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Huachuca Astronomy Club—Speakers
Jack Newton
Astrophotographer Jack Newton gave a presentation to the Huachuca Astronomy Club on March 21, 2008, at Cochise College, Sierra Vista, Arizona.
Copyright © 2008 Jack Newton.
M42, The Orion Nebula. 25-minute average. 5D HyperStar3. (Click on image for a high-resolution image (4349x2893).)
"Imaging with DSLR Cameras"
March 21, 2008
Synopsis:
Digital imaging has now virtually replaced film photography, particularly in astronomy.
Many inexpensive cameras now compare favorably against much more expensive CCD imaging systems.
Astrophotographer Jack Newton gave a presentation to the Huachuca Astronomy Club on Friday, March 21,
2008, at Cochise College.
Jack discussed a variety of cameras and processing techniques to maximize their potential. He
illustrated with his recent work using Canon digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras with a Borg f/4
Astrograph, 14” Meade telescope, and Starizona HyperStar at f/2. An informal question-and-answer
period followed the presentation.
 More details on this presentation, "Imaging with DSLR Cameras."
Biography:
John "Jack" Borden Newton (b. 1942) is a Canadian amateur astronomer
recognized worldwide for his publications and images in amateur astrophotography,
both in film and CCD. Newton took his first astrophotograph when he was thirteen years old and has been
lecturing since sixteen. His ground-breaking work in deep sky imagery and
CCD images of the
Sun places him among the great pioneers of modern day astrophotographers.
While working at the head office for Sears Canada as a training manager and then later as store manager
with Marks & Spencer, Newton pioneered and popularized "cold camera" astrophotography allowing for
substantially longer exposures on film.
In 1991 Jack became the first amateur astro photographer to make full (RGB) color CCD images of celestial
objects using a Santa Barbara Instruments Group (SBIG) ST-4 camera, making a full color CCD image of M57
(The Ring Nebula) and M27 (The Dumbbell Nebula). Jack took three separate black and white images, each
taken with a separate filter in red, blue, and green, which were later combined in software that was being
developed for amateur astrophotography by Richard Berry, then Editor of Astronomy magazine.
Richard published the first combined color CCD image of M27 as his magazine's cover.
In 2005, Carolyn S. Shoemaker and
David H. Levy named an
asteroid,
30840 Jackalice = 1991
GC2, in honor of Jack's astrophotographic accomplishments, and he and Alice's teamwork in astronomy
outreach.
Newton has published six books on amateur astronomy and astrophotography. His first book, entitled,
Astrophotography: From Film to Infinity, was published in 1974.
UK Connections
Newton has had two books published by Cambridge University Press, The Cambridge Deep Sky Album and
The Guide to Amateur Astronomy. He received the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal
in 1977 for his contributions to science. He is honorary Patron of the Cotswold Astronomical Society.
The Astronomical League
In 2006, Jack was selected by unanimous vote of the Astronomical League Council for Honorary Membership in
the Astronomical League, an association of 240+ local amateur astronomy societies dedicated to promoting
the science of astronomy.
Advisor, Meade 4M Community (Astronomy Outreach)
Jack is on the Board of Advisors of the Meade 4M Community Outreach
program, which has been established to embrace and nurture its members and help them achieve a
greater understanding of our universe. The four 'M's in the 4M Community have come to symbolize
the Members being guided by these principles to explore, discover, image, and share.
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is the largest non-profit organization of its kind in the United
States) In 2006 Jack was elected by Society membership to a third term of office on its Board of Trustees.
During an earlier term, he was instrumental in launching Project Astro (which partners astronomers and
teachers in the classroom.) Newton was the recipient of the Amateur
Achievement Award of Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1988 for his work in Astrophotography.
(This award “recognizes significant observational or technological contributions to astronomy or
amateur astronomy by an individual not employed in the field of astronomy in a professional
capacity”.)
Team Member, Puckett Observatory World Supernova Search Team
Jack is credited with 24 co-discoveries to date.
International Space Station Amateur Telescope
The Alpha telescope of the ISSAT is now housed at the Arizona Sky Village in a dome built by Jack where
it can be used by persons interested in studying an astronomical object (including astronomy society
club members and school groups).
Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific
The
Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific (Victoria, BC Canada) (is a United World College
promoting living together as one world.) The first of ten United World Colleges,
the United World College of the
Atlantic is located in a 12th-Century castle in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. Jack helped
establish the astronomy program at “Pearson College” to whom he donated his 25-inch telescope.
He and Alice are both honorary patrons of the college.
Observatory B&B, Osoyoos
The Observatory B&B is an astronomy-themed bed-and-breakfast owned and operated by Jack and Alice
Newton. Guests all receive free tours of night and day skies and optional tutorial sessions are available.
Guests have reported that hearing Jack speak has been "a life-changing experience." His great enthusiasm,
knowledge and passion for astronomy has resulted in the Observatory B&B placing in the top 1% of
B&Bs in Canada.
Arizona Sky Village
Jack and Alice are partners in the Arizona Sky Village, a property of some 85 four-acre parcels and a
high-elevation site with spectacular dark skies.
Jack's vision has been "to create an environment for discovery and learning; a place where nature
reveals her treasures, and free-thinking people share their passions for life. Our Sky Village is the
perfect community in which to relax, offering pristine dark skies, gorgeous surroundings, and the
ultimate in tranquility. This dark, transparent oasis represents some of the best skies remaining in
North America."
"Our community welcome center provides a stimulating setting for interaction and discussion with
others at the cutting edge of their field. A computer-controlled 30” Starmaster f/4.3 telescope
will soon be available. This will be the perfect location to optimize the performance of this superb
instrument. The ASV is an ideal location for robotic telescopes. Just imagine having the ability to
access these indescribable skies at any time from anywhere in the world."
"The sky conditions at the Village have exceeded our expectations in both the number of clear
nights and the quality of the seeing. Since our arrival in October, we have enjoyed over 80% clear
nights, many of which offered excellent seeing. Our daytime observers have not only enjoyed the sun
in Hydrogen alpha, but have had the unusual opportunity of splitting the 6th magnitude double-double
Epsilon Lyra by early afternoon with the 16” SCT. The outer nebulous regions of the Rosette
Nebula are not only enjoyed visually through the telescope, but also recorded photographically by my
7” Meade APO at f/9. The image is posted as our initial Photo of the Month as a testimonial to
our dark transparent skies. The zodiacal light stands in the western sky as a pillar surpassing the
brightness of the Milky Way."
"Since arriving, we have taken dozens of deep sky images using a variety of instruments ranging
from a 300mm telephoto lens to a 16” SCT. I have also enjoyed solar imaging and visually seeing
faint treasures for the first time Finally, I have eked out time to blink thousands of images and
discover and confirm two supernovae in remote galaxies (2003-J and 2003 AD)."
"I want to share this unique experience, and to this end invite you to realize your dreams in the fun environment which is the Arizona Sky Village."
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
Jack has been past-president of three different centers (Winnipeg, Toronto, and Victoria (twice). He
was elected as a Life Member in 1978. His photos appear on this year’s cover of the 2007
Observer’s Handbook, and in the RASC calendar. The Victoria Center recently created a "Newton/Ball" (Jack Newton/George Ball) award which it now gives annually as a service award.
Publications
Jack’s photographs and articles appear frequently in Astronomy magazine and his images
have a worldwide following in various magazines including Skynews (Canada) and Sterne
und Weltraum (Max Plank Institute, Germany). His spectacular solar images appeared in National
Geographic's 2004 special edition entitled "Exploring SPACE - The Universe in Pictures",
Time, Inc.'s LIFE—The Year in Pictures (2003 & 2004), as well as Sky & Telescope's 2004 Beautiful Universe. Jack proudly ushered in 2007 with one of his
solar images representing the lead-in to the science section in LIFE: Platinum Edition
Anniversary Collection -- 70 Years of Extraordinary Photography.
Jack's astro images have appeared in the Audubon Field Guide to the Night Sky as well
as Nightwatch, the largest-selling astronomy book of all time (authored by Terence
Dickinson, with whom Jack co-authored Splendors of the Universe.)
Jack Newton is an active member of the International Dark Sky
Association, tirelessly promoting the need for preservation of the night skies as a heritage
for our children.
Using his 16" Meade LX200 telescope, Jack can observe about 600 stars in
the daytime!
Copyright 2008 Jack Newton.
M31. The Andromeda Galaxy. 5D, 20-minute combined. (Click on image for a high-resolution version (1053x701).)
"Imaging with DSLR Cameras"
March 21, 2008
Synopsis: Digital imaging has now virtually replaced film photography, particularly in astronomy. Many inexpensive cameras now compare favorably against much more expensive CCD imaging systems. Astrophotographer Jack Newton gave a presentation to the Huachuca Astronomy Club on Friday, March 21, 2008, at Cochise College.
Jack discussed a variety of cameras and processing techniques to maximize their potential. He illustrated with his recent work using Canon digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras with a Borg f/4 Astrograph, 14” Meade telescope, and Starizona HyperStar at f/2. An informal question-and-answer period followed the presentation.
Jack held up the small, black-brick camera body in his hand. In digital photography, this is one of the latest inventions in cold camera photography: a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera, a Canon XT, that was modified in Korea. They take the whole camera apart and surround the imaging chip with a brass assembly. They put a heater on the new IR blocking filter with the new expanded spectrum to capture the deep reds. The camera gets down to about 32° F (freezing). By the time you drop the temperature 6° you cut the electronic noise by about half. So if it’s 80 degrees outside, but you drop it down to freezing, you’ve practically got no noise left in the camera at all. They are very noise-free to start with, and when you chill them, they’re fabulous, says Jack.
This camera sold for $1600 modified. In other words, you buy the camera modified for $1600. Another camera they are doing is the 40D. The 40D is a wonderful camera in that they’ve got reduced noise in it to begin with, but you can get it in a chilled version with the modified IR blocking chip in it. That camera has another great feature: it is a 14-bit camera, so the dynamics in the camera are better than the standard 12-bit cameras. It also only takes one output to plug into your computer, which is the USB connection, and you can run in, say, the Maxim DL program the ISO, you can change the shutter speeds in it, and you can download the raw image. When the raw image comes out in this camera, it looks black-and-white, because you ’ve stolen it out of the camera before Canon’s had a chance to do anything with it, and so you get all of the information. Then you merely turn the color matrix on in Maxim DL and in doing so you color-balance it at the same time. So you put the amount of red and the amount of green and the amount of blue, to give you a perfectly-balanced color picture.
According to Jack, it is a wonderful system, and it can be shown just how good these cameras can be, and at a fraction of the cost of what you would pay for big CCD cameras. These are CMOS chips and when Jack first saw CMOS technology, he remembered one of the manufacturers said, “What do you think is going to happen?” and Jack replied, “They’re terrible, they’re way too noisy; they’ll never go anywhere. As usual, I’m usually opening my mouth to change my feet.” Jack says he certainly did put his foot in his mouth, because Canon and Nikon were neck-and-neck for quite a while in developing this technology and as soon as Canon went to CMOS technology, the cameras were just so much superior for this type of photography, and now Nikon has switched to CMOS technology.
The first imaging chips that Jack used were one-inch squares that cost $65,000 a piece. These chips went into the Hubble Space Telescope. They made a production run of hundreds of these chips. The most perfect and pristine half-dozen of these went into the Hubble, and the remainder were obtained by Jack and other astrophotgraphers at a drastically reduced rate. Jack showed a picture of his 16-inch telescope, which used one of these chips.
Stacking images is really good for astrophotography. The square root of the number of stacked images is the number of times the background noise is cut in half. So, if you take three shots, you’ve cut the noise in half, because the square root of three is about one (1.7). That is, the improvement in noise is proportional to the square root of the number of images stacked. So when you take about 25 to 30 shots and stack them, you’ve just about eliminated the noise in the background.
Jack also spoke about the Arizona Sky Village, in Portal, Arizona, a community of astronomers. Jack said he found the Arizona Sky Village by superimposing a light-pollution map from NASA onto a roadmap and then drove to the darkest place they could find in southern Arizona, and that was Portal. There, they were able to assemble 450 acres into a community called Arizona Sky Village. They now have a 1300-acre ranch just over the New Mexican border, which is about 12 miles away from the Arizona Sky Village, which is now being divided up into lots for sale. The lots in Hidalgo, New Mexico, which is an extremely dark area, are going for $26,000 for a four-acre lot. That is what the lots were originally going for in Arizona Sky Village, four years ago, which are now going for about $65,000. It is a good opportunity, says Jack, for anybody looking for a dark site to put a telescope. It is even possible now to run the telescopes remotely. Jack runs three robotic telescopes remotely, and they can be controlled from anywhere in the world through an Internet connection. You can make astrophotographs, using a DSLR camera, from half a world away.
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