CCD Astrophotography: High-Quality Imaging From...
Invented in the 1960s, charge-coupled devices (CCDs) are integrated circuits that contain an array of linked capacitors. In digital imaging, electrical charge is transferred between neighboring capacitors under the control of an external circuit. CCD image sensors are not the only imaging capturing technology available to researchers, but they have become the most widely used tool in medical, professional, and scientific applications due to their advantages in capturing high-quality image data.
CCD Astrophotography: High-Quality Imaging from...
Cells are dynamic, living biological structures. Structures can be stained with fluorescent chemicals to image cells and provide information about the biochemical interactions that occur within them. Live cell fluorescent imaging requires a balance between acquiring high-quality images and avoiding overexposure to light, photobleaching, and phototoxicity. CCD image sensors are well-suited to this task.
There are a large number of telescope cameras that are best suited for planetary and solar imaging. These cameras excel at capturing detailed images of targets like the red spot on Jupiter or the Rings of Saturn when used with the correct telescope and accessories. Many of these cameras are also well suited to use with solar filters and can capture high-quality images of the Sun when used appropriately. Planetary imaging is a great place to start for those interested in moving from observation to imaging, and these telescopes cameras are sure to help.
The compact and weatherproof Starlight Xpress Oculus All-Sky camera offers a high-quality, low-noise image while maintaining a remarkably low power consumption. This camera is perfect for imaging meteor showers, viewing weather conditions at a remote observatory, and imaging the night sky spectacularly.
The filters are available separately here so you can buy a Meade Deep Sky Imager Pro or Deep Sky Imager Pro II CCD camera without filters for high-quality monochrome imaging, then add the filters later when you're ready to move up to the more challenging tri-color imaging. Buying the camera and filters separately is more expensive than buying them together as a camera/filter set package, however. The filters are also available separately here for use with non-Meade cameras, generally at a substantial savings over the cost of buying a comparable-quality set of non-Meade filters.
The transmission properties of the L-RGB Typ 2c filters are optimized for CCD astrophotography. The set allows to take images in correct colour for all types of objects. Where other brands make strange compromises, we do the best colour reproduction possible. Both stars as well as objects that emit only in spectral lines, are reproduced in their true colors. You get CCD images with perfect colors, as if the objects where bright enough to be seen with photopic vision. This feature is the main difference between Astronomik filters an those of other manufacturers.The following aspects have been most important for the design of our filterset:- simple image processing for the user- highest transmission (nearly 100%) for short exposure times - adjusted transmissions of the individual filters for optimal colour reproduction- the use of industry standardsAstronomik doesn't stop thinking at the step of taking the picture. More important a tool should be given to the astrophotographers that offers a simple and elegant editing process. To maintain the colour, we calculated our filterset for the sRGB color space, that is used as an industry standard from most manufacturers of monitors, printers and imaging software. As a user you do not need to spend time to learn about colourimetry and colour spaces. We have solved the special problems of astrophotography for you.Due to the high-precision machining of the carrier substrate, our filters are parfocal with wedge errors below all usual margins. In order not to be the bottleneck in a high-quality optical system Astronomik filters are of course diffraction limited. Issues concerning focal distances as well as the exact location of the images of each colour image are not a problem at all!
Charge-coupled devices (CCD) represent a major technology for digital imaging and has applications in astrophotography, spectrometers, and interferometers. The technique allows for light detection and is widely used in image sensing in professional, medical, and scientific applications where high-quality image data is necessary, such as digital cameras and active pixel sensors. CCD-based detectors allow scientists to record the best possible data under a given set of experimental conditions.
The tutorial initializes with the display of a graphical plot of signal-to-noise ratio as a function of integration (exposure) time for a hypothetical CCD system with specifications typical of high-performance cameras used in microscopy imaging applications. Parameters that affect signal-to-noise ratio for a CCD sensor can be varied for the system modeled in the tutorial by using the mouse to reposition any of the sliders located below the display window. As each variable is changed, the calculated value of signal-to-noise ratio is updated in the left-hand yellow box. During image acquisition with electronic sensors, including CCDs, apparently random fluctuations in signal intensity constitute noise superimposed on the signal, and as the magnitude of noise increases, uncertainty in the measured signal becomes greater. Changes made to the factors that directly affect signal level, and to those variables primarily contributing noise to the system, have an inverse effect on SNR that is reflected in the displayed value. A large signal-to-noise ratio is important in the acquisition of high-quality digital images, and is particularly critical in applications requiring precise light measurements. The radio buttons labeled Binning Factor can be selected individually to enable a method of signal-to-noise ratio improvement commonly used with scientific CCD cameras, in which the signal-generated charge from groups of neighboring pixels is combined during readout into larger "superpixels". The binning factor represents the number of pixels that are combined to form each larger pixel. When the SNR is recalculated to reflect the binning operation, it is assumed that the signal is the same for each pixel within a group.
Whether one is measuring fluorescence, performing in vitro molecular diagnostics or developing new drugs, analytical bioimaging requires a high-quality digital imaging system to resolve tiny but crucial details.
Another revolution has concerned the use of additional filters for these cameras. The filters are able to isolate specific emission from deep-sky objects, allowing effective narrowband imaging with colour cameras. The most popular are the Optolong L-eXtreme and L-eNhance dual/triple bandpass filters that isolate hydrogen-alpha, oxygen-III and hydrogen-beta wavelengths from emission nebulae. With the ever growing scourge of light pollution, having a filter that can block most domestic emissions, as well as moonlight, allows high-quality imaging even from towns and cities. 041b061a72