Category: Astro knowledge
On Well-known objects
M106 has been one of those “sleeper” galaxies — I’ve seen very few photos of it, but it’s big and interesting and has lots of little “friends” nearby. M57 is a tough […]
Astro knowledge / Long Exposure Photography / Optics
Astrophotography: The "best" focal length
Astrophotography has a lot of legends and rumors floating around as regards focal length of scope. Since the focal length of the scope, size of the CCD, weight of the rig, and […]
NASA finds a "lost" supernova
Just read the press release — they had calculated, based on supernova frequency in other galaxies, that about 3 SN per century should pop off in any given galaxy (like the Milky […]
Camera at the Newtonian focus
My D70 is 5.5”x4.4”. That’s a coverage of 24.2in^2. A 13.1” mirror has an area of 134.78in^2. That’s a 17% obstruction. Even if I mounted the thing on a 5.5” disc, basically […]
Astro knowledge / Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography / Optics
Astrophotography in the slow lane
With most beginner astrophotography, a desire for fast optics (and the resulting short exposure lengths) is paramount. Unfortunately, fast optics necessarily mean wider FOV. This is not a problem when you have […]
Astro knowledge / General / Maintenance / Observing Reports
M42 is a great tester object
M42 is a great “tester” object. It’s big, bright, has an easy to find star pattern surrounding it, and can even be seen in the viewfinder of the camera. So I end […]
Astro knowledge / Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography / Maintenance
A tale of two images
This is a tale of two images. These were taken on successive nights. Same setup, same exposure time, everything. The first night was unguided. … and the second night was autoguided with […]
Astro knowledge / Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
NGC 7293, The Helix Nebula in Aquarius
I’ve been having trouble with my setting circles lately. But once I got them dialed in, this object was pretty easy to find and photograph. For some reason, the image appears slightly […]
Astro knowledge / Deep Sky / Focuser / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
M20, The Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius
First attempt at the Trifid with Veronica. The G11 and the motor focuser are really helping. It’s so low that I had to wait for it to rise above the doorway of […]
Astro knowledge / Solar System Photography
Animation of Moon at 7 to 10 days
Moon at 7 to 10 days. Shot on 4 consecutive days from June 22 through June 25, 2007. Here’s what I have so far on my “all phases of the moon” project. […]
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.