How to use a webcam for astrophotography ?

In fact the best scopes for hi res planetary is between 8 - 12 inches.

Well my little ETX-70 isn't going to be much good for that, and I haven't had a chance to try it on the moon yet))))

Has anyone tried a higher resolution CCD chip? I know the Toucam is pretty good, but let's face it- the chip they stick in a webcam isn't great. Perhaps it's possible to buy the necessary components in Pete's and put something better together.... I think I just found my next project

Dpower,
You mention that the webcam is 3Com device.
Not all webcams are created equally with regards to astronomy.

What constitutes a good/adequate/poor astronomical webcam?

dpower wrote

Has anyone tried a higher resolution CCD chip? I know the Toucam is pretty good, but let's face it- the chip they stick in a webcam isn't great. Perhaps it's possible to buy the necessary components in Pete's and put something better together.... I think I just found my next project

Take a look at
www.astrosurf.com/audine/English/index_en.htm
or
www.artemisccd.co.uk

More expensive than a web cam but a lot more sensetive.

What constitutes a good/adequate/poor astronomical webcam?

I'm sure Michael will correct me if I'm wrong:D , but he was telling me that the Phillips Toucam Pro has a CCD chip in it that's also used for security cameras- something to do with the luminosity that makes it a good choice for astrophotography.

Take a look at
www.astrosurf.com/audine/English/index_en.htm
or
www.artemisccd.co.uk

The astrosurf link is pretty good- but I think the CCD technology is a little old- they are using Win 95.

I found another site that's got a good overview of the technology I found useful, as well as the basics of building your own camera... well worth a read!

www.wvi.com/~rberry/cookbook/cookbook.htm

They state on the home page- "This site was been established to assist amateur astronomers who build their own CCD cameras."[/quote]

The best planetary cam at the mo seems to be the ATK. You can get 2 versions a b/w higher res version and a 1 shot color version. Although when you see the results some guys are getting with the standard TUC Pro why spend the xtra 200 squids?? I wonder if the seeing we get in ireland warrants spending loads on a planetary camera. Our weather/seeing causes more image distortion than any other factor. My advice - get a TUC Pro and use the money you save to buy a 300D - gives you the best of both worlds.

DaveG