{"id":2226,"date":"2017-07-27T07:08:42","date_gmt":"2017-07-27T06:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.popastro.com\/main_spa1\/deepsky\/?page_id=2226"},"modified":"2018-10-19T20:09:54","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T19:09:54","slug":"deep-sky-director-introducing-david-finnigan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.popastro.com\/deepsky\/deep-sky-director-introducing-david-finnigan\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep Sky Director – introducing David Finnigan"},"content":{"rendered":"

My interest in astronomy (and space travel ! ) all began around 1957, when I was seven years old. I was an avid follower of Journey into Space on the radio, then the Russians launched Sputnik. Soon after I was allowed to watch a new TV programme \u201cThe Sky at Night\u201d, which led me to reading Patrick Moore books borrowed from the library.<\/p>\n

I bought the \u201cTeach Yourself Astronomy\u201d book around 1959, and my father, a keen DIYer, helped me build a 3\u201d f10 refractor – ( I gave a specification to the local opticians who made the objective lens for 30\/- !!)<\/p>\n

\"David
David Finnigan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I turned my attention to the moon, using an eyepiece liberated from an old pair of brass binoculars. This gave a magnification of about 40x; and I was hooked. Even now, when I view the lunar maria through my latest telescope I can feel the \u201c wow \u201c sensation I felt then as a boy. I even traced all of the detailed maps from Wlikins\/Moore\u2019s tome \u201cThe Moon\u201d (local library again) and joined them together to make a single huge map of the moon. Note: I was still at junior school at this point!<\/p>\n

Although my interest in observational astronomy has never waned, I never owned another telescope until I took early retirement. In 2002 I bought an 8\u201d SCT which I used purely as a visual observer until I read about the Philips ToUcam, and the remarkable software called Registax. I bought a PC, connected to the internet, and my journey as an astrophotographer began!<\/p>\n

Deep sky imaging started soon after with a DSI Pro camera, which allowed me to capture globular clusters and the brighter galaxies and nebulae.<\/p>\n

A 305mm SCT ( pictured here ) has recently replaced the 8\u201d SCT, and I use a DSI II Pro camera now, and occasionally a Nikon D90 DSLR, for deep sky work.<\/p>\n

I live on the edge of a large conurbation, with the Clent Hills to the south, so my darkest skies are in that direction. I get light pollution to the north and east; images taken looking in those directions need more attention in post – capture processing in the computer to get rid of the sky – glow.<\/p>\n

Planetary nebulae and galaxies are my favourite targets at the moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My interest in astronomy (and space travel ! ) all began around 1957, when I was seven years old. I was an avid follower of Journey into Space on the radio, then the Russians launched Sputnik. Soon after I wasRead more<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2226","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t