Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year from The Astronomy Dude.

We hope you have a great 2013!

As my Astronomy Outreach Cools with the Temperature

Thanksgiving Day. It is a time to give thanks for what we have, and who we have around us as friends and family. I find it a nice time of year to go for walks in the evening, keeping a look toward the sky as the summer stars start to set in the west. It is fun to watch as the sky darkens and the stars pop out of the illuminated din of the sunset. Then, of course, the wasted light from the inhabitants of this earth starts to produce enough glow to hide most of the stars in my area. It is a shame that it is that way. People seem to feel that having alot of light around at night makes them safer. It is, actually, the opposite. Extraneous light, in poorly aimed fixtures, creates shadows that hide movement. The best thing to do is set up shielded lighting fixtures that target all the light toward the ground, and then lowering the wattage of that light. Then, you place that light on a motion sensor. You get the same security, but at up to 95% savings in energy costs. Think about it, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
I do not have a great deal of outreach scheduled for the rest of the year, but that is to be expected, as thought shift towards holiday consumerism, and all the stress and turmoil that seems to come with it. However, if it makes people happy, who am I to complain. Just remember that if you get anything for me, it should be astronomy related .... or made of gold.....

Astronomy Outreach at Mountain Lake

The Astronomy Mobile Outreach Vehicle (AMOV) was at Mountain Lake for Astronomy Outreach at an Astronomy Elderhostel. This event, organized by the ever impressive Jessica Coker, was a pleasure, and the skies stayed clear for our observing dayes. It was a great success this year, from my point of view. Here are some images from a solar observing session.

 

Astronomy Elderhostel attendees lined up to view the sun through a Meade LX200 Classic Telescope with a full aperture solar filter. The Lunt Hydrogen-Alpha 60mm Solar Telescope is in the background. It is mounted on an iOptron Cube-G Mount.

Viewing the sun through a Meade LX200 Classic Telescope with a full aperture solar filter. The AMOV is in the background of this image.

Astronomy Elderhostel organizer extraordinaire, Jessica Coker..

Astronomy Elderhostel attendees are having a nice time at the solar event. We were happy to have clear skies and nice temperatures.

Jessica Coker watches over the event, ever ready to help the attendees.

An Astronomy Elderhostel attendee takes a nice, long view through the Meade LX200 Classic Telescope.

I will be observing the Transit of Venus

I will be setting up to observe the Transit of Venus on Tuesday, June 5th, if the weather permits. I will set up at the top end of the Tanglewood Mall parking lot. The transit starts a few minutes after 6:00 PM, and lasts until sunset. Feel free to stop by and take a look at this last chance in our lifetime event. This will be the last one until December of 2117, a little over 105 years from now. Below is an image I took of the last Transit of Venus on June 8, 2004.

A new way to view the heavens ....

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

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

Happy Holidays from The Astronomy Dude

Happy Holidays to one and all from TheAstronomyDude.com

New Astro Image - Rho Ophiuchi

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

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

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