Astronomy Dude

A new way to view the heavens ....

2012-02-16T15:20:00.001-05:00

Hello folks,

You all have been seeing images I have taken with my astrophotography equipment, but I have just received a camera and related equipment that will allow people that join me at my astronomy outreach events to see similar images in real time on a screen or projected in the Outreach Vehicle. I just purchased a Mallincam Xtreme Color Camera that sends images by video to screens so people can see the wonders of the night sky in real time.
I have to give a big thanks to Keith Miller of Maple Grove MN. for his help in putting all this gear together. So, in the future, at selected events, visitors to my outreach programs will be able to see even more awesome sights. Keep in touch, and check out this blog for upcoming events.

I am glad you have enjoyed my Images

2012-01-20T09:46:00.005-05:00

Thank you to all for the kind words about my Astrophotography.

Happy Holidays from The Astronomy Dude

2011-12-25T00:44:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays to one and all from TheAstronomyDude.com

New Astro Image - Rho Ophiuchi

2011-07-02T00:57:00.000-04:00

I finally got a clear night and a chance to image again. Since it is early summer, the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus are as high as they get in the southern sky, so I thought I would image again in the area of Rho Ophiuchi and Antares. This area is one of the most colorful in the sky, with a combination of reflection nebulae and emission nebulae. I hope you like it.

This image is of the Rho Ophiuchi region of the sky. The bright star in the lower right is alpha Scorpii, Antares. The triple star system in the upper right, surrounded by blue nebulosity is Rho Ophiuchi. You can also see M4, a Globular Cluster, to the right of Antares.
Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Sigma 100 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f3.5 - ISO 1600 - (160MM effective focal length)
49.5 Minutes of exposure (33 x1.5 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-01T00:44:00.000-05:00

Hello folks,

Just jumping in to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I am looking forward to another year of spending time with family, friends, wildflowers, and the Night Sky.

All the best to you.

Michael

Finally, More Images

2009-07-22T16:57:00.005-04:00

Hello folks. I am sorry for the lack in posting, but weather and other factors have kept my cameras from imaging the night sky lately. That came to an end last Saturday night, with a fairly good imaging run on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The sky was clear and rather dry, but the moderate winds kept my imaging to wider fields of view. I also did some visual observing with my 15" Dobsonian reflector StarGazer Telescope. A good friend and fellow SCAN member, Joe, was there as well, with his son Thomas and his 13.1" Coulter Dobsonian reflector. We observed several cool things while the cameras were imaging, including a "same field" view of Jupiter and Neptune. That was a first for me. I had to shut down imaging when some clouds rolled in from the northwest, but not before I got some nice shots. I hope you like them.

This image is of M20, the Trifid Nebula (Top), and M8, the Lagoon Nebula (Bottom). These nebula are located in the "steam" coming out of the spout in the teapot asterism in the constellation Sagittarius.
Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f2.8 - ISO 1600 - (480MM effective focal length)
40 Minutes of exposure (20 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking

This image is of the Rho Ophiuchi region pf the sky. The bright star in the lower left is alpha Scorpii, Antares. The triple star system in the upper right, surrounded by blue nebulosity is Rho Ophiuchi. You can also see M4, a Globular Cluster, to the right of Antares.
Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f2.8 - ISO 1600 - (480MM effective focal length)
1 Hour of exposure (30 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking

This image is of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, as we see it from out earthly viewpoint. The light polution from Rocky Mount, VA and Martinsville, VA is visible above the trees. The trees blurred because the mount is following the stars, so earthbound objects blur in the image.
Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Sigma 12-24MM f4.5-5.6 Wide Angle Zoom Lens, set at f4.5 - ISO 800 - (19MM effective focal length)
40 Minutes of exposure (20 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

So Goes The Weather

2009-06-11T23:24:00.002-04:00

Well, the one thing that makes astrophotography difficult around here is the weather. That is why alot of astrophotographers live in the desert southwest, or have remote observatories out there. We have had a very wet spring, and even when it was clear, the atmosphere has been so unstable that shooting images of the sky is near impossible. I have to take the good with the bad, and if I want to continue to live in these beautiful mountains, I have to put up with the unstable weather patterns. I hope to get some weather breaks soon, so keep a lookout for new images soon.

Comet Lulin makes an appearance

2009-02-27T00:13:00.005-05:00

Comet Lulin made an anticipated appearance in the night sky this past week, and we had a few clear nights to check it out. I took an opportunity to head up on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Tuesday evening (2/24/2009) to make some attempts to photograph this comet. I will not see it again in my life, as it will come around again over 1000 years from now. It glows green in color, mainly due to the outgassing of a cyanode component of the comet. It is right on the verge of naked eye visibility if you look at the sky at a dark site, away from Roanoke's ridiculous amount of light pollution. On that point, If the citizens of Roanoke want to reduce their taxes, as well as their personal electricity costs, quit wasting electricity by illuminating the night sky.

This image is of Comet Lulin

Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f3.5 - ISO 1600 - (480MM effective focal length)
20 Minutes of exposure (10 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking

This image is of the Beehive Cluster, or "Praesepe" in the constellation Cancer. It is an open cluster of mainly young, hot blue stars. It is classified as Messier 44 and NGC 2632. This cluster lies about 575 light years from earth.

Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f3.5 - ISO 1600 - (480MM effective focal length)
18 Minutes of exposure (9 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking

Blustery January

2009-01-24T22:57:00.002-05:00

It has not been a good month for astrophotography. The thing about the winter months is that when you get clear skies, it is usually after a cold front moves through. That almost always introduces winds, and usually winds flowing at a pretty decent clip. When you do get a night with clear skies and no wind, the problem then becomes radiative cooling of the surface of the earth. This causes the waves of heat that you see in the summer over hot asphalt or sand. The seeing is bad under these conditions, and in astrophotography, stars show up as ill-defined blobs. So, alas, I will patiently wait for a good, clear, still night to try for more night images..

Happy New Year from the Astronomy Dude

2008-12-31T21:11:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Be safe.

What a nice night for wind

2008-12-30T09:10:00.003-05:00

The Clear Sky Clocks (www.clearskyclock.com) were showing a clear sky for last night. I decided to prep the Astronomy Vehicle and head up on the mountain. As soon as I hit the top of the mountain, the wind became very notable, and slightly angry. I decided to proceed to the observing site, hoping that the wind would not be as bad on that side of the elevation. Upon arrival it did seem to be a bit protected, so I started to set up. I had the heat going and several tripods set when the first big gust came through. I figured it would be an occasional thing, so I continued to set up under dark skies, while the thin crescent moon continued to set. Suddenly, in the distance, I heard a truck driving down a nearby highway. It was odd because I have never heard a truck driving down that highway before tonight. Then, as the trees started to rustle and bow, I realized it wasn't a truck but a large gust front heading my way. I ducked inside the warm bus just in time as the massive gust of cold wind slammed into the vehicle and rocked it steadily for almost a minute. That gave me all the time I needed to decide that I wasn't going to be able to do any astrophotography in these conditions and observing would be in question as well. So I loaded the tripods back up into the vehicle, turned off the heat, and headed back down the mountain. That wasn't the first time that happened, and it certainly won't be the last. But, nevertheless, it is hard to leave clear skies, especially when they are hard to come by in this area.

Merry Christmas to all

2008-12-25T01:38:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope you all have a great holiday season, and you take some time to gaze at the heavens.

I was awarded an Astronomy Grant

2008-12-24T21:55:00.001-05:00

In case no one noticed, it has been rather cloudy lately, so the astrophotography opportunities have been very slim. I fully intend on taking advantage of any opportunities as they come available. I received great news this month. I received a grant from a group in California, called the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference (RTMC). It is called the Clifford W. Holmes Grant, and it is given to people who are actively involved in astronomy outreach. My submission for the grant was through my use of my Astronomy Mobile Outreach Vehicle (AMOV). I use the vehicle to help me carry telescopes and equipment to astronomy outreach programs in the area. I will be purchasing a solar telescope with this grant so I can expand my solar programs. I am pleased that this group has recognized my efforts, and I thank them for their assistance in helping me bring astronomy to the Roanoke Valley. The solar telescope will also be used at outreach events held by the Star City Astronomy Network, a local group of astronomers dedicated to observational astronomy, and astronomy outreach.
Keep hitting the blog for new images as I shoot the night skies.

Images from Late November

2008-12-03T12:34:00.000-05:00

The stars and deep sky objects of winter are starting to make their way into the night sky. Among some of these objects are the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, or alpha Canis Majoris. Also, one of the few naked eye nebulae, M42, the Orion Nebula, is prominent as the center star in the sword of the constellation Orion, the Hunter.
Of course, the beautiful open cluster, Pleiades (M45), is prominent in the zodiacal constellation, Taurus, the Bull.
Still in the sky is the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, overhead and working its way into the western sky late in the evening. Below are some images I shot on November 26, 2008.

This image is of the Double Cluster in the constellation, Perseus. You can see the two distinct clusters in this image.
Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f3.5 - ISO 800 - (480MM effective focal length)
15 Minutes of exposure (15 x1 minutes)

AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking

This image is of M45, the Pleiades Cluster in the constellation Taurus. The gases around the stars reflect the starlight. Therefore, the nebulosity around the stars are called a reflection nebula.
Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f3.5 - ISO 800 - (480MM effective focal length)
30 Minutes of exposure (10 x3 minutes)

AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking

The center of this image is M42, the Orion Nebula in the constellation Orion. The gases around the stars are excited by the radiation from the embedded stars, and glow. Therefore, the nebulosity around the stars are called an emission nebula. It is a stellar nursery, and the bright stars in the center of the nebula are "baby stars".The Orion Nebula is to the right, and the "Running Man" Nebula is to the left. Notice the difference in the colors of these two nebulae. The "Running Man" Nebula is a reflection nebula, usually indicated by the bluish color.
Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, with a matched 1.4x Teleconvertor, set at f4 - ISO 800 - (672MM effective focal length)
5 Minutes of exposure (10 x30 seconds) +
20 Minutes of exposure (10 x2 minutes) +
27 Minutes of exposure (9 x3minutes)
Total of 52 munites of exposure
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

This image is of IC 2118, the Witch Head Nebula in the constellation Eridanus. This is also a reflection nebula, with the dust reflecting the light from the bright, supergiant star, Rigel (Beta Orionis), the lower-right star in the constellation Orion. This reflecting dust lies 40 light years from Rigel, and about 700 light years from us.
Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Sigma 70-200MM f2.8 zoom lens, set at 200MM, f4 - ISO 800 - (320MM effective focal length)
30 Minutes of exposure (10 x3 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

A Good Night on the Mountain

2008-11-27T11:29:00.000-05:00

Ahhhhh. Finally the clouds had cleared, the moon was close to new, and the sky was rather stable. It turned out to be a good night for astrophotography last night. I started shooting around 6PM and shot constantly for six hours, until the winds started to kick up enough to possibly buffet the cameras and ruin exposures. No two ways about it, it was cold, but stable nights any time of the year in this area should be taken for all they are worth.
No, I do not have the images ready. It takes one to several hours per image to stack, process, and finalize each photo. So, I hope to have them here, on this blog, soon.

Windy Night on the Mountain

2008-10-26T22:37:00.000-04:00

The skies were to be clear Saturday Night, so I took the AMOV onto the mountain for some astrophotography. Once I arrived, the skies were, indeed, clear, but the wind was fierce, gusting to well over 30mph at times. I decided that I did not want to waste the trip, so I set up the two AstroTrac mounts, and placed my cameras on the mounts. I decided to use my older Olympus lenses instead of my larger Canon lenses to reduce the profile of the cameras to the wind. Wind buffeting against the cameras would surely introduce motion to the images, so I wanted to reduce the chance of that happening. I guess it did pretty good in some instances, but not in others. As long as I was shooting with the wind hitting the side of the camera, no induced motions was visible in the images. However, when I photographed areas here the wind was hitting the back of the camera, I noticed alot of wind induced blurring in the images. Lesson learned. Here are a couple of the images that I have processed from last night.

In the image above, you can see a wider field image of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). If you look within the disk of the main galaxy, below and right of the bright center, you can see a small satellite galaxy of M31, called M32. Above and left of the bright center, just outside of the main galaxy disk, you can see another satellite galaxy, M110. These galaxies are gravitationally interacting, and are located about 2.5 million light years away from us, and heading in our direction.

Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Olympus 200 MM f4 Lens, set at f5.6 - ISO 800 - (320MM effective focal length)
63 Minutes of exposure (21 x3 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

In this image above, you can see a wide field image of the tail and wing area of the constellation Cygnus. In this image, the bright star in the upper right is Deneb. Above it, and to the left is the North American Nebula (because it resembles the North American continent). Just below that, and slightly fainter is the Pelican Nebula. Directly above the North American Nebula, and at the edge of the image is the open cluster of stars, NGC7039. If you look below and left of Deneb, the next bright star you see is Sadr. You will notice the Sadr Nebula around that star, as well as the upper left of the star.
Now, if you move from Sadr toward the left of the image, you will see another bright star. Just past that star you can see an arch of nebulosity. This is the western part of the Veil Nebula. If you make an imaginary circle completeing that arch, you will see the rest of the Veil Nebula. The eastern portion of the nebula passes through the brighter star below the arch, called 52 Cygni. To the right side of the imaginary circle is an area of the Veil Nebula called the Waterfall.
If you look between the veil nebula and the bottom of the image, you can see another open cluster of stars called NGC 6940.

Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Olympus 50 MM f1.8 Lens, set at f2.8 - ISO 800 - (80MM effective focal length)
45 Minutes of exposure (15 x3 minutes)
Imaged using an IDAS LPS Light Pollution Filter
AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking

Astronomy at Mountain Lake

2008-10-24T16:10:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of teaching some astronomy at Mountain Lake last night. When I arrived at the hotel, the skies were mostly cloudy. I set up a couple of telescopes, snapped a few pictures, and then headed in to the hotel to talk with the participants in the astronomy program. The attendees came out a bit later to observe the night sky. The clouds had dispersed, and the sky was clear. However, seeing was less than normal, and the objects did not hold their clarity as they would on a more still evening. We observed Jupiter and it's moons with a 6 inch ARO custom Maksutov Cassegrain telescope on a Mountain Instruments MI-250 mount. We took in the Ring Nebula (M57) in the constellation Lyra, The Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and the Double Cluster open cluster in Perseus in a StarGazer Scopes 15 inch truss dobsonian reflector. In the 8 inch Celestron Schmidt Cassegrain telescope on a Celestron CGE mount, we observed the Hercules globular cluster (M13) in the constellation Hercules, and the beautiful double star, Albireo, in the constellation Cygnus.

This was a great group of people, and I really had a good time showing them around the night sky. If you have a group that would like an astronomy talk, please let me know.

Here is the Astronomy Mobile Outreach Vehicle (AMOV) near the area where we set up the scopes. We set up near the hotel to minimize the distance to walk, given the cold temperatures that evening.

Another shot, this time showing the nearly dry Mountain Lake bed, as well as some beautiful fall foliage. That is one dry lake. Hopefully, it will fill up again soon.

Here is the Astronomy Mobile Outreach Vehicle (AMOV) with the Mountain Lake Hotel in the background. Clearly visible in this photo is the Audiotronics logo on the side of the vehicle. Audiotronics has been a big help in supporting our effort to take science and astronomy to the youth and general public. I highly recommend their business.

Cool, Nice, Sunday Night

2008-10-20T13:22:00.000-04:00

The Clear Sky Clock ( www.clearskyclock.com ) said that the skies would be good last night, so I headed up for a night of astrophotography, and testing some astronomy gear. I had a chance to finally try out the new AstroTrac TT320X mount. I trained my modified Canon DSLR on the Pleiades, which was rising in the east. Using a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 APO zoom lens, I shot the open cluster for 30 minutes, trying to bring out the subtle nebulosity around the starts in the cluster, without blowing out (overexposing) the stars. The image and info is below.

Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Sigma 70-200 MM f2.8 Lens, set at 200MM - f2.8 - ISO 800 - (320MM effective focal length)
30 Minutes of exposure (10 x3 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking

First Image with the Notatakahashi

2008-10-14T23:48:00.000-04:00

I have been working on a prototype Maksutov Newtonian reflector telescope (Mak-Newt) that I bought recently in disassembled form, in an attempt to bring it back to life. Now called the "Notatakahashi Mak-Newt Astrograph", it is a 152mm aperture, 600mm, f4 wonder. I have been working to figure the optimum configuration for the front menicus lens, the position of the spherical primary, and the ideal point of prime focus outside the tube. I believe I am getting close, as I was able to shoot an image of the moon through the hole where the focuser will be installed. This image was shot hand held, without the help of the focuser. The colors and contrast look pretty good, so I am pleased with this configuration.

This image of the full moon was taken with the Notatakahashi Astrograph.
Focal Length - 600mm
f Ratio - f4
Aperture - 152mm (6 inches)
Camera - Canon 40D
ISO - 800
Shutter Speed - 1/2000 sec.

Newly acquired Astrophotography mount

2008-09-30T23:29:00.000-04:00

I enjoy astrophotography, and one of my main tools is my AstroTrac TT320. The TT320 is a lightweight, easy to set up, and very accurate tracking mount. I was fortunate to own one of the first three TT320 mounts in the US. I have since become a constant user of the TT320. Recently, Richard Taylor, owner of AstroTrac notified me that he would soon be releasing an updated version of his mount, called the TT320X. I immediately put in an order for one, and it arrived from the UK the other day. It has a host of new features, such as solar and lunar tracking, to go along with sidereal tracking (stars). It has been redesigned to carry a 50% increase in load capacity. There were other improvements made as well. I am looking forward to testing out this new mount, and you will see the results here on this blog in the future, as well as my astrophotography website at:
www.darkskyphotos.com

The image above shows the two mounts. The one on the left is the new AstroTrac TT320X. The mount on the right is the AstroTrac TT320. The AstroTracs are the silver long arms with the tracking system at right angles to the arms at the bottom of the arms. Simple, yet elegant.
In case anyone wants to know, the camera on the left is a Canon 40D, with a Sigma 300mm f2.8 telephoto lens. The camera on the right is a Canon 30D, with a Tamron 300mm f2.8 lens.

The image above shows the two mounts from the side, so you can see the design layout of the AstroTrac TT320 mounts. The small telescopes facing upward on each mount are the polar alignment scopes. These are used to align the mount with the north so the unit will track the cameras to counteract the rotation of the earth. Improper alignment of the mounts results in poor images with stars trailing through the photograph.

Newer Images from the Roanoke Night Sky

2008-09-19T10:59:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month, the skies around Roanoke cleared up for a stretch of several days, and I took advantage of the offer. I shot over 20 hours of images, and have just now had the opportunity to process some of them. Here are the latest images of the objects in the light sky above Roanoke. As in other posts, details of the image is printed below the image.

The image above is the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) in the constellation Aquarius. It has low surface brightness, which makes it a tougher target, but it is a large object. If it were bright enough to see the whole object with the naked eye, it would be close to the size of the full Moon in the sky. It is one of the closest planetary nebulae, at a distance of about 450 light years. The rings are the gases of the central star, at they were blown away from the star in a series of stellar events. Now those gases fluoresce, or glow, as they are exposed to the radiation from the now exposed core of the star.

Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f2.8 - ISO 800 - (480MM effective focal length)
26 Minutes of exposure (13 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

The image above is the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in the constellation Andromeda.

Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f2.8 - ISO 1600 - (480MM effective focal length)
28 Minutes of exposure (14 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

The image above is the Pleiades (Messier 45) in the constellation Taurus. It is a young, open cluster of stars. It is sometimes mistaken as the little dipper, due to the fact that the brighter stars form an asterism that does look like a dipper. This cluster is called Subaru in Japan. If you look at the logo for the Subaru automobile, you will see a representaion of this star cluster. It is one of the closest recognisable open clusters, at a distance of about 400 light years. The stars are exciting the gases in the area of the cluster, causing the blue-colored glow around the stars.

Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f2.8 - ISO 1600 - (480MM effective focal length)
18 Minutes of exposure (9 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

The image above is the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8) in the constellation Sagittarius. This image is at a focal length that is pushing the capability of my tracking mount.

Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at 600 MM f5.6 - ISO 1600 - (960MM effective focal length)
28 Minutes of exposure (14 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

The image above was shot last June, and I just had the opportunity to process it. It was photographed using a digital SLR camera with special filtration to highlight Hydrogen alpha (Ha) emissions. This is the area of Cygnus, the Swan. It is what many people call the northern cross. If you look closely at the stars, the cross looks like it is laying down, with the top pf the cross to the left. The intense red color of this image is due to the Ha emissions, which are not very visible to the naked eye.

Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D - Filtered
Lens - Canon 18-55 MM f3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens, set at 28MM f3.5 - ISO 400 - (45MM effective focal length)
10 Minutes of exposure (10 x1 minutes)
Kenko SkyMemo Astrophotography mount for tracking

Working on Images

2008-09-05T10:29:00.000-04:00

The past few evenings have been pretty clear, and I took advantage of it with several nights of imaging. I now have about 20 hours of astrophotos that I need to stack and process. So, be looking here in the near future for some new astro images, taken from right here, in the Roanoke area.

Also, a new astronomy group has formed in the Roanoke Valley. the Star City Astronomy Network (SCAN) is a small group of astronomy enthusiasts that are dedicated to teaching astronomy and doing astronomy outreach. Feel free to contact SCAN here, or at www.starcityastronomy.org .

Astronomy Vehicle at the Bryan Lawrence Benefit Car Show

2008-08-24T18:50:00.000-04:00

I decided that it would be a good idea for me to expand my astronomy outreach by taking my Astronomy Mobile Outreach Vehicle (AMOV) to the car show being held to benefit Bryan Lawrence, the Roanoke Police Officer recently paralyzed in an attack.
Although, not "high-end" show quality, the AMOV looks nice, and usually attracts a crowd. It gives people something to look at besides autos and trucks. At this show, I managed to talk to hundreds of visitors, and allow them to observe the sun through several telescopes equipped with solar filters for safe viewing. I stayed very busy all day, and although the sun had no activity to look at on its surface, people still enjoyed the chance to safely look at the sun. I would have to say that it was a successful event. Below are some images that I managed to take while talking astronomy with the masses.

Here is the Astronomy Mobile Outreach Vehicle (AMOV). It was a 21 passenger bus before I saved it from the scrap yard and started using it to teach astronomy. I also use it as a base of operations when I am involved in astronomy outreach with members of the local astronomy group, Star City Astronomy Network (SCAN).

The Astronomy Mobile Outreach Vehicle (AMOV), from the back.. The large telescope toward the back of the vehicle is a 15" Dobsonian Reflector, built by StarGazer Telescopes.
The telescopes with the solar filters were mounted on the tripod near the front of the vehicle.

A little Andromeda for ya

2008-08-12T23:27:00.000-04:00

I was out the other evening and managed to get some photons of the Andromeda Galaxy, rising in the east. This galaxy is the closest galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy. Designated as Messier 31 (M31), it is visible as a bright, fuzzy patch in the sky, and lies about 2.5 million light years away.
Of course, you need to get away from the light pollution of the Roanoke Valley to get a sky dark enough to see it with the naked eye. This is an excellent object for binoculars, as well as telescopes.

The image above is the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, in the constellation Andromeda. It is located near the "Great Square of Pegasus", and asterism of starts that forms a large square.

Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f2.8 - ISO 800
27 Minutes of exposure (9 x3 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

Finally another photo night

2008-07-27T23:50:00.000-04:00

It was partly cloudy when I left for the mountains Saturday evening, but the skies cleared not long after I arrived at my imaging site. The humidity in the air made the seeing very stable, and a cool breeze made the evening very pleasant. I did not have much problem with condensation on my optics, even with the higher humidity, and I would say that the gentle breeze helped in that regard. I did manage to get about 2 hours of imaging in before the high clouds and fog stopped the astrophotography.

The image above is the constellation, Sagittarius. It is located in the south, and it's stars form a recognizable "Teapot" shape. In the bright area, just above and right of the teapot's spout is the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The bright star on the left is not a star at all. It is our planet neighbor, Jupiter, which is easily spotted in the southern skies all evening.

Camera - Canon EOS 40D

Lens - Tamron 18-50 MM f2.8 Zoom Lens, set at 50MM f2.8 - ISO 800
22 Minutes of exposure (11x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

The Image above is a widefield area in the constellation, Sagittarius, containing the nebulae, M8 (lower nebula) and M20 (upper nebula). Above and to the left of M20, the Trifid Nebula, is the open cluster, M21. Below and to the left of M8, the Lagoon Nebula, is the globular cluster, NGC 6544.

Camera - Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Sigma 70-200MM f2.8 Zoom Lens, set at 200MM f2.8 - ISO 800
6 Minutes of exposure (3x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

Moon is up. It's hard to do Astrophotography

2008-07-12T12:14:00.000-04:00

Ahhhh. The skies clear up, and of course it happens when the moon is up in the evenings. Astrophotography is difficult, but not impossible, when the moon is glaring in the sky. That is why I usually avoid planning astro shoots when the moons is up. However, I am not one to miss a clear night sky, so I think I might head into the mountains tonight to do some observing. Trade the cameras for the big telescopes and work on my Astronomical League Double Star list. Maybe work on the Globular Cluster list as well. I highly recommend get out in the evening, find a dark site, kick back and enjoy the stars. Rejuvenating, it is.

More Image Processing

2008-07-05T23:18:00.000-04:00

The weird thing about astrophotography is that as much time you spend shooting images, you spend at least an equal amount of time processing them. I decided to combine some images taken with two different cameras of the same subject. The idea is that the more digital data you capture, the better your overall image. So, I shot M8 and M20 in Sagittarius with my Canon EOS 40D and my Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D. By using a scaling procedure, I was able to align the images with two stars that were visible in all the images, even though the images were made with different cameras, with different fields of view. The result is below.

The Image above is M8 and M20 in the constellation, Sagittarius.

Cameras - Canon EOS 40D and Hap Griffin Modified Canon EOS 350D
Lens - Sigma 300MM f2.8 Lens, set at 300MM f2.8 - ISO 800
54 Minutes of exposure (27x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

Latest Images of the Night Skies

2008-07-03T23:31:00.000-04:00

We finally had a good night for astrophotography on July 1, 2008. I went up on the Blue Ridge Parkway with my imaging gear and started shooting. I ended up with about 4 hours of exposures. Below, I have put together some examples of what I shot the other night. With each image, I will list the gear I used to make the shot, as well as the exposure totals.

The Image above is a wide field shot of the Milky Way. The bright star above the trees is not a star. That is our neighbor planet, Jupiter.
Camera - Canon EOS 40D - Tamron 11-18MM f4.5 Lens, set at 11MM f4.5 - ISO 800
12 Minutes of exposure (6x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

The Image above is an area shot in the constellation, Sagittarius. There are two bright nebulae in this image, and one fainter nebula. The larger, bright nebula on the right is Messier 8 (M8) (NGC 6523), the Lagoon Nebula. The smaller, bright nebula is Messier 20 (M20) (NGC 6514), The Trifid Nebula. Above M8, and slightly to the right, near the top of this image is a fainter star forming region designated NCG6559. These Nebulae are located along the disk of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Camera - Canon EOS 40D - Sigma 300MM f2.8 Lens, set at 300MM f2.8 - ISO 800
28 Minutes of exposure (14x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

The Image above is an area shot in the constellation, Ophiuchus. This area has very faint nebulosity, and it takes plenty of exposure to get the nebula to show in an image. The triple, "Mickey Mouse", looking star is Rho Ophiuchi. This is called the Rho Ophiuchi nebula. What is unusual about this area is the array of colors displayed in a relatively small area of the sky. This area can be found just above alpha Scorpii, Antares, the bright red star in the constellation, Scorpius.
Camera - Canon EOS 40D - Sigma 300MM f2.8 Lens, set at 300MM f2.8 - ISO 800
60 Minutes (1 Hour) of exposure (30x2 minutes)

AstroTrac TT320 Astrophotography mount for tracking

High clouds abound

2008-06-26T23:50:00.000-04:00

I made the trip to the Parkway to image the Rho Ophiuchi region of the sky. In case you are wondering where that is, if you look to the south, you will see a bright, red star. That star is Antares, or alpha Scorpii. Just above and east of Antares is a triple star system called Rho Ophiuchi. You will need a telescope to see all three stars, but they kind of look like Mickey Mouse. A large star, and two smaller stars above it that look like mouse ears. I images the other night for thirty minutes, and upon checking the results, before I continued, I realized that there were high clouds corrupting my exposures. It was pointless to continue imaging, so I packed up and headed home. Hopefully, I will get a decent imaging opportunity soon.

This is the Rho Ophiuchi region, and Rho Ophiuchi, the "Mickey Mouse" looking triple star system. You can see some nebulosity around the triple star system in this relatively short exposure of 30 minutes. To really bring out the colors, exposures around 90 minutes are best.

Looking for Fair Skies

2008-06-24T12:30:00.000-04:00

Well, the Roanoke area definitely needed the rain, but the clouds make observing exponentially more difficult. We have just had a passage of a cold front, and the air is cooler and drier. With a waning moon, I might be able to get some good astrophotography time in the next few nights, if the skies cooperate. If I do, the photos will be up here soon. The images I shot of the Rho Ophiuchi region were a bit out of focus, so that night was wasted. Must try not to waste another night relying on the focus of one camera body to work with another camera body. Evidently, the camera bodies are not exactly the same distance to focus, even with the same lens. Lesson learned.

We had a clear. weekend night

2008-05-25T02:03:00.000-04:00

Well, It finally happened. Tonight it was clear, and I took advantage of the skies and headed up on the Parkway to do some astrophotography. I bunch of my friends were up there as well, and we spent a bit of time checking out the wonders in the spring constellations. Once I saw that my target, Rho Ophiuchi, had risen from the crap and light pollution on the horizon, I started shooting the area. I shot about an hour of exposures when some clouds started rolling in from the southeast. That pretty much stopped the imaging, so I packed up and headed home. I hope the images are workable, and if so, I will post the image here soon.

Astronomy Weather

2008-05-14T23:29:00.001-04:00

Well, what is good for the grass, flowers, and the water supply is not too great for observing. Every once in a while we hit a stretch when the weather does not provide us with good viewing opportunities. Such has been the case lately. I went up to our regular observing spot the first decent clear evening we have had in a while. Once I got to the site, the stars were twinkling like mad, making it a poor night for astrophotography. I kicked back for a few minutes while I was up there and took in the dark, starry sky. Then, I headed back to Roanoke Valley. I am hoping that the cycle of weather will align to give us some good observing nights soon. Till then, I will continue to work on other projects.

A Pause in the Posts

2008-04-24T23:56:00.000-04:00

I have been a bit lax in posting to my blog. I would like to say that I have been out doing astrophotography, but that is simply not so, given the weather lately.

I have, however, been doing a bit of work with some of the images that I have already taken, as seen below:

Nebulousity around the star, Deneb, in the constellation Cygnus. The nebulousity contains the "North American Nebula". The North American Nebula is below, and to the left of Deneb, the bright star in the image.

This is an image of the sword in the constellation Orion. The top star is actually the "Running Man Nebula. You can see what seems to be a shadow of a man running in the glowing gas in the top of the image. The center in the famous "Orion Nebula" This is a "stellar nursery", an area of dense gas that is collapsing to form young stars. You can see this gas around the center of the sword, and also looping down to the bottom star in the sword.

In the image above, you can see the Milky Way as it appears from the Blue Ridge Parkway, south of Roanoke. Located in the area of whitish gases above the highest treetop is the area of the center of our galaxy. Behind all those stars and gases is the Milky Ways' massive "Black Hole". In case you don't think that light pollution is bad, the glow of light around the bottom of the image is wasted light from Rocky Mount. VA, and Martinsville VA.

Here is an image I shot of a "Full Moon" in 2007. In case you are wondering, there was no colored filter in this image. This is the color of the moon as it rose that evening.

I hope to get more shooting time in the near future, so keep an eye on this blog.

Did you see the Total Lunar Eclipse?

2007-08-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

The Total Lunar Eclipse happened this morning. I got up early to get my cameras to an area that had a nice SW horizon. I headed south on the Blue Ridge Parkway, knowing that there were no overlooks facing SW. I planned to find a good view along the road and shoot from there.
As I moved up in elevation, I started clearing the low haze in the valley that was blocking my view of the moon. As I drove, I could see the eclipse starting to take place. I found a spot to shoot and started to set up my cameras. By this time the moon was starting full umbral eclipse. I lined up the eclipsed moon in my viewfinder and started to focus, but was having difficulty. I shot once, and saw that the focus was off. I went to refocus, and could not see the moon. I stepped back away from the viewfinder to look, only to see that the moon had slipped behind a bank of clouds that was rising from the valley floor. I started to look around, and It was the same everywhere. I could see stars directly overhead, but all around me was clouds along the horizon. A quick assessmant told me that I would not be photographing this eclipse, so I packed a way my gear and started home. I did, however, get to see the eclipse, thus completing my bookends. I saw the moon rise while eclipsed on March 3, 2007, and I watched the moon set while eclipsed on August 28, 2007.
Was it worth getting up to see? YES!!! Would I do it again, knowing that the results would be the same. YES!!!
Lunar Eclipses are a wondrous sight, and even a small glimpse of one is worth the effort.

Here comes the Total Lunar Eclipse

2007-08-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

That's right, Folks. We will be having a total Lunar Eclipse on the morning of Tuesday, August 28, 2007. You will have to have a good, low western horizon for best viewing of this event......and, of course, clear skies. The eclipse will start as the moon is sinking to the horizon on the east coast, with the moon setting while in Umbral eclipse (that is, when the moon is darkest during the eclipse). The harkening sunrise will probably brighten the sky before the moon sets, but I am willing to take a chance to see the event. I was able to see the lunar eclipse earlier this year, on March 3rd, when the moon rose while eclipsed. It only seems appropriate to see this moon set while eclipsed. The eclipse will start at 4:51 AM, with totality starting at 5:52 AM. You will have to set your alarm clocks early, but it should give you time to get to work after the event.

Busy Me

2007-08-22T23:55:00.000-04:00

Folks,

I apologize for the lack of entries. Been on vacation, and lots of astronomy busyness. Had a chance to observe the Perseid Meteor Shower on the evening of Sunday, August 12, 2007. Our observing spot in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia gave us a beautiful, clear canvas, and we watched hundreds of the flashes of beauty grace the sky. I had several cameras set up, and I managed to catch a few of the meteor photons on my digital sensors. I plan to post some soon.

Keep looking at the stars, and keep your outside lights turned off. Light the world with your heart, not your electric bill.

Weather Control

2007-06-29T16:39:00.000-04:00

I do not have too much to report in the blog, since we have been under siege by the summer weather pattern. It usually consists of hot days, afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms, and humid nights. The moon is also on it's way to full, so that rules out fainter objects and nebulosity. Double stars are always a possibility, if you can find them through the moonlit haze. I have never been much of a moon watcher, so nights with a visible moon do not work well for me.

I plan to head up on the mountain to observe the planets of Venus and Saturn as they pass within a field of view on Saturday evening, weather permitting. But, after that, we have a full moon, so I will probably pack up after a look at Jupiter.

In the beginning

2007-06-25T09:26:00.000-04:00

I am into the night sky. I love astronomy. I love almost everything about astronomy. I am into the faint fuzzies. I dig double stars. I yearn for meteor events, and planetary dances. I love looking up at the night sky, and releasing all of my worries, so I can free my mind to the infinite possiblilties for myself, mankind, and the universal unknown. Feel free to take this trip with me. I will try to log what I do and see as I work towards knowing more about the universe around me. So grab a seat. Lets go for a ride. Destination: Unknown.