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CCD & Photographic

A CCD camera is essentially an electronic version of a 35mm camera for astrophotography that saves the images in your computer, rather than on a roll of film. A CCD camera can take snapshots of the Moon and planets and long exposure photos of deep sky nebulas, galaxies, and star clusters. Because the CCD camera has to store up the faint light of deep space objects before it can display an image, just as a 35mm film camera does, a CCD can't give you real-time or instant images of deep space objects.

Because a CCD camera is more sensitive than 35mm film or your eye, it can store up more information during an exposure. Software supplied with the camera, or available separately, allows you to manipulate the image later to bring out details that would be washed out or invisible in a 35mm negative or while observing visually. CCD cameras are surprisingly unaffected by city light pollution, allowing deep sky photography from even heavily light polluted sites.

CCD cameras typically vary in price according to their image size, with large cameras running into the multiple thousands of dollars. Even at their largest, however, their image covers less of the sky than a 35mm film camera on the same scope. CCDs are best at recording small and very faint objects rather than large and bright objects, although excellent images of large objects can be recorded by taking multiple overlapping images and combining them in the computer.

It has been said that CCD cameras on amateur-size telescopes can record fainter objects than the 200" scope at Mt. Palomar could record only 10 or 15 years ago with conventional film cameras. By some measures, CCD cameras can be said to have an effective film speed (ASA or ISO rating) of 20,000, making them ideal for recording very faint objects.

Some CCD cameras can act as autoguiders to take the tedium out of guiding long exposure 35mm photos. Some CCD cameras have their own autoguider built in for recording images automatically and untended; others come with separate guiders or have them available as an option.

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$Explore Scientific 2" Field flattener for imaging for f/5 to f/7 refractors$

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Explore Scientific 2" Field flattener for imaging for f/5 to f/7 refractors

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ZWO 0.75x Reducer for FF65APO Telescope

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Celestron StarSense Autoguider

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1 Review(s)

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$Universal Astro 2" Adjustable Field flattener for f/5 to f/7 refractor telescopes$

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Universal Astro 2" Adjustable Field flattener for f/5 to f/7 refractor telescopes

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Need to dial in your backspacing on your imaging rig? The UA 2" field flattener gives you the freedom to set your spacing from 55mm all the way to 80mm.
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Universal Astro 32mm f/4 Mini Guide Scope

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Special Price $39.95

Looking for small guide scope, then look no further. The UA Mini Guide Scope is a great choice.
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ZWO ASI2400MC PRO USB 3.0 COOLED Color ASTRONOMY IMAGING CAMERA

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