TAG Galaxy
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
M106, Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major
I got Cassie back on the mount, and now my target selection has totally changed. All the tolerances need to be a little tighter with the longer focal length, so I decided […]
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 […]
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography / Observatory
This is starting to get fun again.
Let me be frank. There are many, many things that need fixing around Hilltop O. Chasing the dome around has been a joy, actually, learning the ropes of this young ship, just […]
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
Two targets, all 20m subframes, woot!
Thus begins a new era. First, a little history. When I built the observatory in Newark, CA, the light pollution was so bad that the sky never got darker than about brownish-pink […]
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
OK, I need to stop shooting 5m subframes.
I decided to go after The Owl Nebula, as I’ve only gotten one shot of it previously, despite years of hunting in Ursa Major. So I caught half an hour of it, […]
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
Still dipping my toes in the water
I did not quite get plate solving working today. That is, I solved this image, but I couldn’t get the mount to even try to re-center on the new coordinates, and I […]
Deep Sky / General / Long Exposure Photography / Maintenance / Observatory
Bootstrapping the software rig
Hilltop Observatory got a few clear nights to play around with the new software rig. The “capture” part of the process is decently well-behaved already — I almost have plate solving working […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography / Telescope
Pumpkin out, Cassie in
There are quite a few planets coming around for a pass; Jupiter is up pretty early in the evening these days, and by morning, Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn are arrayed across the […]
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
Last minute scramble
I’m in the process of changing houses. Among all the other concerns, this means that Ad Astra Observatory at Newark, CA is nearing the end of its run. I’ve had a lot […]
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
NGC7331, Spiral Galaxy in Pegasus
I shot this on the third night of GSSP 2010. This is 2h total exposure, six 20m subframes, shot with Cassie/350D. Scope was pointed East at the time.
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.