Planetary vs. Deep Space Objects (DSO)
- Planetary
- Sun, Moon, 9 planets
- “Lucky” imaging technique
- Short exposures, maximum of 3 mins total time due to target rotation
- Low noise due to short exposures (sensor stays cool)
- Deep Space Objects
- Thousands of targets to pick from!
- “Lucky” imaging techniques
- Long exposures, no real maximum due to distance from targets
- Noisy due to long exposures, requires cooler on camera
Tips on which camera to choose:
- Choose your target
- Wide-field (Milky Way, constellations, etc)
- Very wide field of view – significant chunks of the sky
- DSOs (galaxies, nebulae, open clusters, etc)
- Fairly stationary
- Wide area (most are < 7 degrees of the sky)
- Will require long exposures
- Planetary (Sun, Moon, planets, asteroids)
- Rotating and Moving target
- Most are < 0.5 of a degree in the sky, often much smaller
- Will require short exposures over a short time (< 3mins)
- Wide-field (Milky Way, constellations, etc)
- Camera resolution should be less than or equal to the optical resolution (i.e. don’t pay for more than you can use!)
- Dedicated astronomy cameras tend to have fewer inputs than DSLRs
- Dedicated astronomy cameras are single-purpose: astronomy
- Compatibility with your software
- Cost: which camera fits your budget given the rest of your rig?