Category: Camera
Camera / Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography / Techniques
So many wheels…
It’s been a few nights of unguided astronomy, as I get my feet under me with new gear. The ASI294 continues to make life easy, as it just plugged in where the […]
Camera / Gear / Maintenance
New Gear Night
I had been playing with Raspberry Pi 4 (running INDI/Ekos/KStars) to see if it is a valid replacement for ASCOM. So far, it’s still not quite there, for my motley set of […]
A new camera for Hilltop Observatory
I finally bit the bullet and picked up a “real” astro camera, a ZWO ASI294MC Pro. It’s a cooled one-shot-color camera with similar FOV to the Canon T3i that it’s replacing. I […]
Camera / Gear / General / Maintenance / Techniques
Starting to get used to the gear
There are a lot of variables in astronomy in general, and in astrophotography in particular. This must be aligned to that must be set like this… so that the rig will just […]
Camera / Gear / Solar System Photography
Jupiter April 9, 2016
Jupiter has been making a really nice pass lately, just parked in the sky under Leo’s hindquarters. It’s been a long time since I did any planetary photography of note; with the […]
Camera / Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
An evening with a friend
The Jr. Astronomer decided to call it a night early, but her cousin, L_, was staying the night, and he wanted to learn about the sky, so we stayed up real late […]
A change at QB for Hilltop Observatory
Well, it happened again. The dawn of a new era in Hilltop Observatory. Today, the new imaging camera showed up in the mail. I bought it from Renaud Venne Landry, one of […]
Camera / Gear / Technology
Still trying to get the observatory computer working
So after much gnashing of teeth and tearing of hair, I figured out that it’s going to be next to impossible for me to get the rig up and running fully in […]
Re-wiring the rig
All of a sudden, my mount is dripping with cables all over the place. In order to set up a full astrophotography rig (at least for mine), I need the following cables: […]
Camera / Gear / General / Maintenance
USB 2.0 FTW!
Since I’m sure that someday my random musings will help someone out in Google-land fix their problem, I’m posting a reminder to myself and others about the snag I ran into while […]
RECENT UPDATE
Polar Alignment Calculations
Here’s a page that derives Polar Alignment Calculations. (update 5/2020: the original site is gone, so I found the text on Wayback and am inserting it below. This is by the original […]
Gear / Observatory / Telescope
Special Guest Star takes the mount at Hilltop O
The Astro Jedi needed somewhere to store his light sab—- I mean, bucket, and I was only too happy to accommodate him. I have decided that I need to come to a […]
General / Maintenance / Observatory
Dome shutter is motorized again!
I finally decided to bite the bullet and fix the shutter motor. Things went sideways last winter, and I’ve been opening the shutter manually (and tying it shut with rope, so we […]
Trixie 2017 – tube mods
I finally got around to cutting the MTA-UTA tubes to length; the only eyepiece that would come to focus with the focuser spacer in place is the Televue 55mm Plossl. If I […]
MOST COMMENTED
Observatory
Observatory 2.0 – Time has come today!
General / Maintenance
First Light, a deeper look
Mount / Observatory / Telescope
Observatory 2.0 – Result!
Observatory
Observatory 2.0 – The Pier goes in
Gear / General / Maintenance
Martin Farmer Wormblock installation notes
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
NGC2244, The Rosette Nebula
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
Another beautiful night.