Down The Wormhole

BuckSnort!

2011-12-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

Hey gang, it has abeen a while since I posted on this blog. This is because I have been focusing on my NEW BuckSnort Observatory website : )

http://www.bucksnortobservatory.com/

Please feel free to have a look and let me know what you think. There are still a few dead links, but it is mostly all up. Hopefully it will be 100% soon.

I intend to continue to use this blog for news events, etc. But check out the gallery at BuckSnort for all the latest images.

JOhn

A Busy Month

2011-08-13T07:53:00.001-07:00

I have imaged a lot of targets over the last few weeks (thank you clear skies)! As such, I have a backlog of data I have been processing. I like these problems.

Here is a 4 panel mosaic from the constellation Lacerta that features Sharpless 126 (the red nebula) and a plethora of smaller VDB and LBN objects.
Here is a 3 panel mosaic of the Eagle Nebula, Swan Nebula, and Barnard 92 near the heart of our Milky Way.

This dusty vista around Cepheus is centered on LBN 552. If you look closely, you can see a dusty "obscene gesture" ...heh, heh.

Cocoon over North America

2011-07-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

Aha! At last, a new astrophoto! See? I told you I'd have a new one soon.

Yep, after a lengthy haitus (working on observatories, dealing with weather, etc.) I finally have an image to present.

This wide field mosaic stretches from the North American Nebula (lower right) to the Cocoon Nebula (upper left). That's about a 13x10 degree chunk of sky. To accomodate that field of view, I imaged 8 panels to be stitched together into this mosaic image. Total exposure was a little over 12 hours.

I actually started this project at the Texas Star Party back in May, but was unable to complete it due to clouds. I then finished it down at my BuckSnort observatory a couple of weeks ago.

Summer is wide field season, so be on the lookout for more to come!

Farewell Atlantis

2011-07-12T19:35:00.001-07:00

Last Friday July 8th I finally realized a dream and attended my first (and last) Shuttle launch. I just barely made it. Atlantis is the last Shuttle to fly... ever.

The Shuttle program had promised to make space flight routine and common place. It actually worked too well -- many Americans stopped being impressed and/or paying attention. And I too admit to procrastinating up until the very last flight. In fact, if it wasn't for my friend John who works at NASA, I would not have been given the chance. But last week, Kim and I were invited to view the launch as NASA VIP guests!

It was indeed an exciting 2 days. On Thursday, we attended a briefing and were given a tour of the pad (bussing up to the infield fence, right next to the pad itself). Then on Friday, we were taken to the Banana Creek viewing area, the same area from which the astronaut's families view.

And the launch was spectacular!

It was also bittersweet. Since this launch brings the Shuttle program to an end, many of the NASA personel who stood and cheered are transitioning into other areas or being laid off. Surely a shame, especially since the NASA folks I met were extremely impressive and passionate individuals -- real "top shelf" people.

Another thought occured to me as we drove back to the hotel from the launch. For the first time in my life, my country does not have the ability to launch an astronaut into space. I've always felt that NASA and our space program represented the high water mark for America -- especially the Apollo missions. Of course the Shuttle program cannot last forever, but the problem is there is nothing to take its place. And so, if we want to put an astronaut in space we have to ask the Russians. So who won the space race afterall?

I try not to get political in my postings here, so I will stop before I rant. Instead, I'll just say a big THANKS to all the folks at NASA for their great work and great hospitality. It was a fantastic experience!

See more pics here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neutronman/sets/72157627056709683/

HUGE fireball over BuckSnort!

2011-06-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last night (11:47 pm, June 20, 2011) I caught a HUGE fireball on my meteor camera at BuckSnort Observatory in Central Texas. This was certainly the biggest meteor I have captured so far.

The video sequence was captured using a Watec video camera, f/0.8 lens, and UFOCapture software.

See the video here:
http://vimeo.com/25424644

Milk & Dish

2011-06-08T08:50:00.001-07:00

We had clear skies on the Saturday night before TSP officially began, so I took the opportunity to revisit a favorite location -- the VLBA Radio Telescope just a few hundred yards from where Kim and I were staying at the Sproul Ranch.

This year I chose to try a 3 panel panorama with the Milky Way arching to the dish (like a galactic rainbow leading to the pot-o-gold). This was shot with my Nikon D700, 12-24mm lens, on a tripod. Each 3 exposures were 45 seconds, then stitched together using Photomerge in CS5.

Playing with FIRE

2011-06-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

I went to the Texas Star Party last week and once again had a great time. The only thing missing were the stars! We only had 2 clear nights out of the week, but we did have wildfires (and thankfully no one was hurt). This made for some interesting photo opportunities.

I went out late one night with my buddy Vance and I shot the Milky Way as it appeared through a hole in the smoke and clouds.

The next night the fires were still burning (and even larger) and I took Kim up into the mountains to see the flames. We made our way up to the top of the McDonald observatory and I was surprised to see the shutter open on the 107" dome and the astronomers still hard at work -- the fire was only about 3 miles away!

Although I did not manage to finish an 8 panel mosaic I started, it was still a great week. I even won the TSP astrophoto awards : )

Das PlaneWave!

2011-05-01T15:37:00.001-07:00

I know, I know... I've lately been taking more photos of gear than of the sky, but I am hoping my work now will pay off in LOTS of image data later!

So THIS is a milestone -- my buddy Phil finally brought his new PlaneWave 12.5" CDK scope, Optec 3" focuser, and Apogee U16 camera down to my BuckSnort Observatory last weekend.

When Phil learned I was building an observatory and intended to operate it remotely, he asked if I was interested in having a partner. When he proposed selling a bunch of his gear and buying this scope for the observatory, the offer was too good to pass up (besides, Phil is a great guy and I knew we'd have fun).

Anyway, we still have some minor issues to fix before it is fully operational (like adding more counterweight, replacing a bad USB hub, etc.), but we tested it on Friday night and it did great! We were both very excited.

This scope will allow me to image much smaller targets at great resolution (galaxies, planetary nebulae, small reflection nebulae, etc.) than I currently can with my "wide field" rigs . The available target list now goes way up.

And aside from the obvious photographic potential, the scope just looks COOL on my big red Paramount ME ; )

BuckSnort Update

2011-03-29T10:56:00.001-07:00

I know what you are saying... "why the heck hasn't JOhn posted any new pictures lately?" Well, I've been busy working on my BuckSnort Observatory!

Since the initial structure was built last summer, I have been spending several hundred hours installing all kinds of gear -- computers, mounts, cameras, weather monitoring devices, networking stuff, running/burying cables, and doing lots of programming and trouble-shooting. Whew!

But the good news is I am almost finished. Everything is working great, and I have total remote access. I have not yet done any remote imaging because I am just now putting the final procedures and safeguards in place to prevent me from doing any boneheaded mistakes (or at least reduce the likelihood). Plus, my buddy Phil Jones is bringing his new PlaneWave 12.5" and Apogee U16 to mount on my Paramount ME at the end of April. At that time we will start remote imaging in earnest!

In addition to telescopes, I have also installed a video scanner that searches nightly for meteors, fireballs, and any other nocturnal transient events (UFOs)! These events will be viewable from the BuckSnort website.

Website?

Yes! Kim and I are putting together a dedicated BuckSnort website that will display all of the live camera feeds, weather info, as well as image gallery and other neato stuff. It should be online in a couple of weeks.

JellyMonkeyCluster

2011-02-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

Working on my BuckSnort Observatory last week and encountered an unexpected couple of mostly clear nights. Soooo....

I shot a 2 panel mosaic of the Jellyfish Nebula, the Monkey Head Nebula, and M35. Doesn't "M35" sound kind of pedestrian after monkeys and Jellyfish?

The large red nebulous regions are Hydrogen gas that is being excited by nearby stars and glowing red (like a red neon sign). The blue stars of open cluster M35 provide a nice contrast methinks.

FSQ 106EDX f/3.63
STL11000M -25C
HaLRGB (120, 120, 30, 30, 30) per panel
Total exposure = 11hrs
CCD Stack, PixInsight, CS5

Orion over Valley of Fire

2011-01-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

Kim and I went to Vegas last week, so we took the opportunity to revisit the Valley of Fire state park. This park holds a special place for us because it is where Kim proposed to me 17 years ago (she used to complain "why must the guy always propose?", so I jokingly told her "fine I'm not going to, it is up to you!").

I had about an hour after sunset before we needed to head back to town -- just enough time to catch Orion peaking up over the rocks.

This is kind of an experiment. I purposely left the focus slightly soft to bloom the constellation stars a bit (focused past infinity). Unfortunately, it also made the foreground slightly soft. But still, I think it is kinda cool.

I was also experimenting with a flash -- firing 2-3 bursts to illuminate the foreground and distant rocks (there was no moon yet). We are planning a driving trip out west and I intend to do a lot of night landscape shooting, so I am just trying some different stuff. I think next time I will use good focus and add a soft filter to bloom the brighter stars.

Nikon D700 ISO 1600
Sigma 15mm f/5.6
45 sec

The Riddler

2011-01-15T08:28:00.001-08:00

This dusty nebula is very seldom imaged. In fact, I could find no other examples on the internet (except for extremely wide shots that encompass the entire Orion/Eridanus area -- where this object shows as a tiny patch).

I have always noticed this nebula, being just west of the famous Witch Head, so last week I decided to see what it would look like up close. I could not find any catalog number for the nebula, so this object was a bit of a mystery to me. And when I saw the results, I was quite amused at the "?" shape -- so I call this the Riddler (as suggested to me by my pal Dave Pearson).

After posting this image, a fellow astrophotographer finally alerted me to the catalog name of this object. It is found in the Lynd's Bright Nebula catalog. It is actually 2 different nebulae -- LBN917 (bottom) and LBN906 (top).

After poking around a bit, I found more info on this area here http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0809/0809.0585v1.pdf

Stats:
FSQ 106EDX f/3.63
STL-11000M -25C
LRGB 240,30,30,30
CCDStack, PixInsight, CS5

Solstice Lunar Eclipse

2010-12-21T09:45:00.000-08:00

The last time there was a lunar eclipse on the Winter Solstice, Galileo was serving his "sentence" for being a naughty astronomer. Although I had grand plans to do all sorts of shooting of the eclipse, in the end I merely observed the beautiful sight, then took a few snaps with my Nikon D700 and 180mm lens as clouds began rolling in (right after totality).

If you missed this Winter Solstice event, don't worry -- I believe it happens again in about 90 years.

From Witch to Sword

2010-12-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

Here is a 5 panel mosaic in Orion that I shot last week during 3 nights in my new observatory -- woo hoo! I especially enjoyed being out of the wind when it was 18 degrees.

I tried to shoot a mosaic of this last year, but the weather knocked me out (got a few subs, but could never complete it). So I am happy I finally got it.

A few things I noticed about this area...

There is a Ha ring of nebulosity around Rigel that I did not know about. I shot the Witch Head a couple of years ago w/o Ha (since the Witch is a reflection neb), but this time I used Ha in all panels since I was incorporating M42. I guess Rigel's stellar winds are carving out a bubble in the gas and exciting the Ha. Anybody know?

I also enjoyed all the cool galaxies that "litter" the area around the Witch.

FSQ 106EDX f/3.6
STL-11000M -25C
5 panels
HaLRGB 15,90,25,25,25 (per panel)
CCDStack, PixInsight, CS5

Bigger image seen here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neutronman/5245334825/

The RED & the BLUE

2010-11-22T06:29:00.000-08:00

Taking a slight break from "pure dust", I decided on something a bit more... COLORFUL!

I wanted to bring out the RED hydrogen alpha of the Cone Nebula region, along with the BLUE reflection nebulosity around IC 2169. The Cone is actually pretty small (upper center) in this wide field image. Below the cone is a nebulous region referred to as the "Fox Fur".

This field may not be as dusty as some of my recent targets, but it contains lots of interesting structures, including Hubble's Variable Nebula at upper left (white "V" shape object).

This image was shot during my 4 night stay at the recent Eldorado Star Party.

FSQ 106EDX f/3.6
STL11000M -25C
HaLRGB 75,135,30,30,30
CCDStack, PixInsight, CS5

Next up... more dust!

The Bird and the Sisters

2010-11-15T16:13:00.000-08:00

I recently attended the Eldorado Star Party in Southwest Texas. I had a terrific 4 nights of crystal clear skies. It was my first time attending and I had a great time.

Before heading out to dark skies to do my photography, I always plan what objects I want to shoot and make careful notes regarding composition, etc. When I was looking at some image data I shot at Okie-Tex back in October, I noticed my M45 and Vdb27 targets were very close and if I were to shoot a couple more panels, I could create a very large mosaic of this area in Taurus.

And so on my recent trip to ESP, I did : )

So here is a 5 panel mosaic. This area is just FILLED with dust! I love the dusty tendrils that seem to reach towards M45 (the Seven Sisters) in the upper left. In fact, the Sisters are so attractive it appears they have caught the attention of a dusty bird that shoots a glance their way (LBN777 in the center).

FSQ 106EDX f/3.6
STL11000M -25C
approx 18 hrs of exposure
CCDStack, PixInsight, CS5

Looking back over my last few objects I have lot of dust and reflection targets (okay, they ARE my faves). So next I'll try to do something a bit different... maybe.

A little Iris on the side...

2010-10-30T08:58:00.001-07:00

Here is another shot taken from my recent expedition to the Okie-Tex Star Party. I was going after the dark nebulosity of LDN 1148 (the scorpion tail in the center), but decided to go wide and add the Iris nebula (blue reflection nebula on the left).

This large dust field is in the Cepheus area. I love these dark, spooky, vistas.

FSQ 106EDX f/3.6
STL11000M -20C
LRGB 150,20,15,20
CCDStack, PixInsight, CS5

Another M31

2010-10-26T08:23:00.001-07:00

Next to the Orion Nebula, M31 (the Andromeda Galaxy) is surely one of the most photographed deep sky objects. I last shot our "sister galaxy" a couple of years ago, so I decided it was time to check up on her again.

I shot a much wider field this time and with my newer STL11000 camera. I like the results. I often like to "step back" from these galaxies to see where they live, instead of so close-up.

One cool note about this galaxy... it is so big, when the light left the farthest edge of the galaxy disc mankind did not yet exist, but when it left the closer front edge man was walking the Earth. These kinds of facts add a cool footnote to the images : )

Dust Bunny

2010-10-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

Here is my first CCD image to be processed from Okie-Tex. This is an enormous dust complex in Taurus, centered around the blue reflection nebula Vdb27.

After working on this image for a while it started looking to me like a giant bunny leaping right to lower left across the frame (please tell me you see a bunny too).

These types of targets are among my favorite to image. The illuminated dust has a very 3D quality that I really like and try to bring out in the photo.

FSQ 106EDX f/3.6
STL-11000M -20C
LRGB 150,30,30,30
CCDStack, PixInsight, CS5

Okie Trails

2010-10-13T16:32:00.001-07:00

Spent last week at the Okie-Tex Star Party in the Black Mesa area of Oklahoma (literally across the highway from both Colorado and New Mexico). It was a spectacular SEVEN CLEAR NIGHTS under the stars with some great folks.

I imaged every night until the sun came up, so I am gorged with photons! Before plunging into all of my data, here are a couple of star trail images taken with my Nikon D700.

If you have never attended a star party under extremely dark skies, you owe it to yourself. The feeling is like being on a spaceship drifting through the stars...

Upside Down!

2010-09-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Got back a week ago from our trip to Australia and New Zealand. Needless to say we had a GREAT time (despite the 20 days of rain). This was my first view of the Southern skies, and although the weather was a killer I managed to find 2 clear nights in dark parts of the countries to observe and image.

This first shot is of the galactic core of Milky Way that is straight over head. This is special because in northern latitudes, the core barely gets above the horizon and is harder to see through all of the additional atmosphere. But straight up at zenith... WOW!

I was on Thornton Beach in New Zealand and just finishing an imaging run on the Large Magellanic Cloud (yet to be processed), when I noticed an odd "fuzzy patch" rising over the sea. A few minutes later it climbed up and over the dormant volcano Moutohora... it was the (upside down) Pleiades!

So I took this shot about 1 AM. You can also see the star Aldebaran and the Hyades cluster peeking into frame on the right.

On another clear night I found myself in Wangaratta, Australia. So I drove over the hills and into wine country, parking next to a vineyard. It was VERY dark, except for a little light dome from a nearby town (that you can see in the pic). This was the first time I ever saw the Magellanic Clouds (the 2 fuzzy patches to the left of the Milky Way). They were fantastic! These two galaxies orbit the Milky Way and are only 2 of 3 galaxies (the other being Andromeda) one can see "naked eye" from Earth.

Here is another quick shot of the Milky Way dropping down over some palms on a beach near Cairns, Australia. It was a bit cloudy that night (evidenced by the red clouds drifting by, illuminated by light pollution) but still a great night on the beach.

All images were taken with my Nikon D700.

Cepheus Mosaic

2010-08-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a 2 panel mosaic from the constellation Cepheus. I wanted to frame both the Bubble Nebula (far left) and the Cave Nebula (far right) into one composition, so this forced me to shoot two different fields and blend them together into this mosaic. It was a lot of work, since I shot separate passes for L, Ha, R, G, B, and then not only did these pieces need to be registered, but also matched in terms of exposure (which can vary because of angle in sky and high clouds, etc.). But I am very happy with the end result.

There is so much to see in this field -- red emission nebulae, dark nebulae, reflection nebulae, dust, etc. Sometimes these images remind me of abstract surreal art by artists such as Tonguy, Matta, or Richard Powers (I am a huge fan of these artists).

This image represents about 9 hours of exposure last week at the 3RF astronomy campus.

FSQ 106EDX f/3.64
STL 11000M -10C
LHaRGB 225x135x65x35x75
CCDStack, PixInsight, CS5

A Dusty Serpent

2010-08-17T11:13:00.001-07:00

This huge dust field resides in the constellation Cepheus. It stretches from reflection nebulae VDB 150 to VDB 152. This represents one of my favorite types of objects -- dusty reflection nebulosity.

Reflection nebula reflect light from nearby stars (duh) as opposed to emission type nebulae that glow like a neon sign. As such, reflection nebulae have a naturally cool 3D appearance.

I imaged this last week at the 3RF astronomy campus and had 3 excellent nights of clear dark skies! Not only that, but the Perseid meteors put on quite a show. It was a fantastic trip.

FSQ 106EDX f/3.64
STL 11000M -10C
LRGB 195x40x40x40
CCDStack, PixInsight, CS5

(imaged flipped for presentation)

A Blast from the Past

2010-08-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of the Cygnus & Cepheus region of the Milky Way I took last fall at the Okie-Tex Star Party. I never processed it because I never thought the data was very good. But a week ago I started testing a new (to me) piece of software called PixInsight designed specifically for processing astro images. I decided to go back to old data to see if I could resurrect anything. I'm pretty happy with this test run!

Not only is this data a "blast from the past", but you can see the remnants of a literal blast from the past -- the Veil Nebula (a supernova remnant). Look closely and you can see some tiny semi-circular "arc" type structures at the far left.

Canon XSI at ISO 800
AstroTrac mount
Nikon 85mm lens (I think)
15 x 3min
DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight, CS5

Aussie Rig is GO!

2010-07-13T20:38:00.001-07:00

Kim and I will be heading to Australia and New Zealand soon and I am planning on photographing the southern skies as much as I can! We will be traveling fast and far and I need to go very light, so I have assembled a rig that is not only very accurate but very light and small.

Using a QSI 583 camera (mono w color filter wheel) tracking on an AstroTrac mount, I can get 10 min sub frames with nice round stars. I am using a set of Nikon lenses (instead of a heavy/bulky telescope) that I can also share with my Nikon D700 camera. I am controlling everything with a little Toshiba netbook. All of this will fit into a backpack.

Here is my first test shot I took last weekend with the rig -- a wide field in Cygnus using a Nikon 85mm lens. I'm very pleased with this QSI camera!

So why go to all the trouble to carry this stuff all over Australia and New Zealand for several weeks? Because there are sights in Southern skies that we cannot see in the Northern hemisphere. The sky is very different! Not only is the core of the Milky Way straight overhead, but there are incredible objects like the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (viewable with the naked eye), as well as BUNCHES of constellations and nebulae that one can see nowhere else.

Kim and I are also going to attend a couple of nights at the Border Star Gaze -- a star party near Albury. We just happen to be there at the same time.

Hopefully I will have many new photos to share soon (but they may appear upside down)!

Foot Fetish!

2010-06-28T19:48:00.001-07:00

Well, I FINALLY was able to collect some data with one of my scopes (been doing mostly DSLR stuff lately because of crappy weather).

Anyway... I got a good night at the ranch last week while the observatory was going up. This is a wide field image that includes two large emission nebulae -- the Cat's Paw and the Bear's Claw (guess which is which).

These nebulae reside in Scorpius' tail. As such, they do not get very high and only viewable here in the summer. As with all Ha emission nebulae, they are very very red. They are basically like red neon.

Summer is filled with so many great targets like these, now if only the weather will continue to cooperate!

FSQ 106ED f/5
STL-11000M -10C
HaLRGB 120x45x15x15x15
CCDStack, CS4

There's a NEW observatory in town, pardner...

2010-06-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

Bucksnort Observatory near Adamsville, Texas!

Scott, Don, and Jeff from Backyard Observatories made the trek from Ohio to battle the Texas heat and break ground on my new observatory. They began last Saturday and completed early Tuesday morning. They did an incredible job -- I'm VERY pleased! This is Backyard Observatories 132nd build, and it was obvious since they never looked at any plans or notes -- they just measured, cut, and nailed. Heck, they didn't even have to talk to each other!

I've named it Bucksnort Observatory because it is built on a deer trail, and when I am imaging, the deer snort at me all night. After a couple of years hauling my gear back and forth to the ranch, I decided to bite the bullet and build something permanent. Since I do imaging, I really wanted to be able to also remote control the observatory from my home in Dallas when I can't leave town. I also decided to build slightly larger and add a second pier for a visual scope and/or a second imager. Didn't really cost much more and adds flexibility. I also went with Don's powered Omega Piers and the MI Oasys automation package.

The next few months will have me programming for remote operations, installing my Paramount ME, and adding my buddy's new Planewave 12.5 and Apogee U16, along with my FSQ and STL-11000M. I hope to be ready to roll by the Fall.

Pictures of the build are found here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neutronman/sets/72157624227717565/

Zion

2010-06-13T21:50:00.001-07:00

Zion National Park has been one of my favorite places ever since visiting there back in 1990. I have always wanted to return, as well as explore the many other parks in and around the "Four Corners" area on motorcycles. So when my buddy Trey suggested we go to Vegas, rent bikes, and ride to Zion, it was a big "hell yeah!"

I have become a big fan of Wally Pacholka's night photography of the National Parks, so I instantly planned to take my camera kit and tripod with me and try my hand at some night shots. While I was on a Harley Road King, Kim rented a trike (she always wanted to try one). This was perfect, since the trike could easily carry my camera gear!

Me, Kim, Trey, and his wife Laura had a great time riding through the switchbacks and tunnels late at night. We stopped and enjoyed the stars for a while, while I took a few shots.

After returning to the motel, I decided not to retire just yet. Even though we had a big day ahead of us (hiking and the long hot ride back to Vegas), I had not taken the shots I was hoping for. So, I took the trike and headed off into the night while the others slept.

This kind of photography is dependent upon a balance of lighting. If there is no light (no moon or nearby "light pollution"), the terrain will remain dark and featureless in silhouette against the canopy of stars. But if there is too much light (high full moon, big city lights) the terrain will overexpose by the time the stars are looking good, or perhaps blow out the sky altogether.

The moon was due to rise late and I was hoping to use it as a rim light, but there are so many mountains it took too long to see the effects. So I ended up shooting mainly around the Visitor's Center and using the lights there to illuminate he mountains. This worked pretty darn well!

Anyway, this was a LOT of fun. It was really serene without any other tourists (at about 3:00am) and the desert was gorgeous.

These are a few of the photos I took. They were all taken with my Nikon D700 at ISO 3200, 20mm lens at f/4, single 35 sec exposures, just using a tripod.

I'm really looking forward to doing more of these type of images.

My Cosmic Camel

2010-06-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite areas of the sky! I wanted to compose a shot that featured both the Rho area (multi-colored nebula on the right) and the Blue Horse (blue nebula on the left), with the dark nebulosity streaming down. Upon showing this image to my buddy Phil, he commented it looked like a camel -- it does! Just follow the blue horse (camel) head down then back up to the Rho "hump". Pretty funny.

This is one of my "project images" I have been working on for a few weeks. It took a while because I kept screwing up! I started this project as a multi-focal length mosaic (using multiple exposures with different size lenses to gather more detail in specific areas, then composite).

I gathered the detail on the Rho and Blue Horse areas while at the Texas Star Party, but my wide field image composition was no good. So, I traveled to 3RF to finish collecting the data. I managed to get good skies and finished, but my calibration frames were messed up. Soooo... after jumping through many hoops, I finally got my image done!

This area of the sky is in Scorpius, near our galactic center. It is a summer classic : )

Image stats:
Nikon D700 at ISO 1600
Rho detail -- 180mm f/4 22x3min
Blue Horse detail -- 180mm f/4 12x3min
Wide Field -- 85mm f/4 40x3min

CCDStack, CS4
Mosaic registered in Registar

Simply Awesome

2010-05-24T19:48:00.001-07:00

Here is a simple shot of the Milky Way I took last week at Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus. It is not a great photo with a wonderful foreground of beautiful mountains or a well framed landscape of trees and lakes. Nope, it is just a quick shot looking toward the center of our home galaxy... but it is awesome.

I never tire of photographing it. Nothing gives quite the same "sense of place" as seeing this view from Earth. And watching the summer Milky Way spiral arm rise and fall is positively hypnotic. It makes all the problems in the world seem less important... as we spin eternal.

What a dish!

2010-05-18T22:25:00.001-07:00

Kim and I just got back from the Texas Star Party in Fort Davis, Texas. We went with our friends Trey and Laura and had a blast. It was also great seeing my pals from the local TAS group, as well as some new astro buddies.

During the week long event, we stayed at the Sproul Ranch. Right next door is this huge Radio Telescope. The first night of the star party was partly cloudy, so I decided to shoot some wide fields of the dish. I really like how the lighting and clouds worked out with this shot.

This telescope is one of several that are connected together in a huge array. Others in the array are as far away as Hawaii. The resolutions achieved by the array is amazing (they could read the fine print of a newspaper on the moon)! We actually got a great tour of the telescope a couple of days later and were allowed to climb to the top and walk on the dish -- awesome.

Nikon D700
Nikon 20mm lens (borrowed from my pal Hugh)
45 sec f/4 (ISO 3200)

Got Cepheus?

2010-04-28T21:52:00.000-07:00

The Cepheus constellation is one of my favorite areas of the sky (along with Orion and Scorpius), and it is slowly coming into view for photo ops -- I can't wait! I'll be trying to hit some Cepheus targets from The Texas Star Party in Fort Davis next month (I'm a sucker for the Iris nebula).

Anyway, I was playing around with the new CCDStack 2.0 upgrade (which includes support for native DSLR Camera RAW files) and dug up some old DSLR data from the last Okie Tex that I never processed -- a wide field in Cepheus, focusing on IC1396. I had not collected many subs before getting clouded out, so I never processed the data. Though not terribly deep, it actually turned out kinda cool.

AstroTrac mount
Canon XSI ISO 800
85mm Nikon f/4
18 x 4min

CCDStack, CS4

Cabbage Slice

2010-04-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

There are many catalogs in astronomy -- Messier, Caldwell, NGC, IC, Abell, LDN, LBN, VDB, etc. Why so many catalogs???

Well, for one thing there are a LOT of objects out there. I'm talking DOZENS (as in billions of dozens). People keep trying to divide them into various groupings for easier management. Plus its just fun to count things, right? Right!

So this galaxy is called NGC 4236. That means it has the privilege of being object number 4236 in the NGC catalog (where NGC stands for "New General Catalog"). But like the hero Number 6 from my favorite TV show, The Prisoner, surely a galaxy resents being reduced to a mere number.

Some galaxies are more fortunate. If a galaxy is especially shapely, then it transcends its' numerical prison and is given a catchy nickname, like "Whirlpool", or "Sombrero", or "Sunflower". So even though this little galaxy in Draco may not be on anybody's top ten list, I think it deserves better than a mere number. So let's hear it -- what would YOU call it? Until somebody suggests something better, I'm calling it "Cabbage Slice".

Taken at the Ranch a couple of weeks ago...

TEC 140
STL-11000M -30C
LHaRGB (180, 90, 40, 15, 25) RGB binned 2x2
CCDStack, CS4 (and a dash of Carboni's Star Spikes Pro)

Also of note, the little galaxy at the upper left called PGC 40367 (that's right, another catalog).

On Newsstands Now!

2010-04-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Just tootin' my own astro horn! I currently have a couple of images published in two different magazines out now...

My Orion image got "pic of the month" in the April ish of the UK mag Astronomy Now. They even sent me a check for 25 pounds, so I am officially stinkin' rich now.

My NGC 1333 image was also published in the gallery of the May ish of Astronomy Magazine. The kicker is my buddy Phil Jones has his image published right next to mine -- us Texas astrophotographers are takin' over!

Both of these can be found at Barnes and Noble.

Messier One Hundred and One

2010-03-27T11:07:00.001-07:00

Number 101 on the Messier list of "not comets", this large spiral galaxy fits nicely into my FOV.

I shot this last week on my second night at the 3RF Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus (after Markarian's Chain). In addition to the standard LRGB data (color and luminance), I also shot through a Hydrogen Alpha filter to capture the bright red "knots" of star formation going on in the spiral arms.

Look closely and you can see many more galaxies in this shot!

Imaging stats:

TEC 140 w/flattener
STL-11000M -30C
LHaRGB 120/75/30/40/25 (RGB binned 2x2)
CCDStack, CS4

Workin' on the Chain Gang

2010-03-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

This is a galaxy group called "Markarian's Chain" that is part of the crazy massive Virgo Cluster of galaxies.

Beniamin Markarian was an Armenian astronomer who really dug galaxies. Obviously this group was a particular favorite. If you look closely, you can see his face in the lower right corner : )

Like our Milky Way, each of these galaxies has hundreds of billions of stars... and there are billions of these galaxies. Dang!

I photographed this galaxy cluster last week at the 3RF astro campus in West Texas.

Image Stats:

TEC 140
STL-11000M -30C
LRGB 180/50/50/50 (RGB binned 2x2)
CCDStack, CS4

Here Comes the SUN!

2010-03-20T17:09:00.001-07:00

As you may know (or not), the Sun goes through phases. Solar activity rises and falls over a relatively predictable 11 year solar cycle. When activity (flares, sunspots, prominences, etc.) is at a low, the sun is said to be at "solar minimum". When it is at a peak, it is said to be at "solar maximum".

After the last couple of years of relative non-activity, the sun is now heading towards solar maximum again... the sun is waking up again!

A couple of days ago I was at the 3RF's astronomy campus. Jeff Barton, the astronomy director there, set up his solar scope and we watched this HUGE prominence. Jeff suggested I try to image it and so I did.

This is my first attempt at solar imaging. I just mounted my Canon XSI camera to Jeff's refractor and fired away. It was really fun. So here is a single exposure at ISO200, 1/1000 sec. Be sure to click the thumbnail for a BIGGER look.

Hammerhead

2010-03-07T21:43:00.000-08:00

Hey, I'm a bit late posting this one (sorry, forgot). Anyway...

This is a galaxy in Leo called NGC 3521. I imaged this with my new TEC 140 scope, which is capable of pulling out some of these "smaller" galaxies.

The cool thing about this target is I did not know much about it, and had seen only a few examples. The images I DID see merely featured the core. So I was a bit surprised and excited to see these cool stellar clouds surrounding this galaxy that I had never seen before!

I showed this image around and discovered it was indeed rarely imaged this wide/deep but certainly had been imaged before. In fact, the stellar cloud is referred to as the "hammerhead" because of the hammerhead-shaped formation in the lower right.

Stats:

TEC 140 w/flattener
STL-11000M -20C
LRGB (180,30,30,30) RGB binned 2x2
CCD Stack, CS4

And stay tuned... I have some exciting astro news coming : )

The Norse God

2010-02-20T12:03:00.001-08:00

This nebula is affectionately referred to (or is that "humbly" referred to) as Thor's Helmet. It is a "bubble" nebula (the helmet part) that is generated by the intense radiation of the center Wolf-Rayet star carving this bubble out of the local gas and dust. The "wings" on either side of the helmet complete Thor's iconic head piece.

The nebula is about 30 light years across and resides in the Canis Major constellation -- be sure to visit when you are in the area : )

This image is the "first light" of my new TEC 140 scope. Though I got the scope back in November, my imaging attempts were thwarted by weather until last week -- but it was worth the wait! I am very impressed with this scope.

For all you "tech heads", here are my imaging specs...

TEC 140 w/ field flattener
STL-11000M -20C
LRGB (210,30,45,60) RGB binned 2x2
CCD Stack, CS4

Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus

2010-02-15T07:16:00.000-08:00

I have volunteered at the Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus (CSAC) several times and must say that it is an extraordinary facility.

Located in West Texas near Vernon, it has incredibly dark skies. But more than that, it is a place to study the night sky with good friends, and introduce the wonders of astronomy to the public (during public star prties held twice a month).

The campus contains a plethora of state-of-the-art astro gear -- four domes, a large roll-off observatory, and a powered viewing field... all filled with large aperture scopes. One of the domes is currently being wired for remote astrophotography (controlled via internet).

In addition to the observatories, there is also a classroom, bunkhouse, restrooms and showers, and a full-time staff. And the guys at Three Rivers Foundation (3RF) that are responsible for this incredible campus are just getting started -- there are dorms and a dining pavilion on the way.

But the best part of the CSAC is the folks that run the place and all the volunteers that show up every month -- a great bunch of folks who love the night sky and joyously pass their knowledge along to anyone making the trek out to CSAC.

It is about 4 hour drive from Dallas. I've been out there 3 times now and I hope to make the trip at least 4-6 times a year.

For more info on 3RF and their CSAC, check their website:
http://www.3rf.org/Sciences/sciences.htm

Horse, Flame, M78,and Loop

2010-01-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

After a long dry spell (haven't completed a data set through my scope since September) I finally completed a new image -- yea!

This is a large field in Orion stretching from the Horse Head (upper right) to a chunk of Barnard's Loop (lower left). The blue reflection Nebula to the right of the Loop is M78.

This is my deepest image yet -- 10.5 hours of exposure! I collected 5 hours of Hydrogen Alpha (narrow band emission) data from home, then headed to the dark site at the Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus (3RF) to collect another 5.5 hours of LRGB (color and luminance).

I had a great time at 3RF and one fabulous night of imaging (one out of three ain't bad). I'll post some DSLR images from the trip later.

Here's the stats:

FSQ 106EDX f/3.65
STL-11000M -20C
HaLRGB (300x150x60x50x60)
CCD Stack, CS4

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T10:47:00.001-08:00

Although I have not had good luck with the weather these past few months, I have managed to shoot some quick pics with my DSLR. These two images (Orion over my house and the Moon over the park across the street) were taken on Xmas Eve.

You will notice snow on the ground in the moon shot -- in my 47 years of living in Dallas this is the first white Christmas I've ever seen!

Both of these images were taken with my new Nikon D700 (awesome sensitivity and noise management). I decided to retire my Nikon D80 and get myself a Xmas present : )

Anyway, here's to a happy, safe, and prosperous New Year... and many more CLEAR nights!

Geminid Pair

2009-12-22T08:02:00.001-08:00

Well, my astrophotographic offerings have been relatively slim the last few months. It seems whenever I have a chance to image, the weather reports LOOK good, but then it all falls apart as soon as I drive several hours, set up all my gear, then hit "start". Right on cue the clouds roll in -- just a run of bad luck : (

I went to the ranch for 3 nights of imaging AND to see and photograph the Geminid meteor shower. The weather reports looked good, skies were clear, the shower started, I got my new Nikon D700 rolling... 40 minutes later at the peak the sky was TOTALLY cloudy! Man, this hobby can be frustrating. But that's the way it works -- we are at the whim of fickle ol' Mother Nature.

Anyway, I at least captured 2 of the Geminid meteors before shutting down. Not the most spectacular image, but it keeps me in practice and provides me with a "momento". Too bad, the shower was getting pretty active and fun to watch. Maybe next year!

What a bunch of BULL!!!

2009-12-02T06:47:00.000-08:00

Taurus, that is! Here is a shot of the Taurus constellation taken a couple of weeks ago at the 3RF Astronomy campus near Crowel, TX.

This field stretches from Orion's head (the red patch in the lower left called Sharpless 264) up to the Pleiades in the upper right. I used the new Star Spikes Pro to enhance the Taurus stars a little bit for better viewing.

Stats:
Canon XSI @ ISO 800
28mm Sigma Lens f/4
AstroTrac mount
10 x 5min
DeepSkyStacker, CS4, Star Spikes Pro

BANG! BANG! BANG!

2009-11-30T22:28:00.001-08:00

No, this is not M45, the "ACP" Nebula. This is my latest piece of astronomical gear, a Kimber 45 ACP Pro Carry II TLE.

"Why" you ask? I'll explain...

Doing astronomy means hanging out in very dark places, very late at night. In my wanderings I have encountered feral hogs and many packs of wild dogs (as well as all sorts of other odd creatures). But recently I added "gangbangers" to my list of nocturnal visitors.

My buddy Trey and I went to local park in Garland, TX to test out my new TEC 140 scope. I had all my gear set up and we were digging views of the moon when... BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Five shots rang out from a passing car about 15o yards from us. Moments later, a carload of gangbangers pulled into the dark parking lot with us. As they appeared to size us up, Trey and I stealthily (and quickly) broke down my gear and split! I really did think we were going to have some drama, but we bolted without incident.

Anyway, I hate having to think about protection while enjoying the peaceful and awesome views of the heavens... but I also hate the idea of being attacked by marauding creatures (four-legged OR two-legged).

Hmmm... I wonder how my new gun would look with a scope?

M11 and Dust

2009-11-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

Here is one last image from Okie-Tex. In fact, it is the last image I took there, on the last night. I did not have much time as the target was dropping over a hill. In fact, I ran out of time and did not collect ANY Green channel data. But I was able to create a "synthetic Green" from the Red and Blue channels. It actually worked pretty well.

M11 is the star cluster in the upper left, with several Barnard dark nebulae towards the right.

By the way, this image is severely cropped (because I actually DID photograph the top of the hill as this one dropped low).

Stats:
FSQ 106Ed f/5
STL-11000M -20
LRB (100,20,20)
Synthetic Green from RB
CCDStack, CS4

Sharpless 129

2009-11-15T22:42:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's what this one is called -- number 129 in your Sharpless catalog. The nebula is a very large area of Hydrogen Alpha emission. It looks to me like a supernova remnant, but I cannot find info to that effect. Anybody out there know?

This is another image I shot during Okie-Tex star party in September. I finally got around to processing it (been gone a while). But I am finally about to get after some more photons as I head to the 3RF Astronomy Campus in West Texas for a few days of imaging!

In other news, I have added a new "baby" to my telescope family... a TEC 140 refractor!
Still waiting for a robofocus bracket, but I should be able to try it out soon. Watch these pages for first light pictures from this neato hunk of glass : )

All hands on Deck!

2009-10-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

Astrophotography from the deck of a moving cruise ship leaves very few options. Since the ship is constantly pitching, one must use a fast shutter speed to eliminate blurring. Of course, that pretty much limits you to the sun and moon. But what's not to love? The sun and moon are awesome, particularly out at sea.

Just a couple of shots while cruising through the Atlantic a week ago. Kim and I cruised from Montreal down the St. Lawrence river, then down the East coast to Miami.

I'm still rocking...

Comet Hunter

2009-10-02T22:17:00.000-07:00

This is an image of the Horse Head/Flame and M42 in Orion (the Hunter). And if you look closely you will see a "wanderer" passing right between them -- Comet 217P/Linear.

Although not a big and bright comet, it does sport a small tail and is particularly beautiful for the path it has chosen!

I noticed the comet was well placed last Monday morning, so I decided to have an adventure and make the drive to the Atoka dark site to shoot this composition. I took a nap, got up and left about 1:00am, started shooting by 3:30am, finished and headed home about 6:30am as the sun was coming up. Okay, maybe a little crazy but I think the photo was worth it.

AstroTrac mount
Canon XSI ISO 800
Nikon 180mm f/4
24 x 3min
Maxim DL, CS4

Be sure to click on the image for a closer view!

P.S. -- I hope somebody got my "play on words" with the title : )

Perseus Wide Field from Okie-Tex

2009-09-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

I went back to the Okie-Tex Star Party this year in the Black Mesa area of Oklahoma (were Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico come together). I camped for 8 nights and had a blast, even though the skies were cloudy much of the time this year. Even so, I did manage a few good nights of imaging.

Here is the first photo from the trip -- a wide field in Perseus that stretches from IC348 in the upper left to NGC1333 in the lower right. LOTS of dust and nebulosity in between!

Stats:

FSQ 106EDX f/3.64
STL-11000M -20c
LRGB (200,50,40,60)
CCDStack, CS4

It took several nights to image between the clouds, but I am happy with the results.

See? Just look how happy I am (or maybe that's the Scotch).

Kim even toughed it out and met me for the final 3 nights. She could not drive with her broken foot, so she flew to Amarillo and took a bus to Boise City (where I picked her up). What a trooper!

Thanks to my new buddy Clayton for the pics : )

The Soul Rises

2009-09-08T07:44:00.001-07:00

This is IC 1848, otherwise known as the "Soul Nebula" since it is right next to the "Heart Nebula" (get it? Heart & Soul). Whereas the Heart Nebula does indeed look like a heart, the Soul Nebula looks more like a foetus to me. So I kinda think of this composition as the foetus rising from the mist in the lower right -- sort of like a prenatal genie.

ANYWAY...

This wonderful open cluster and huge emission nebula is located in Cassiopeia. I imaged this critter over 2 nights during my stay at the 3RF Astronomy Campus near Crowell, Texas (a fantastic facility).

FSQ-106EDX f/5
STL 11000M -10c
HaLRGB (180,140,60,50,60)
CCD Stack, CS4

My first published photo

2009-09-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit I got a little excited when I found out Astronomy Magazine would be publishing one of my images in their October issue (on news stands now)! For me, this as kind of a milestone.

About a year and a half ago, I picked up a magazine called "Beautiful Universe". It is an annual magazine published by Sky & Telescope and features the best astrophotography of the year. The issue I bought was devoted primarily to "amateur" astrophotographers. I was stunned by the images. I was equally stunned to learn these images were indeed being taken by amateurs -- hobbyists. Amazing. At that moment I decided I HAD to try this.

After taking my first image (M42), I was instantly hooked. THIS was something I wanted to learn and try to get good at. If only I could take pictures like the ones I saw in that magazine...

Well, after a year and a half of spending MANY hours learning this art it is very rewarding to see a photograph I took being published on a full page in a magazine. A big deal? Not in the grand scheme of things. Big bucks? Are you kidding?! But it is always nice to receive some amount of recognition, but even BETTER to actually have a venue to share your work with others. That's one reason I started this Blog.. I've gotta do SOMETHING with my photos!

Here is the image of mine they chose -- Scorpius:

Dirty Snake

2009-08-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

The little "S" shaped dark nebula is Barnard 72, otherwise known as the Snake Nebula. It is located towards the heart of our galaxy. As such, there are TONS of stars in this field! These Dark Nebulae are very dense areas of dust and gas that are silhouetted by the dense star fields. The Milky Way is filled with these objects.

I took this image last week at the Three Rivers Foundation, an astronomy campus located near Crowell, Texas (about 4 hours NW of Dallas). That place is AMAZING! It literally looks like a state park, but is filled with state-of-the-art astronomy gear for public use. I spent two nights there and helped out with a Star Party that 3RF sponsored -- about 100 people showed up (mostly boy and girl scouts). I demonstrated Astrophotography (what else?)

The skies at 3RF were very dark indeed, and the desert-like climate is very dry. I certainly plan on going back!

FSQ-106EDX f/5
STL-11000M -10c
LRGB (70x20x20x20) color binned 2x2
CCD Stack, CS4

Spinning in Dust

2009-08-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

This colorful "Cocoon Nebula" is spun from dust and gas in the Constellation Cygnus. The pink/red/blue cloud is a star forming region, while a huge dark nebula can be seen stretching away from it.

Since this object resides along the Milky Way, the field is populated by BUNCHES of stars!

This object was imaged last month at the ranch:

FSQ 106EDX f/5
STL-11000M -10C (still up against the Texas heat)
L,R,G,B
120x50x50x50
CCD Stack, CS4

And here is another dark and dusty object, Barnard 142 & 143, otherwise known as Barnard's "E".

This interesting dark nebula resides in the constellation Aquila. But who is this cat "Barnard" you ask? And why is he making a list of these things?

E. E. Barnard was a turn of the century amateur astronomer who loved imaging the wide fields of the Milky Way. He became so good, he was offered a job at the Lick Observatory as a "real" astronomer. Even though he had access to powerful scopes, he still loved the wide fields that smaller apertures gave, and he commissioned his own photographic telescopes to continue his wide field studies. Read more (and see his plates) here: http://www.library.gatech.edu/barnard/index.html

Stats for the "E"

FSQ 106EDX f/5
STL-11000M -10C
L,R,G,B
90x15x12x15
(lume binned 1x1, color binned 2x2)
Maxim, CCD Stack, CS4

Canadian Skies

2009-07-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Last week I went on a fishing trip to Pine Island Lodge. The lodge is located on a small island on the Winnipeg River in Canada. Although the main focus was fishing with the family (it was great fishing, I caught a 39" Northern Pike and Kim earned a Master Angler certificate for Smallmouth Bass), I also realized the skies were going to be dark and with no moon. So naturally I brought my "grab & go" astrophoto rig -- the Canon XSI and AstroTrac mount.

My travel rig fits neatly into a backpack and into the overhead bin on the plane, while the tripod stows in the checked bag. Fortunately, I was not given any grief by security (the AstroTrac might take some explaining).

One thing I learned about being this far north in the summer -- it only gets dark between about 12:30am to 3:30am. So I woke up around 1:30 and shot for about an hour. I wanted to get the Milky Way over the Winnipeg River, so I fought mosquitoes to get this single exposure (2 min) shot.

I then noticed the Big Dipper parked nicely over one of the cabins, so I shot another 2 min exposure.

Once I got home I got a big surprise...

Notice anything interesting about these shots? Although they were too faint to see naked eye, I picked-up the Northern Lights! They were faint but definitely there. I processed the Milky Way image first and thought the odd green cloud might be the aurora but was unsure. But when I saw the cabin image it was obvious.

Anyway, a really great trip and a nice surprise upon returning home!

Spelunking

2009-07-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

Here is my image of the Cave Nebula in the constellation Cepheus. Why is it called the Cave? Hell if I know. Apparently somebody saw a "cave" in here somewhere. I'm expecting there to be a whole slew of Michael Jackson nebulae catalogued soon.

Anyway, I shot this image last month (the same trip as my previous 2 images). I did not really have quite enough data to pull all of the detail I wanted, but it is still pretty. I must adopt a bit more patience and spread my imaging of these faint targets over several nights. But it is hard! The sky is filled with so many cool objects I want to see more! Ah, but just looking at some other images of this target with 8 hours of data (compared to my measly 4) is motivation for patience -- they are very impressive.

My stats:

FSQ 106EDX f/5
STL-11000M -10C
Ha,L,R,G,B
45x60x50x30x50
Maxim, CCD Stack, CS3

Inside Rho

2009-07-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

The Rho Ophiuchus area is HUGE, and this is only a "small" piece of it that fits in my field of view. As such, it almost feels like we are inside of it.

You may recall (or not) that I imaged an extremely WIDE field of this area along with the entire Scorpius constellation back in April -- my "Scorpius Rising" image. Anyway, this is a much tighter shot that focuses on some of the incredible dark and dusty nebulosity found there.

I had some issues collecting the data for this image (clouds, trees, gradients, tequila) but after a bit of processing I was able to arrive at something I like. Heck, I love it! Space is just so damned neato (feel free to quote me on that).

For fans of stats...

FSQ 106 EX f/5
STL 11000M -10C
L,R,G,B
100x10x15x15
Maxim, CCD Stack, CS3

Trifid & Lagoon

2009-06-28T08:11:00.001-07:00

I know, I know... it sounds like a cop show. But this is actually the Trifid and Lagoon nebulae in Sagittarius, one of the summer highlights in the Milky Way. At a dark site, you can actually see these two naked eye (as little white smudges). But with longer exposure their colors burst forth!

This was my second outing with the new STL camera. Okay, I am officially impressed. Now I know why this camera has been a staple in astrophotography for a number of years. It is a tank and creates fabulous data.

I am still experimenting with my processing workflow, but seem to have hit a sweet spot by calibrating/aligning in Maxim, then data rejecting/combining in CCD Stack (and of course putting it all together in Photoshop CS3).

Here are da stats:

FSQ 106EDX f/5

STL-11000M -10C
Ha, L, R, G, B

50x90x50x25x50

Maxim, CCD Stack, CS3

Don't you love stats?

Gama Cygni -- First Light!

2009-06-22T07:03:00.001-07:00

Well, I went and done it -- I went ahead and bought a "true" astro camera to compliment my FSQ scope. After learning the ropes with my little QHY8 one-shot color camera (a really nice little camera by the way) I decided to step-up to the "big league" with the STL-11000M camera from Santa Barbara Imaging Group.

The STL is mono large chip (11 megapixel) that images through a built-in filter wheel to record color data in a series of passes. Why mono? Well, the mono chips are much more sensitive, and separate color passes provide much greater fidelity (think composite video vs. component video). Also this camera has much deeper wells than the QHY8, which translates into increased dynamic range, for resolving all those faint details. It also has programmable cooling and other features.

Processing the LRGB images (separate Luminance, Red, Green, Blue) is much more daunting than simple one-shot color. There is at least 4 times as much data, and additional calibration frames are a must. But the end results speak for themselves. Although this image is a quick test, I am already excited about the differences I am seeing in the data (and you know you're a nerd when "data" excites you).

This image is from the Gamma Cygni region in the Cygnus constellation. It is a large complex of Hydrogen Emission nebulosity. Hence, I shot my luminance data through the HA filter of my new camera (another boon to this type of camera -- just program the filter wheel to whatever filter you want, then bang away).

Anyway, this is my "first light" image -- the first time this camera has seen starlight. This is also my first attempt at using a new program to process my data (CCD Stack), and of course the first time I have tackled a LRGB image. But I must say, I am very happy with my progress thus far (and yes, it is also a bit nerdy to say "thus").

Image stats:

FSQ 106EDX f/5
STL-11000m -13C
Ha,R,G,B
60x10x10x10
CCD Stack, Cs3

Milky Way Over Atoka

2009-06-09T09:21:00.001-07:00

The Texas Astronomical Society had a "work party" at their dark site in Atoka, OK about a week ago to do some maintenance. I went up to lend a hand (and eat some damn fine pork ribs).

It was hot during the day, but cooled off nice at night. There were high clouds, but once the moon set (around midnight) the clouds disappeared and the skies were awesome.

It is always worth the trip to a dark site to see the Milky Way rise. That bright "star" on the horizon is Jupiter. I got some great views of the ol' gas giant through a club member's TEC 160 refractor -- nice!

This image is a simple 60 sec exposure taken with my Nikon D80 on a fixed tripod.

My Mexican Hat

2009-06-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the famous Sombrero Galaxy (also known as M104). This galaxy was discovered in 1781 and has been a favorite for generations. It is a great example of a "lens-shaped" galaxy and has a dense accretion disc that is beautifully silhouetted by over 400 billion stars.

I captured the light of these 400 billion suns at the recent TSP.

LX200 10" f/6.7
QHY8 camera
21 x 10 min
Maxim, CS3

Space Claw! (aka Barnard 84)

2009-05-25T06:20:00.001-07:00

A very cool dark nebula in Sagittarius! This is a dense star field, being near the hub of our Milky Way galaxy. The yellow Globular Cluster to the left is NGC 6440 and there is a small planetary nebula in the upper left (tiny pink "box") called NGC 6445. But the "star" of this show is the claw-like Barnard 84. I love how it appears to be reaching towards us from deep space -- yipes!

I imaged this last week from the ranch. The weather was beautiful last week in the Hill Country. I was shooting this target one night until about 5a.m.

FSQ 106ED f/5
QHY8 camera
9 x 15 min
Maxim, CS3

IRIS -- take 2

2009-05-22T16:05:00.001-07:00

Here is this years attempt at the Iris nebula. I imaged this last year but was not too happy with it. I love this object and wanted to do better. I think I did (you can find my earlier attempt looking back at last July).

Although I am excited to see myself improving, I was humbled by another Astrophotographer who took my data and created an even better image in about an hour (it took me MANY hours to process mine).

Ah, well... that's actually exciting, too. It just means I still have a long way to go to get where I want to be. And as they say, it really is about the "journey"!

This image was taken at the Texas Star Party.

FSQ 106ED f/8
QHY8 camera
16 x 10 min.
Maxim DL, CS3

Blue Horsey

2009-05-12T17:17:00.001-07:00

Here is an image of a wonderful reflection nebula in Scorpius. It is called IC 4592, but I like to think of it as a horse. I really love this object. It is faint, but very large. In fact, I'm just catching a piece of it.

The clouds of dust are being illuminated by the star that makes up the horse's "eye". Reflection nebulae typically have a blue color because as light scatters through the dust it shifts to the blue end of the visual spectrum (the same reason our daytime sky is blue).

I took this image at the Texas Star Party (yes, I was busy at the TSP)!

Stats:

FSQ 106ED f/5
QHY8 camera
9 x 15 min
Maxim, CS3

Jellyfish

2009-05-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

This is IC 443, otherwise known as the "Jellyfish" nebula (but I think it looks more like a monocular brain creature). This object is a supernova remnant -- material ejected from an exploding star. It is almost entirely Hydrogen Alpha emission so I imaged this through an HA filter a couple of months ago at the ranch, but I did not image "normal color" for the star field until the recent Texas Star Party. So here at last is the final composite : )

FSQ 106ED f/5

QHY8 camera

9 x 20m HA

3 x 10m Color

Maxim, CS3

Needle in a Haystack

2009-05-03T19:36:00.001-07:00

Here is The Needle Galaxy -- another image taken at the recent Texas Star Party.

NGC 4565 (aka "the Needle") gets its nickname from the obvious needle-like appearance. This galaxy is actually a disc shaped spiral (not unlike our Milky Way), but since we see it "edge-on" it does indeed resemble a needle. You can easily see the dark dust lane of the spiral arms silhouetted against the larger glowing central core.

You can also see at least two other edge-on galaxies in this field.

Image stats:

LX200 10" f/6.7
QHY8 camera
14 x 10min
Maxim, CS3

More TSP images to come, plus pics from the star party : )

Scorpius Rising

2009-04-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hey! I just got back from the Texas Star Party near Fort Davis. It was a blast! Kim and I spent all last week there and had a lovely stay in one of the motel rooms (cabins really) at the Prude Ranch that hosts the event each year. I had 4 beautiful clear nights out of 5, so I am quite happy. We also had many other adventures in the area (McDonald Observatory, Alpine, Marfa, etc.). I will write an "official" report soon...

But for now, here is the first processed image from my trip -- the constellation of Scorpius, rising with the Milky Way. This awesome sight appeared each night about 3 a.m. and was definitely something worth staying up for!

I imaged this target over 2 nights, collecting data with both a 28mm lens (for the entire constellation) and a 85mm lens (for the detail around the Rho area in the upper middle). The image data was collected with my Modded Canon XSI, f/4, ISO 1600. I used the AstroTrac for unguided tracking. Total exposure is a bit over 3 hours.

A Big Bite of Auriga

2009-04-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been putting together a new "grab and go" imaging rig that I can travel with and set-up quickly. I wanted something that could be carried in a small backpack and fit into airline overhead storage. So I have chosen an AstroTrac and a Hutech Modded Canon XSI camera.

I will post images and a full review of this new rig soon. But for now, here is an early test image of this new rig.

This is a very wide field that captures about half of the Auriga constellation. There are many objects here including -- M36 and M38 (the two star clusters towards the top of frame), IC 405 and IC 410 (the red nebulae in the center), and the bright star Elnath at the left. Be sure to click on the image for a LARGER view.

___________________________________

Stats:

AstroTrac

Canon XSI (Hutech Modded)

Nikon 85mm lens

ISO 800

28 x 3min

DSS, CS3

Galaxy Season Continues

2009-04-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Why so many galaxies this time of year? Well, it is partly because at night during this time of year, we are looking away from our Milky Way's galactic core and out into deep space. During the summer, our views are populated by the vast rivers of stars, dust, and nebulae from the spiral arms of our own galaxy. But looking away from our galaxy in the Spring reveals the great desert of space, populated by millions of other "tiny" galaxies that are unobstructed by our Milky Way.

Every star and large nebulae we see are part of our own Milky Way. This is why there are not too many wide field targets in the Spring, since we are looking away from them.

Anyway, here is a shot of M81 & M82. They are a lovely pair in the northern sky and one of the few wide field targets available at this time (framing them together).

Here are the stats:

FSQ 106 ED f/8
QHY8 camera

13 x 15 min

Maxim, CS3

By the way, you may recognize M81 as an image I took (by itself) at Christmas time with my LX200 scope (with a lot more magnification). Here it is for comparison :

Just Passing By...

2009-04-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

Looking at close-up shots of these HUGE celestial objects can be very abstract -- there is no easy way to relate to them. Okay, mentally picure the distance of 25 million lightyears. Did your brain explode? Well mine does. So I am interested in somehow showing the relationships between these massive objects so that I can start to develop a better sense of them.

A few days ago, the Moon passed very close to the Pleiades. So I took the opportunity to try to image the two icons together. I used a new rig (an AstroTrac with a modified Canon 450D, Nikon 85mm lens, and mixed with some higher res data taken with my Takahashi FSQ scope). This was an interesting blend of gear and technique. As you can imagine, there is a HUGE dynamic range between the incredibly bright moon and the relatively dim Pleiades, so processing this image was tricky.

At any rate, I hope you enjoy it. I'm pleased with the results and look forward to capturing other interesting "fly-bys".

Image taken on 3-30-09

A galaxy called M63

2009-03-26T17:58:00.001-07:00

Well I finally have an new image to share. I have experienced some technical difficulties (my NEW laptop had a system crash) and flaky weather has been a problem, but I managed to get this galaxy imaged and processed.

So you are asking yourself, "what is the deal with those funky names for galaxies and such"? Well, the "M" stands Messier... Charles Messier. Who the heck is that?

Well ol' Chuck was an 18th century French astronomer who really dug comets. I mean this guy just looked and looked for comets. Sometimes he would find a bright fuzzy object in his telescope and get all excited, then he would would discover it was NOT a comet and get all pissed off, record its position, and give it a number -- that way nobody would be fooled again! After a while he had a whole catalogue of "not comets". This catalogue is now refered to as the Messier Catalogue of objects and contains some of the best and brightest deepsky objects (nebulae, galaxies, star clusters).

So here is my image of the "not comet" M63 -- a beautiful galaxy (also known as the Sunflower Galaxy).

Vital Stats:
FSQ 106ED f/8
EM 200 Autoguided
QHY8 camera
DSS, CS3
13 x 15min

Something Old... Something New...

2009-03-15T09:09:00.001-07:00

So while I'm waiting for some clear dark skies and my next imaging opportunity, I thought I would do a little "human interest" story...

Last October I was at the ranch doing my usual "dark of the moon" imaging run, when this old Model T pulled up next to my FSQ imaging rig.

The Model T belongs to a real interesting fellow named Gale O'Keefe. Gale is an elderly gent (in his 80's) who lives on a nearby ranch with a dog, named "dog". Gale is something of an inventor and a real sharp dude. He used to restore old Model T cars when he was a kid and hit the old farm roads, going hunting and fishing with his brother.

Well, Gale found this rusting old Model T truck in a pasture where it had sat for decades. When he contacted the rancher about it, the guy told Gale he could have it if he would haul it off. So Gale brought it home and began restoring it, just like when he was a kid (more than 60 years ago). His goal was to finish it and get it running in time for his brother's visit so they could go riding the country roads in a Model T like they did when they were kids.

Gale finished in time and the two brothers had their ride.

So when Gale parked the old Model T next to my new FSQ telescope, I was struck by the contrast -- both beautiful designs, state-of-the-art in their own time. Somehow they fit well together, so I took this photo.

Who knows? Maybe 40 years from now I'll restore an "old" FSQ telescope and some young guy will park his futuristic hovercar next to it and take a picture... keep watching this Blog : )

Island Universes

2009-03-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

This is Abel 779 -- a galaxy cluster of dozens of "Island Universes" in the Lynx constellation. The bright fuzzy galaxy in the center is NGC 2832.

The concept of other galaxies, like our Milky Way, is relatively new. In fact, until 1929 astronomers thought these faint fuzzy objects were nebulae located right here in our own Milky Way. But Hubble (the man, not the telescope) proved that the stars in the Andromeda "nebula" were actually FAR outside of our galaxy -- Andromeda was another galaxy, like ours!

Until this time, it was thought the Milky Way WAS the universe. Suddenly, overnight, the universe grew to immense proportions and other galaxies ("Island Universes") began popping up everywhere. Our Milky Way went from being the universe to being just one tiny minor part of a much bigger picture!

This image was taken at Rancho Venado in 2/09

LX 200 10" f/6.7
QHY8 camera 10 x 10min
Maxim, CS3

Death Owl

2009-03-06T08:10:00.000-08:00

Here is my shot of the Owl Nebula, taken at Rancho Venado last month.
This nebula is called a "Planetary Nebula", although it has nothing to do with planets (except it is round like one).

These types of nebulae are the products of dying stars. As the star uses up its fuel, it loses mass and begins to collapse, ejecting material into space (in this photo, all of the material is emanating from the tiny star in the center of the Owl). But the death is not sad. Like everything else in the universe, new life springs from death (the ol' circle of life thang). The ejected material will eventually join more material, group together by gravitational attraction, heat up, and create a new star -- an endless cycle.

I took this with my newer LX200 10" scope. Here are the stats:
10" LX200 ACF f/6.7
QHY8 camera
13 x 10min Maxim, CS3

Barnard 30 (and friends)

2009-03-03T07:18:00.001-08:00

Here is an interesting field around Barnard 30, a star forming region just north of Orion's "head". Emission, dark, and reflection nebulae all mingle about in this dusty field. The nebulosity is pretty faint. At just under 3 hours total exposure I really had to dig hard to pull out the data lurking under the noise -- took me 3 days!

Taken at Rancho Venado on 2-21-09 FSQ 106ED f/5 EM 200 autoguided QHY8 camera 8 x 20min Maxim, CS3

And if you flip the image over, it looks like a Klingon Bird of Prey on fire!

Okay, maybe I stared at this image too long (that, and I am a complete nerd).

Comet Lulin

2009-02-23T21:44:00.000-08:00

This is Comet Lulin which is currently passing close to the Earth as it makes a lap around the Sun. I was down at the Ranch last weekend and Lulin was bright enough to see naked eye, including a faint tail. While not as spectacular as 2007's Comet Holmes or 1997's Hale-Bopp (that one was incredible), Lulin was fun to find and is the first comet I have tried to image.

I took several images, using various exposures and techniques, but this image sequence blew me away! I took 8 x 10 min exposures while guiding on the comet head (so the FSQ telescope tracked the comet's movement, thus the streaking stars). Once I saw the sequence animated I flipped -- you can easily see great plumes of material ejecting from the head of the comet, opposite the tail. Man, I wish you could see my hi-res version : )

More Lulin images on the way. In the meantime, go catch it if you can. It is at its brightest point right now and the moon is dark.

UPDATE:

Here is a link to a B&W crop that I believe gives a better view of the ejecta...

http://www.astroclassifieds.com/gallery/data/526/LulinBW.gif

A Seagull for Pauline

2009-02-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine, Bob Eggleton, lost his mother last week. Bob called to tell me the news and as we spoke he mentioned in passing that his mother always loved seagulls. It was a theme with her. Ironically, I had just returned from an imaging trip where I shot IC 2177 -- the "Seagull" nebula. Hmmm...

Although I shot 4 hours worth of exposure, I intended to record more image data through a Ha filter to grab much more hydrogen emission detail and really do this object justice. But Kim and I were going to go to Providence for Pauline Eggleton's memorial service (which was actually one of the best memorial services I've seen) and I wanted to take something to Bob I felt he would appreciate more than just flowers or the usual tokens. See, Bob is a professional artist who has painted many fantastic space scenes and, well, this just felt "right". So I tried my best to process what I had and create a print to honor Bob's mother.

This one is for Pauline -- Godspeed.

Look what came out of my GIRAFFE!

2009-01-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

My local astro club (the Texas Astronomical Society) is studying the constellation Camelopardalis, otherwise known as the "Giraffe". They challenged me to image some deep space objects from the region, so last week I shot 3 targets...

The first is Barnard 8-11

These dark nebulae are seldom imaged and I could not find any reference for them, so I was literally shooting in the dark -- but it looks like I found them.

Next one up is IC 342

This is a small spiral galaxy behind a dense star field. In fact, it looks like somebody fired a celestial shotgun full of rock salt at it! I tried to de-emphasize the stars to see the galaxy better.

And finally, here is NGC 2403

Another beautiful spiral galaxy. It is in a less populated star field. I love how two of the faint spiral arms terminate in a conjunction with the two colorful stars.

All of these images were taken with my TAK FSQ 106ED and QHY8 camera, approximately 3 hours each.

For the two galaxies I used (for the first time) an Extender Q lens that converts my TAK scope to a longer focal length F/8. I was VERY impressed with the job it did!

I had beautiful clear skies last week at the Ranch and shot many more targets. The only bad thing is Kim and I lost one of dogs -- little Ponce. He ran after a deer and got lost. We stayed all week but never found him.

I make it a point to stay "on topic" in this blog, but Ponce is a member of the family and I wanted to mention it for those that know the little rascal. We're still looking...

Mood Ring

2009-01-12T22:39:00.000-08:00

Actually a Moon Ring (but it is kinda moody).

This was a huge 22 degree ring around the moon here in Dallas on Sunday night. I have seen small halos around the moon, but never anything as large as this! This type of ring is created by ice crystals that form in the upper atmosphere. All of the ice has the same crystaline structure and refracts the moonlight like a giant lens, creating a very impressive ring.

More info can be found here http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonring/

I took these images in the park across the street from my house, using my Nikon D-80 and Nikor 10.5mm Fisheye lens. It is a 3 second F/7 exposure at ISO 800.

My Wide Cone (and HVN)

2009-01-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

Here is another image I took from the Ranch over Christmas. This is the Cone Nebula, otherwise known as NGC 2264. Actually, the Cone is seen as the small conical nebula at the bottom of the larger red dust complex. This entire complex (and associated star cluster) is referred to as the Christmas Tree -- so I of course had to image this over Christmas!

I really like this field -- lots of red emission nebulae, but also blue reflection and dark nebulae. Also, there is an additional treat -- Hubble's Variable Nebula (HVN).

The HVN is that small triangular white cloud in the lower right, almost to the edge of frame. It is called a variable nebula because the star that illuminates this patch of dust is a variable star -- pulsing in magnitude and causing the nebula to change shape and brightness over time. A bit of trivia -- this was the first object to ever be imaged by the famous 200" Hale Telescope at Palomar. So if you get the Astronomy version of Trivial Pursuit you are all set : )

How Does Orion Keep his Pants up?

2009-01-04T06:41:00.000-08:00

With his Belt!

The Orion constellation is the most identified group of stars in the heavens. It also filled with tons of "eye candy" -- the most noted being M42 (the great Orion nebula) and the Horse Head nebula. But Orion is actually FILLED with all sorts of intersting objects.

Orion's Belt is easily recognized by naked eye as three bright stars close together in Orions "mid-section". For this image, I wanted to focus on this belt and bring out all the dusty bits around this area. There is a LOT to see here!

You will notice the Horse Head and Flame nebulae are in the bottom left corner. They were the focus of another recent image I took. But this time all focus is on the Belt.

This image was taken over the Christmas holidays at Rancho Venado. It is 3 hours of exposure with the Takahashi FSQ 106 ED at F/3.64

I am hoping to continue plundering Orion's treasures and create a large mosaic of the area.

First Light!

2009-01-01T21:01:00.000-08:00

Kim and I (and the dogs) went to the Ranch for Christmas. We spent about a week in the Hill Country and I was able to do a lot of astro imaging of course! In fact, I was able to test my new scope and give it "first light".

Christmas Eve was crystal clear and beautiful. I set up the new LX200 10" and Borg guide scope. I did not have too much time, since we were going to be getting up early on Christmas morning to drive to Austin for Christmas day to visit family. Anyway, I decided to go for Bode's Galaxy -- a classic spiral galaxy that is fairly large and bright.

Everything went surprisingly smooth for a first run with new gear. One thing I learned quickly -- everything is much more difficult at longer focal lengths! For the past few months I have been doing wide field imaging with the Takahashi FSQ 106 with a focal ratio of F/5. But the new LX200 is a much narrower field at a focal ratio of F/10. What does this mean? Well, it means that any slop or error is amplified and becomes a much bigger deal. It also means that the "seeing" (rippling atmosphere) plays a much bigger role.

One thing that became immediately clear is that my guiding needed to be REALLY spot on. This means you have to tweak it a lot to get it just right. This was a little difficult since I could not bring the Borg guide scope to exact focus (I need an additional spacer ring). So, I guided on soft focus stars -- but I got it to work.

So here is the first image from the new system -- Bode's Galaxy. It is just under 2 hours of exposure.

I still need to address a few things with this rig, but overall I am really pleased with my initial results. I can finally go after some "tiny" galaxies and planetary nebulae -- yea!

Howdy Neighbor!

2008-12-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

This is M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. Andromeda is our closest neighboring galaxy. In fact, we are getting closer all the time. Scientists predict that our galaxy, the Milky Way, will eventually collide with Andromeda. When that happens, there is actually a chance that our solar system could be "captured" by Andromeda -- we could actually swap galaxies! We won't know for sure for a few million years, but place those bets early.

Another interesting fact about Andromeda and its distance and size... Since light takes time to travel through the universe, the further distances we see, the "older" the light is. In other words, if we look at an object that is 100 light years away we are actually seeing light that is 100 years old -- we are seeing that object as it was 100 years ago. Hence, we are looking into the past.

The light traveling from the far side of Andromeda left before man ever walked the Earth, while the light on the near side of Andromeda left after the first recorded history. So, Andromeda is also an amazing "time line" of man's existence. Pretty cosmic, huh?

Anyway, I took this image last October at Rancho Venado. I had a couple of false starts, but finally was satisfied with this image (I haven't done too many galaxies yet). It was taken with the FSQ 106ED with a total exposure of 110 minutes.

Happy holidays!

A Major Award

2008-12-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, in the immortal words of Darren McGavin from A Christmas Story... I have received "A Major Award". No, its not a "leg lamp". A couple of my astrophotos won the monthly competitions over at Cloudy Nights, a large astronomy forum http://www.cloudynights.com/index.php

Every month there are several competitions in astrophotography (DSLR, CCD, Beginner, Sketching). I entered 2 images...

In the "object of the month" challenge, my NGC 1333 won
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UFwZfAXi71E/SPIivqLrrPI/AAAAAAAAARA/yEeRSjloBtA/s1600-h/NGC+1333+master_crop_med.jpg

And in the Group Challenge (a sort of "best of" from all the categories), my M42 won
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UFwZfAXi71E/SRc1Q_BExsI/AAAAAAAAASs/g5fG7DXd4BU/s1600-h/M42_master_crop_med.jpg

Cloudy Nights is a great forum and resource for the aspiring astronomer and/or astrophotographer. The competitions are friendly and fun, with bragging rights and a t-shirt the ultimate reward. Plus, the winner gets to pick the next "object of the month". It is a great way to challenge yourself and work on your skills, as well as see other folk's take on a similar object.

My M42 photo will appear on the Cloudy Nights homepage next month : )

New Baby

2008-12-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

What, ANOTHER telescope? Why do you need another telescope?! The answer is simple... why do you have a screwdriver AND a hammer? The right tool for the right job!

My Takahashi FSQ 106ED telescope is alive and well and will continue to get a workout for many years. But the Tak is a wide field scope for imaging large objects. To image SMALL objects I need a much longer focal length (think of it as changing lenses on your camera).

Galaxy season is coming up and there are not that many wide field targets in the spring, so this time around I will be ready! After much debating, I settled on a Meade LX200 ACF 10" SCT telescope. It has a long focal length, larger aperature, flat coma-free field, and a mirror lock. In other words, it is a good choice for narrow field astrophotography.

I am still putting this rig together. I am slightly worried about the weight on the mount, but the Tak mount is pretty darned robust. I may go with a lighter guidescope (the one on top), but for now I'm going to give this a try and see how it performs.

I am eager to try this out on galaxies and planetary nebulae. It should be a fun challenge! Stay tuned...

M78 (with a dash of Loop)

2008-12-11T06:32:00.001-08:00

Well, I have been out of the country for a couple of weeks (Kim and I took a cruise through the panama canal -- neato). But before I left town, I managed to get up to Atoka for a couple of nights. At last I can process my images!

The first night in Atoka was perfect, and very cold. The next night started well, but clouded up as I tried to image the California Nebula. So I packed up early and headed back to town around midnight. It is a bummer to bail on a session, but the upside is a nice warm bed!

Anyway, the image before you is M78, a reflection nebula in Orion. I shot this with the FSQ 106 taking 11 x 20min exposures for a total exposure of about 3.6 hours.

As I was processing the image I noticed I had captured an arc of red nebulosity in the upper right corner. I was not sure what it could be. But as I worked on pulling out the details, I was struck by hunch. After researching a bit I discovered my hunch was correct -- the red arc is part of the famous Barnard's Loop!

Most images I see of M78 are close-ups. But since my field was wide, I picked up the Loop in my shot as well. I knew the Loop was in Orion, but I had no idea it was so close to M78. It was really fun to "stumble upon it", then figure out what it was -- like making a discovery (even though all seasoned astronomers would certainly know exactly what it was immediately).

This quote really captures the idea...

"When you make the finding yourself - even if you're the last person on Earth to see the light - you'll never forget it."-Carl Sagan.

Autumn Moon

2008-11-22T16:35:00.000-08:00

Every year I go deer hunting with my dad -- an annual ritual since I was a kid. But in recent years I do most of my shooting with a camera. Hey, I still love venison (grew up on the stuff) but I am now content to simply watch the deer frolic and take photos.

For me, the greatest thing about hunting was simply getting outdoors and watching nature do its' thing. Getting up early and climbing a tree before the sun comes up (freezing cold!), then watching patiently as daylight breaks and the world awakens. Animals of all sorts emerge to begin their daily routines, while the rising sun slowly warms you. It is spectacularly beautiful and sedate.

So, I was down to the ranch last week and sitting in a blind under a tree. As the first rays of sunlight hit the tree tops, I looked behind me to the West to see this gorgeous image -- the autumn leaves of red, green, and gold framing the waning moon. It was pretty as a picture...

And now it IS one : )

The Famous M42

2008-11-09T10:59:00.000-08:00

Once again I look towards Orion. This time to the famous Orion Nebula. This large nebula is a star factory -- birthing stars from the bright hot core. I went deep on this object to try to pull out a lot of the surrounding darker dusty bits.

There is so much dynamic range in this object, I shot my sub exposures at 3 different lengths (30 sec, 300 sec, and 1200 sec) and then combined the results. All total there is about 2 hours on this object.

You can actually see this object with your naked eye (and much better with binoculars). Looking at the Orion constellation, this object resides just under Orion's Belt and makes up the "sword". It appears as a faint, glowing cloud to the naked eye (best seen with averted vision).

My hope is to continue mining the gems in Orion, then combine them all into a widefield image.

Incidentally, M42 was the first astrophoto I ever took (last February). To show my progress, here are my first 2 attempts at this object from last winter...

http://bp2.blogger.com/_UFwZfAXi71E/SB5-v0X3xKI/AAAAAAAAABQ/yqzq_MlJezg/s1600-h/FirstPhoto_Orion.jpg

http://bp2.blogger.com/_UFwZfAXi71E/SB6P_0X3xOI/AAAAAAAAABw/qsyB6XG3N-A/s1600-h/Orion_Final_2_screen.jpg

Horsey on Fire!

2008-11-06T12:19:00.000-08:00

This is the famous Flame Nebula (lower left) and the Horsehead Nebula (should be obvious), as well as several other reflection nebulae scattered about.

This is a very rich field full of lots and lots of wonderful sights. It has a LOT of dynamic range (very faint stuff next to very bright stuff) which makes it a challenge to process.

Approximate exposure time is just under 2 hours. I took this shot with my usual rig (FSQ scope and QHY8 camera) at Ranch Venado over my Halloween stay.

I hope ya'll like it : )

Season of the Witch!

2008-11-03T20:38:00.001-08:00

Guess what I was doing on Halloween night...

That's right, I was out in a dark field in Texas collecting photons of the Witch's Head nebula (otherwise known as IC 2118). It is a large reflection nebula in Orion, and it is very faint.

This image was taken with just under 3 hours of exposure -- and I could have used an hour or two more. But I'm pleased with it. And it was fun shooting this witch at the witching hour on Halloween night. It was a great "theme" night!

Kim and I (and our dogs) stayed 3 nights at Ranch Venado where I took full advantage of the new moon and great weather. I have many more images in the works. In fact, I'm starting to acquire more data than I have time to process. Actually, it just means that I get "picky" about what objects I process. Some that I feel are sub par I simply shelve.

I'll have more coming in the next day or two so keep watching.

Space Ghost!

2008-10-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

Actually this is IC 2087, the center reflection nebula, while the rest of the real estate is mostly taken by the dark nebula Barnard 22. I took this 4 hour exposure during Oki-Tex. Although it does not have the "zip, pow" color of other nebulae, I really love the haunting beauty of these subtle dark forms (my wife thought this one looked like a ghost).

Its interesting how people see different things in these cosmic forms -- like an ink blot test. One person commented that it looks like the Enterprise is bursting through the cloud. What do I think it looks like? It looks to me like ET wearing a Burka (with his little heart-light glowing).

Anybody else wanna play?

From Perseus It Came!

2008-10-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

This is NGC 1333 located in Perseus. It is a large dusty region and reflection nebula. It also has a fair amount of new star-birth happening (those red "knots"). Just a lot going on in this area -- very interesting. I would like to re-visit this area again with a longer focal length scope to explore in detail some of these local areas in close-up.

This is another image I took at Okie-Tex. It is just under 3 hours exposure.

And now, an editorial moment:

A good friend was feeling down lately -- nostalgic for his youth, fearful of the state of the world, doubting his abilities, etc. You know, stuff most of us feel from time to time. I know I certainly am guilty on occasion. But a good remedy for me is to simply look up.

Get away from the crap. Get out under a dark sky full of stars and look up and you find amazing sights like the image above (okay, you need 3 hour exposure if you want all the color), but there is so much you can see -- even with binoculars or naked eye. And for me it really rekindles the awe and sense of wonder of being a kid. It puts things in perspective. The universe is forever mysterious and exciting! Incredible distances, enormous sizes, amazing processes, and we can see it all! How did all this happen? Where is it going? Ever feel like the "magic" is gone? Just look up... its up there!

Anyway, it works for me : )

Oklahoma Sandworm!

2008-10-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, maybe not exactly a worm, but it is VERY dusty and worm-like (and I did shoot this in Oklahoma).

This is VDB 152, a dark reflection nebula in Cepheus. I think it is really beautiful. The clouds of dust are simply passing through the bright star at the top "mouth" of the worm. The light from the star reflects blue upon the nebula.

I really like these reflection and dark nebula types -- they have a lot of depth and dimension. They also look kinda spooky and mysterious.

This image was taken from Okie-Tex. Total exposure time through the FSQ 106 was a little over 2 hours.

More reflection nebulae on the way...

More Oki-Tex...

2008-10-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is Camp Billy Joe in the Black Mesa area of the Oklahoma panhandle. It is actually a Christian Youth Camp that the Oklahoma Astronomy Club rents once a year to hold its annual star party.

It is kind of ironic that this site hosts a bunch of science-loving "Big Bangers" each year, but it is also pretty cool. I mean, no matter what one believes regarding the "how and why" of the origin of the universe, most folks simply agree that the universe is beautiful, mysterious, and a marvel to behold.
Under the amazing canopy of stars, it seemed to me that science and faith were both right at home.
Okay, so I haven't gone camping since I was in college. But I decided to buy a tent and go "old school", avoiding the bunkhouse that was available in exchange for some privacy, solitude, and NO snoring!

This was my home away from home with my tent set-up just a few paces from my telescope. And while I did have privacy, I could still hear my neighbors snoring in their tents.

Twice a day they rang the dinner bell and folks would make the short walk to the lodge where food was served and the vendors hung out. The food wasn't bad and the decor was amusing -- on the wall next to the chow line there hung religious paintings, as well as large syringes and signs about getting rabies vaccinations.
A big tent served as dining hall and presentation area for the guest speakers. They also had Internet connections.

Of course, the main draw was not the food or camping facilities but rather the incredibly dark skies. Here is shot of the Milky Way I took with my Nikon. As you can see, very clear and very dark. Just perfect weather!

Astronomy, and astrophotography in particular, demands that you stay up all night until the sun comes up and puts an end to your work. It is sometimes hard to stay awake, and often you hit "the wall". My favorite remedy was a trip to the Cosmic Cafe -- an all-night grill serving burgers, frito pie, green chili stew, grill cheese sandwiches, and hot and cold drinks until 3am. Perfect for the astrophotographer!

The red "submarine-like" lighting scheme is to protect your dark adapted eye (it takes up to 40 minutes to get completely dark adapted, so light restrictions are important).

As you can tell, I had a great time at this event. I am looking forward to returning next year, as well as exploring other similar events in the region.

Next up... new astro images!

Okie-Tex Star Party!

2008-10-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, wow, wow! I just got back from my first big "star party" -- the 25th Okie-Tex Star Party that was held in the Black Mesa area of the Oklahoma panhandle. It was a 9 hour drive from Big D but totally worth it. I tent camped for 4 days under some of the darkest skies in the country... and the weather was perfect! It was incredible. I saw stuff I've never seen before... like the Zodiacal light and the Gegenschein (more about those later).

Expect a full report (with pics) coming soon. I also did LOTS of astro-imaging on multiple targets, so I will have a steady stream of new astro images to share very soon. In the meantime, here is a shot I took of some "star trails". This is done by simply taking a LONG exposure from a fixed camera on a tripod pointing north. As the Earth rotates, the sky seems to spin and thus blurs/streaks the stars. All the red lights are from the flashlights of folks in the field.

It was an exhausting trip, but completely cool. I'm hooked!

My little Dumbbell

2008-09-27T08:13:00.001-07:00

This is the Dumbbell Nebula, otherwise known as M27. What you are looking at is the massive amounts of material being ejected from a dying star. As the star burns out its fuel it begins to cool and lose mass, collapsing and exploding. What a way to go!

Although it has the nickname "Dumbbell", I think it looks more like an "Apple Core". Hence, I am starting an international movement to have it re-named. If you want to support this movement send as much money as you can to me and I will make sure it is put to good use (in the name of science of course).

This image started out as a test: new focal reducer, new HA filter, new processing scheme, etc. I shot this target on two consecutive nights from my heavily light polluted home in Dallas (and with a full moon). The first night I shot RGB color with my Reducer Q, then the next night I shot HA (Hydrogen Alpha wavelength) without the Reducer Q. I registered and combined these data sets to yield the image you see here. I was really surprised by how much good data I got -- the HA filter REALLY helps enhance the RGB (and is impervious to light pollution).

Most folks use long focal lengths to get a lot closer to this target, but I was happy to keep it in this WIDE field. It is like a little colorful island in the abyss.

Be sure to click on the image for a larger view!

And stay tuned... I have a LOT of new images coming soon : )

Meanwhile in Colorado...

2008-09-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the moon is blazing high in the sky again. My imaging stops for a couple of weeks until the skies grow dark once more. It is time to clean and repair gear, learn new tools, and review some recent events that may have slipped through the cracks.

Last month, Kim and I spent a week in Colorado -- a convention in Denver, visiting family in Colorado Springs, and then fly fishing in Creede.

I took my camera along (naturally) and did a bit of shooting at night around the Antlers Lodge in Creede. This first one is taken from a small suspension bridge over the Rio Grande. You can see Sagittarius and the tail of Scorpius framing the moon.

The Perseid meteor shower happened to peak my first night there! Fortunately it was clear and the moon set early. I got up around 4 am and watched the shower. They came in waves. A couple of times I saw 4-5 meteors at once. Cool!

Of course, I tried to capture a shot of a really spectacular Perseid Meteor. It is always a matter of luck and proper timing to be taking an exposure when one flashes across your field. I missed some good ones, but did manage to capture a small faint one on the horizon.

Eventually, I noticed it getting lighter in the east. At first I thought it was my imagination. It did not seem late enough for the sun to rise. I forgot the sun rises earlier in Mountain Time.

So my viewing came to an end, but not before I saw Orion rise just ahead of the sun. It was really beautiful.

Welcome to The Triangulum!

2008-09-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

This is the Traingulum Galaxy, otherwise known as M33. It is a fairly large spiral galaxy close to Andromeda.

You can see the dark brown dust lanes and the red "knots" where there is ongoing star formation in the spiral arms. I hope to add some Ha (Hydrogen Alpha) data to this image at a later date. This requires additional long exposures with a narrow band filter that allows only hydrogen emission wave lengths. What the hell does this mean?

Well, star formation is creating lots of radiation that excites the clouds of nearby hydrogen, causing it to glow red. By using a filter that focuses on this red bandwidth, one can really bring out those cool formation areas -- so you can see those cute little red star nurseries : )

This image was taken in Atoka with my normal rig (FSQ 106, QHY8 camera) and a 3 hour exposure.

The Seven Sisters (hubba hubba)

2008-09-03T09:06:00.001-07:00

Otherwise known as the Pleiades, or M45, this classic asterism (association of stars) is plowing through a vast cloud of dust, yielding some beautiful blue reflection nebulae.

Why the "Seven Sisters"? Well, first there are obviously more than seven. But I suspect when the lonesome and bleary-eyed Greek shepherds looked up they could only count seven stars. And since they were indeed lonely shepherds, these stars looked like beautiful women. I'm sure they named all kinds of things after women -- piles of rocks, trees, mud puddles, clouds, etc. Did I mention these guys were lonely?

But indeed, this is truly a beautiful object. And in fact, one can easily see it with the naked eye (even in light-polluted Dallas). While it requires a long exposure to pull out the nebulosity, the star asterism itself is easily seen, and even better through binos!

I was really happy with the way this image turned out. It is over 3 hours of exposure, which gives a lot of detail on this bright object.

Again, be sure to click on it for a larger view : )

Electric Richard and LDN1222

2008-09-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

How's that for a "trippy" header?

So, I went back to Atoka last Thursday and Friday night. My ol' pal Richard Allen got some much deserved time off work and expressed interest in wandering around in the dark, so he was my astro buddy on this trip.

We had the place to ourselves on Thursday and the skies were great. I was hunting for LDN 1222 -- a small Dark Nebula near Cassiopeia. It is a little "off the beaten path" and a bit of a challenge to find. But it was the "Challenge of the Month" on the Cloudy Nights forum, so I took up the gauntlet and gave it a shot.

This is my wide field image of the area around LDN 1222. The actual target is that small dark patch hugging the upper center border. I was not totally sure I got the right target until checking this image against my charts later the next day.

I composed for the larger Emission Nebula in the lower left, and those cool tiny Dark Nebula "squiggles" in the center of frame.

This is a really interesting area, but very hard for me to process (it took all day in front of Photoshop to pull out the data). While clear, the skies were very humid and hazy and it gave me some light pollution vignettes that corrupted my colors -- took a bunch of time to balance things out (time to invest in some filters). Plus, I had no images to use as reference. I just had to "wing it". But I think I got close to a good "naked eye" version of this area.

LDN 1222 was exposed with 17 x 10 min subs (just under 3 hours of data).

Later that same night, I managed to get a good shot of the Pleiades.

So, that was Thursday night. On Friday we were joined by my pal Max (and briefly by Terry, also from the club). Friday night I shot M33.

Up next: Images of the Pleiades and M33... stay tuned!