On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 09:24:07 -0000, "Robert Geake"
wrote:

Chaps,

Now with 2 pictures being posted that reveal far more
detail than any others(Sorry Pete)

If you're referring to Stefan's fantastic image on
www.spaceweather.com from yesterday, I suggest you web-search the name
of the camera and lens he used, check out their price ;-)

if this weather holds
clear as it is this morning i will be out with my 200mm
lens tonight to see what i can do!!!

Why would the picutres taken through a camera lens
look better than through the scope??? Is is because
if the wider angle???

Down to more light sensitivity at the end of the day. A 200mm f4 lens
will be a faster system than a 1000m f/9 telescope.

A big difference can also be seen between the run of mill cheapskate
lenses (of which mine are) that only go down to f/4 or f/5.6 and the
'holy-cow - how much!' lenses that go down to f/2.0 or f/2.8.

Of course, you trade off image scale as you switch to the camera
lenses but, unless you are aiming to pick up coma detail (and there
doesn't seem to be a lot of this with Machholz), stick with the wider
angle shots and try to get a nice shot that captures the tail(s).

Now I've got to figure out what to sell to get me a better imaging
system! My soul by the looks of it


--
Pete
http://www.digitalsky.org.uk