Finally, More Images

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

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

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

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..