High speed astrophotography, Timelapsing aurora and solar telescope: April 2026 meeting recap

By Toner Stevenson

We welcomed all existing and new members and acknowledged First Nations peoples.  22 people attended the meeting. As SCS President I welcomed members and discussed recent events, including the Artemis II mission and the NACAA conference in Tamworth. The meeting featured presentations by Grahame Kelaher and Dirk Goës and updates from SCS Secretary Elizabeth Cocking.

Members presentation: Club Solar Telescope Overview

Dirk Goës presented an overview of the club's solar telescope, a Daystar Solar Scout 60mm H-Alpha telescope with a SolarQuest tracking mount. He explained how the telescope safely filters the sun's light to show specific features like prominences and sunspots in red light at the H-alpha wavelength of 656.3 nanometres. Dirk emphasized the importance of safe solar viewing practices, particularly ahead of the upcoming 2028 total solar eclipse, and noted that the telescope is available for club members to borrow with appropriate training. For full details see Dirk's report linked here.

NOTE: Club members interested in borrowing the solar telescope: Contact Elizabeth Cocking as the communication centre for telescope borrowing

Keynote address: 'High speed astrophotography' plus 'Timelapsing Aurora' by Grahame Kelaher

Grahame Kelaher has an interesting career as a submariner with the Royal Australian Navy, but at every opportunity he is observing and photographing the night sky from Western Australia. Grahame shared his experience with astronomy photography, including his work with ISS (International Space Station) photography and deep sky imaging using a 12-inch Skywatcher Dobsonian telescope.

ISS Imaging Techniques

Grahame discussed techniques for capturing images of the ISS using a camera with a 12-inch Dobsonian telescope. He explained the capture workflow, including planning, exposures, and processing using PIPP software (https://stellardiscovery.com/pipp/ ) for frame sorting and centering. Grahame highlighted the challenges of atmospheric turbulence and tracking errors, emphasizing the importance of practice and proper setup, including camera-finder alignment. He also mentioned the trade-offs between frame rate and bit depth and shared his experience with different telescope setups and imaging conditions.

ISS Imaging Equipment Recommendations

Grahame discussed equipment recommendations for capturing images of the ISS, including camera options ranging from $300 (ASI662MC) to $900-1000 models, and software recommendations like SharpCap and PIPP for preprocessing. He explained technical considerations such as frame rates, file sizes, and the importance of using a remote shutter control to avoid image distortion from rapid movement.

Satellite and Aurora Photography Techniques

Grahame also discussed his Aurora imaging. The Aurora Australis West Australia Chasers group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/AuroraAustralisWesternAustralia/) is very popularwith over 50k members, and Grahame explained how technology, particularly smartphones, have evolved to capture aurora images more easily and this makes Aurora imaging, if you are in the right place at the right time, very accessible.

He shared his experiences and tips for capturing the Northern and Southern Lights and discussed the evolution of aurora monitoring capabilities, resources like Facebook groups and the Glendale app for alerts, and technical aspects of photography including equipment settings, timing, and location scouting. The discussion included details about 'Steve' phenomena and Grahame's approach to finding optimal viewing locations through trial and error over 12-14 years of chasing auroras.

Our next meeting is at Sydney Observatory with Dr. Sven Buda's presentation on "Star Wars Episode Zero, The Rise of the Milky Way" on May 4th.

Details here