TAG MPCC
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
NGC 2174, Emission Nebula in Orion
One of those objects that just doesn’t get much press. This is a huge nebula, the size of M42, and well-placed in the sky, between the foot of Gemini and the head […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
M63, The Sunflower Galaxy in Ursa Major
This time I went nuts and punched up 4(!) hours on M63. That’s by far the most I’ve ever done. This was unguided, while I was still testing out the new mount. […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
M81, Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major
I decided to quit messing around with trying to get both galaxies in the field at once, and just concentrate on getting a good shot of M81. This is a 3-hour integration, […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
NGC 2403, Spiral Galaxy in Camelopardalis
This was the second night out with the Gemini. I decided to take the GOTO out for a spin. It did well. *Very* well. I punched up NGC2403 because my DSC program […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
M101, The Pinwheel Galaxy in Ursa Major
I tried for 2 hours on M101, but ran out of time at 90 minutes. This isn’t a particularly spectacular image, but it’s unguided, and the GOTO was working like a charm […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy in Ursa Major
First light for my brand new Gemini mount. M51 is quickly turning into “the M42 of spring”; an easy to shoot, easy to find target that distracts me from other nearby objects. […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
M106, Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major
Another first-light image from the Gemini. I was having fun with the GOTO on the Gemini. It was bringing up targets really easily. I decided to try this big galaxy, to see […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
B33, The Horsehead Nebula in Orion
A second clear night in a row gave me a shot at getting a full 2 hours of B33. The sky background sure isn’t dark. The moon was a little bright tonight, […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
NGC 2244, The Rosette Nebula in Monoceros
Finally, a halfway-decent shot of The Rosette Nebula. This object could have been shoehorned into the FOV a little better, and of course would have been a snap in Pumpkin. But Veronica […]
Deep Sky / Gear / Long Exposure Photography
B33, The Horsehead Nebula in Orion
A rare clear night during January. This was shot perhaps a bit too late at night. I did 2 hours on (what I thought was) The Rosette, see that image for details. […]
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.