The Blogmos

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.

Vista

Roy — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 23:28:17 +0000

Took the plunge and bought a laptop for use in the observatory. I’m dealing with Vista issues. Fairly sure my DSLR won’t connect with Vista but I can deal with that. Starry Night Pro (which them claim works with Vista) is not working with Vista. The company is sending me an update disk. We’ll see… In the meantime, I’m installing XP as a virtual PC running under Vista to see if that works.

Impact of polar alignment

Roy — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 04:52:58 +0000

Had just a few hours to play a little bit more with polar alignment and take a test shot. This is a stack of 5 2-min non-guided shots and 1-dark shot. A few lessons to try for next time: (1) somehow put a piece of foam between the lens and the scope to keep the lens from shaking, (2) use RAW format, (3) remove front UV lens (I think this is creating inner reflections), and (4) take pictures on a clearer night! Also might help to stop down the lens one or two stops.