The Blogmos

In case you thought Space was Safe

Roy — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:11:09 +0000

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7583805.stm

Olympics and more

Roy — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:10:24 +0000

In China, you can see the Olympics and a total eclipse…

http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/2008/index.html

Lunar eclipse, and a headache

Roy — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:08:02 +0000

Feeling bad, but mustered the strength to go outside and see this total lunar eclipse (shot taken on a Canon 300D through a 300mm lens). Next one is in 2010; hopefully, I feel better by then. Click on the picture for larger size.

Comet Holmes

Roy — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:56:44 +0000

An amaetur shot of a comet (click on link please) that seems to have ‘exploded’ to some degree and got a lot brighter. Used a demo version of ImagesPlus (will likely buy this as it is user friendly) so hence, the hatchmarks for the demo version…

Why, oh why?

Roy — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 22:32:33 +0000

Tonight is supposed to be clear and I’ve been waiting to try some more test shots as I try to improve the astrophotography. Instead, I’m here sick and can barely get out of bed. I need a new daytime hobby.

Why I do my observing from a ground-based observatory

Roy — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:16:09 +0000

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,297902,00.html

Two new planets

Roy — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:43:38 +0000

Well, they were new for us anyway. Really clear night on Sunday night. Got to see Uranus and Neptune. I’m thinking I need to photograph each of the planets just to keep a log/record of the ones we’ve observed. Both planets were low in the sky so not very clear but Uranus definitely has a bluish tint to it. Pluto will be hard to observe given its magnitude but I should be able to record it in a photo. That’s for another night…

Improvements in astrophotography

Roy — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:39:08 +0000

On a really clear night, was able to expose to about 8 minutes. Andromeda Galaxy was low but shots came out okay. This was an unguided shot so guiding should help. A skyglow filter would also help.

Test shot after calibration

Roy — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:10:16 +0000

Did some PEC training and Smart Mount training (want to do some more polar alignment) but this has definitely improved the alignment. Took a test shot (here) — removed the UV filter, stopped down the aperture and used larger files (but not RAW just yet) and the results are reasonable.

Update on Vista

Roy — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 01:07:39 +0000

Quick update — my attempts to make Starry Night Pro work in Vista have failed so far. My solution for now is to either use Stellarium (freeware / coolware) or use the dual boot I setup for Windows XP.