NexImage Solar System Imager

NexImage Solar System Imager

Astro Imaging Made Easy. CCD Imager From Celestron.

Whether you currently own a telescope or are contemplating a purchase, our new NexImage Solar System Imaging Kit is a MUST HAVE!

NexImage is a complete CCD solar system imager capable of producing high quality planetary images with greater light sensitivity and color fidelity than comparable CMOS imagers. Combined with the NexImage software package, NexImage can bring out tremendous detail and reveal a final image that will rival those taken with astronomical CCD cameras costing thousands of dollars more.

View and capture live video on your computer screen Software automatically filters out video frames most affected by poor atmospheric "seeing" leaving only the sharpest, clearest frames to be stacked and aligned into one high quality image Easy to follow quick start instructions and tutorial with sample video file that will have you producing quality images your first night out Camera control software allows you to manually change the gain, contrast, exposure time, frame rate and color saturation using your PC Compatibility – 1.25" adapter barrel makes NexImage compatible with most any telescope

Versatility – 1.25" adapter is threaded for standard eyepiece filters and can be removed and replaced with optional focal reducer lens

Features:

Compatibility - threaded on 1.25" adapter barrel makes NexImage compatible with most any telescope. Versatility – 1.25"adapter is threaded for standard eyepiece filters and can be removed and replaced with optional focal reducer lens. Tutorial - step-by-step Quick start and tutorial complete with sample video file that will have you producing quality images your first night out. Power - NexImage uses a 1/4" format color CCD chip that gives the same approximate magnification as a 5mm 50 degree field of view eyepiece.

Camera control software:

Full camera control – allows you to manually change the gain, contrast, exposure time, frame rate and color saturation. Preview mode – shows a live feed of your image making focusing as easy as focusing an eyepiece. Video recording – capture streaming video of solar system object used to generate the final high quality image.

Image processing software:

Frame Lists – automatically allows you to view individual frames of your video stream. Quality cutoff filter – filter out low quality images based on individual frame quality and alignment differences. Wavelet Filter – separates image into a series of unsharp mask layer that can be individually controlled to bring out all the hidden detail of the image. Image Processing Control – maximize your image with the most powerful image processing controls like, contrast, brightness, gamma curve, RGB histogram and many more.

NexImage comes with the following:

NexImage Camera with 1.25" adapter and USB cable attached CD-ROM including: Image capture software – to capture streaming video of image Image processing software – to align and stack individual frame into one high quality image. Quick Setup and Tutorial – complete with sample images How the NexImage works:

NexImage is a complete solar system imager that is compatible with most any telescope and gives users all the light sensitivity and color fidelity needed for the highest quality planetary images that only a true CCD chip can provide.

NexImage utilizes a CCD imaging chip to capture streaming video of any solar system object. This video can easily be viewed as hundreds of individual images (frames) that can be digitally stacked to significantly reduce the electric "noise" inherent in video chips and bring out the unseen fine detail (signal) hidden with in your image.

The NexImage camera takes advantage of the fact that the signal to noise ratio of your stacked composite image is proportional to the square root of the number of frames combined. This means that stacking as few as 16 frames will reduce the grainy noise of the composite image by 4 times. While stacking as many 1600 frames will improve the image by 40 times! However, stacking the individual frames is only half the power of the NexImage imager.

With the included software package, each individual frame is analyzed for quality to filter out those frames most affected (blurred) by poor atmospheric "seeing". This form of after-the-fact adaptive optics, leaves only the sharpest, clearest frames to be stacked and aligned into a high quality image.

Finally, powerful processing features automatically break the image up into individual unsharp mask layers that can be used to bring out tremendous detail and reveal final images that will rival those taken with astronomical CCD cameras costing thousands of dollars.

NexImage Specifications:

Chip: 1/4" format, HAD, color CCD chip Resolution: VGA 640x480 Size: 3.6mm x 2.7 (4.5mm diagonal) Pixel Size: 5.6 micron square Sensitivity: <1 lux USB Cable: 7ft Recommended Minimum System Requirements:

PC running Windows 98SE or better 333Mhz Pentium II or better 128 MB of RAM 40 MB of hard drive space Screen resolution of 1024x768 or higher

NexImage FAQ's.

How does NexImage Work? NexImage utilizes a CCD imaging chip to capture streaming video of any solar system object. This video can easily be viewed as hundreds of individual images (frames) that can be digitally stacked to significantly reduce the electric "noise" inherent in video chips and bring out the unseen fine detail (signal) hidden with in your image.

The NexImage camera takes advantage of the fact that the signal to noise ratio of your stacked composite image is proportional to the square root of the number of frames combined. This means that stacking as few as 16 frames will reduce the grainy noise of the composite image by 4 times. While stacking as many 1600 frames will improve the image by 40 times! However, stacking the individual frames is only half the power of the NexImage imager.

With the included software package, each individual frame is analyzed for quality to filter out those frames most affected (blurred) by poor atmospheric "seeing". This form of after-the-fact adaptive optics, leaves only the sharpest, clearest frames to be stacked and aligned into a high quality image.

Ads claim NexImage outperforms CCD cameras worth thousands of dollars. How is this possible? Since NexImage uses a video chip capable of taking continuous video of solar systems objects it doesn't require expensive fans or cooling devices used by expensive CCD cameras. Instead, NexImage uses software to remove the effects of dark current and electronic noise to produce sharp planetary images. NexIamge's powerful processing features automatically break images up into individual frames that can be processed and stacked to bring out tremendous detail and reveal final images that will rival those taken with astronomical CCD cameras costing thousands of dollars.

What can I take images of ? NexImage is designed and optimized for taking images of solar system objects like planets, the moon and sun (with proper solar filter). NexImage can also be used for terrestrial daytime observing using the real time video capture feature.

What is the magnification of my telescope when the NexImage camera is in the eyepeice barrel? The NexImage camera is equal to the magnification of about a 5mm eyepiece. To determine the magnification of your image when using NexImage, divide the focal length of your telescope (in mm) by 5.

What comes in the NexImage Kit? NexImage comes with the following:

NexImage Camera with 1.25" adapter and USB cable attached

CD-ROM including: Image capture software – to capture streaming video of image Image processing software – to align and stack individual frame into one high quality image. Quick Setup and Tutorial – complete with sample images.