TAG Kate
C9.25 radius blocks
I knew I should have bought DC925 rails when I was working on Trixie last summer… I went out and stimulated the Astromart economy and now I have a C9.25 but no […]
He hasn't marked it "Pending" yet, but
http://www.astromart.com/classifieds/details.asp?classified_id=605811 is my new scope. I got the go-ahead for an IOU from SWMBO, selling the C-8 and the DSI and the broken 300D should cover most of it. I have been […]
ATM / Maintenance / Observing Reports
Leaving myself in a "broken" state is not good
It’s supposed to be 90° tomorrow. Given past years, I’m expecting about 2 or 2.5 more months of clear before the rainy season. I’m just in “no working telescopes” mode at the […]
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 […]
Pumpkin gets assimilated into the Rig
This is the latest iteration of the imaging rig. Now that there’s a second digital camera in the house, this photo actually shows the D70 in situ for the first time. The […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
M27, The Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula
I’m having trouble getting the G11/SCT combo to work shooting to the East, for some reason. So, I decided to “make lemonade” and shoot to the West instead. This neatly avoids the […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
M57, The Ring Nebula in Lyra
First attempt at the Ring Nebula. The Ring Nebula has always been a little out of my reach, photographically. At 1′ in diameter, it’s a really, really small object. The Nikon D70’s […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
M13, Globular Cluster in Hercules
M13, Globular Cluster in Hercules First light for the new 8” SCT. Could probably get some more detail, but not bad for a first shot. This shot was unguided, mostly because I […]
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.