplish if you're planning on keeping your focal length under 1000mm, and not investing in a telescope.

He's sent me a photo he did of Saturn, he uses a 1500mm telescope, with a doubling bar, so effectively getting him 3000mm focal length, AND that goes with an 8 inch aperture. Even the photo he sent shows the planet as a small ball, although the rings are apparent, it's certainly not containing any intricate detail.

Sorry.

[Brownbear]

Hi Andrew,

Thank you so much for taking the time to ask your friend. Truly appreciated.

I'm delighted that I asked this question because I learned a lot, and it will save me a lot of time, trying, in future. I may just have to take up painting.

Hi Christina. My friend has said that there's probably not a lot more you can accomplish if you're planning on keeping your focal length under 1000mm, and not investing in a telescope.

He's sent me a photo he did of Saturn, he uses a 1500mm telescope, with a doubling bar, so effectively getting him 3000mm focal length, AND that goes with an 8 inch aperture. Even the photo he sent shows the planet as a small ball, although the rings are apparent, it's certainly not containing any intricate detail.

Sorry.