Category: General
ATM / Electronics / General
Once more into the breach – new Gizmo on the way
When I started doing DSLR astrophotography, I quickly found that the on-camera limitation of 30sec exposures was frustrating. So, bulb exposures are necessary. At the time, nothing existed to easily interface my […]
stacking vs. subframe
While I was testing out the Ha filter last night, I decided to test out a theory. Like most astrophotographers, I take lots of short subframes of my subject, then stack them […]
G-11 maintenance – Eagle has landed
I sent my Gemini north for Art to look at. He let me know that it arrived OK today. The G-11 that’s here is ready to go; I think it’s polar aligned. […]
Astro tragedy
My D70 died tonight. 🙁 The USB port has some kind of short and the camera won’t connect. I will take it to the camera shop tomorrow and maybe he can fix […]
polar alignment sucks
polar alignment is awful. i think it would be ok if the axes didn’t affect each other. because they do, it always seems a little like minimizing error and less like positioning […]
G-11 maintenance – the nuclear option
I have a second G-11 living in my garage. I bought it on Astromart with the intent of selling it for a profit. It’s a non-Gemini G-11. But, since it’s essentially a […]
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography / Maintenance / Observing Reports
…when you're making other plans
As part of my periodic error testing on the mount, I have been gathering tracking data during my recent photo runs. I suppose it’s more accurate to say that I have been […]
Rig maintenance – moving cameras around
I had moved the ST-4 to the main scope to do some periodic error testing on the mount at higher magnification. This helped me to see the errors more clearly, but also […]
G-11 PE testing — enter C9.25
I decided to try the C9.25 instead of Pumpkin to do my PE testing. With a much longer focal length, I thought that would give me more accuracy in the tracking data. […]
Long Exposure Photography / Maintenance
My dual-camera rig
I recently discovered that the counterweight shaft on the G-11 has a 3/8”-16 threaded hole, which is a standard photographic thread pitch. This left open the prospect of mounting a camera at […]
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.