I generally agree with all the views given above.
What is Video Astronomy?Video Astronomy is a method of
observation that is an attempt to
see an object as close as possible to real-time using a very sensitive camera.
Sometimes because of the camera, or the weather, or light pollution, or the object itself, an integration or frame length may get as long a 2+ minutes, and with internal stacking or with the use of programs like Sharpcap, Miloslick etc, a resultant view may take 6+ minutes to look good.
The real aim is to
see an object as soon as possible. All the 'extra on-the-fly' stacking and processing is only to improve the view, not to speed it up.
So, normally we are able get a quick look. Beyond that (stacking etc) is to bring out faint detail, or for 'prettiness' (and noise reduction).
However, once an object on the screen is saved to a file, then taken to a separate software and post-stacked and/or post-processed is when it is no longer Video Astronomy.
Often people forget that Video Astronomy is about the
visual observation of an object. Computers just allow us to catch what we saw and show others at a later time. We can say "this is exactly what I saw".
But, if that saved image is fiddled with in any way 'after' being saved, it then becomes Imaging.
That is fine if that is what you want to do with your camera.
If so, don't be afraid to call it Astrophotography or Imaging' because that's what it is.
Video Astronomy images saved without post-processing for later viewing is not Imaging in the sense we know 'Imaging' to be. They are more like snapshots of what we saw even though we still call them images.
Video Astronomy really isn't even about the Image we show others. It's about the Observing. Grabbing an image is just a bonus to show others and keep as a memory of what we saw, or to show others how well a particular camera/scope works 'Live'.
The Title: 'Video Astronomy'As I have mentioned previously in other Forums, don't be against the term 'Video Astronomy'.
I still see people post messages saying 'but it's not moving', or 'it's not a video camera', or 'they are just Still Frames being updated'.
Yes, they are right. But who said it's called Video Astronomy because a 'Video' camera is used?
The title is the name given to the 'Branch of Astronomy'. It isn't named after the camera used. It is named after the process used. To send a 'Live' or 'Near-Live' feed from a camera (any camera) to a monitor or capture device.
What is Television? A video feed from a TV station to your home.
What about when they show documentaries displaying only Still Photos of say the Second World War. Or just colour bars. Does it suddenly stop being a Video system until images of motion return. No. It is a process. Too many people connect 'Video' with 'Motion'.
Video Astronomy is the branch of Astronomy using a 'Video process' - (camera to Monitor for viewing) - of getting the view of something from a Telescope to a Monitor/Computer/Capture device.
Cloudy Nights is the only Forum/Website/Resource on this great planet Earth that calls it EAA. Why? To go against a known name of a 'Field of Astronomy'? To make themselves feel better because they changed it? Ego?
It is recognised as, and called, Video Astronomy by: this Forum, Stargazers Lounge, AstronomyForum, myastrospace, AstronomyOnline, videoastronomylive, One Minute Astronomer, remotevideoastronomy.com, MyAstroShop, and a myriad of other Forums and websites, and also by manufacturers like mallincam, Gstar-Ex, Atik, etc.
There are more than 40 other websites I have found that refer to it as Video Astronomy, not by other names. But also to be fair, I have found 2 websites that call it AstroVideo.
Broadcasting also gets called 'Video Astronomy' and sometimes 'Astro-casting'. But I've never heard of it referred to as EAA'ing.
Video Astronomy is NOT using a Video camera (although you can if you want to). It is a 'Field of Astronomy' using a Video style of system.
It is the attempt to 'Observe' objects as near to real time as possible, and with the aid of 'on-the-fly' assistance of internal or external stacking and tweaking (noise reduction, histogram, brightness, Contrast, Hue, sharpness etc), as it is observed as near to real-time as possible and definitely 'BEFORE' saving an image of the view.
What I don't refer to as Video Astronomy is when I watch a Broadcast where the same object is on the screen for massive lengths of time. I have seen broadcasts where the same object was on screen for over 1 hour, I got bored waiting to see something else and logged out. I then come back an hour or so later and the same object is still on screen. This has happened many times recently.
Also, the broadcasts of an object being stacked 20 minutes or more at a time have turned me off even visiting broadcasts. And the conversations are often not about the object on screen.
I hope this makes sense because it took me a long time to type it all