Imaging Problems

Okay, so I've been having problems with my junky Sony Cyber-Shot. Obviously, it was never designed for this sort of work, but I can't get it to focus. The views look great in the 4.25" Quattro eyepiece, and just for kicks, I re-collimated everything again last night before observing, but it just won't behave.

This regular 20-second shot of the northern sky shows you how much noise there is on the camera (that's not really light pollution):

This is the clearest image I could get of the moon:

Here is the clearest closeup I could get of Mare Crisium and the Proclus Crater:

To say that I'm not happy with my imaging options at the moment is an understatement, particularly when the scope itself is working so well. I guess I was just spoiled working at the University of Arizona Steward Observatory in college with all the good equipment there.

I am hoping to get things resolved before the 18" is completed in May, but for now, eyeball astronomy is quite rewarding enough. I just wanted to share some of those images online.

The idea for the 18" is to put together a DSLR and CCD gallery online for students to use in conjunctions with their science, astronomy, and physics classes. I hope I can get some sponsors on board to help with that.

Meanwhile, I'm back to tapping holes for the 18" primary mirror mount.