A quick proof of concept tonight taken with my Christmas present - a Samyang 8mm f/3.5 UMC Fish-eye CS II lens. I put it on the Sony A7S and in the "long" direction it gives a 180degree view. Combining 2 single exposures (30sec each at F5.6) - one oriented East-West and one oriented North-South gave the following:
(http://www.markshelley.co.uk/Astronomy/2018/WholeSky20180107_25.jpg)
Full size version here: http://www.markshelley.co.uk/Astronomy/2018/WholeSky20180107_100.jpg
I managed to catch this just before the clouds rolled in. Also, I had to duck down below the level of the tripod to prevent me appearing in the image!
Mark
Brilliant Mark.
I spy with my little eye, Orion rising and the Pleiades.
QuoteI had to duck down below the level of the tripod to prevent me appearing in the image!
Ha ha.
Carole
Nice Mark - Excellent way as well to identify which direction the worse light pollution is in... enjoy & look forward to seeing some stunning images from your new lens. John
Interesting image.
Mac.
Neat. Beats a QHY5L-II with fisheye as there just isn't enough resolution to get all those stars. Nice orbits as well. I thought east was Ashford? I would've expected to see more LP than there is in that direction.
Yes, Ashford is more or less East but the main light pollution comes from Maidstone in the North West. That evening the sky was a bit murky so there could be some more local light pollution being added in as well.
I'll repeat this experiment on a night with good sky - I expect there will be a significant difference.
Mark
Would it be worth raising it on a pole to above the height of the house?
Or would the reduction of the house ect be negligible.
Mac