http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gifFor those not too acquainted with night time photography of the astronomical kind I post a listing of some camera settings and lens combinations you might try.
FIXED CAMERA EXPOSURES (using a tripod or some other manner to keep your camera rock steady is necessary).
If you have a self timer use that to ensure the least vibration when closing the shutter.
Constellations: 50mm lens, ASA400, F/1.4-f/2, 10 to 20 seconds.
Auroras: 50mm, ASA400, f/1.4-f/2.8, 4 to 20 sec.
Meteors: 28mm-50mm, ASA400, f/2-f/2.8, 5 to 20 sec.
Lunar halos: 35-50mm, ASA100-400, f/2.8-f/4, 2-10 sec.
Zodiacal light: 28mm, ASA400, f/2-f/2.8, 1 minute.
Star trails: (set your camera on a tripod aimed at a bright star constellation)
28-50mm, ASA400, f/2.8-f/4, 5 minutes to an hour.
Planets in dark sky: 50-135mm, ASA400-3200, 4 to 20 sec.
Planets in twilight: 50-135mm, ASA200, f/2-f/4, 2 to 6 sec.
Lunar eclipses: (this varies a great deal so bracket and try many settings)
The moon will be a tiny image in a 50mm lens. If you want a larger moon image use up to a 400mm lens if you can. A 400mm lens, f/5.6, on a fixed tripod = exposure is limited to about 1/2 sec. before motion blurring occurs without a tracking drive mounting, so try to keep exposures under this.
To show an entire eclipse sequence, shoot up to 14 exposures at 5 minutes apart on each of 3 film frames. Using ASA200-400 a good range of exposures with a 50mm lens would be 60 sec. at the darkest portion of eclipse to 1/125 sec. at brightest. Use of "B" bulb or self timer, or if you can set to bulb and then just use a black card to put in front of your lens to stop the exposure at each point works too helping to avoid blurring vibrations.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover."
-Mark Twain
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