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The sky finally cleared a bit tonight after more than a week of clouds and rain, so I captured the First Quarter moon plus one day (three frames stacked in The Gimp) through my 6" reflector and D60 at prime focus. Click the Full-res link below for best view.
Full-res Image >>
Tags: moon astrophotography || 0 comments
One last capture of the full moon next to Saturn with a thin layer of cloud which produces the corona/halo effect.
Medium || Large
Tags: moon saturn full-moon || 0 comments
Took 4 gigs of the sun setting with Venus and the full moon rising with Saturn tonight. Uploading while processing...
Full Moon with lunar corona and Saturn: Medium || Large
Processing sunset with Venus...uploading shortly.
Tags: moon saturn full-moon sunset || 0 comments
Took this image of the moon and Saturn at 3:27 a.m. this morning. The moon was 99% (waxing gibbous) full and Saturn was at opposition on the 8th I believe. So, this was Saturn at opposition plus two and a Full Moon minus one.
Camera: Nikon D60Exposure: 1/2 sAperture: F4ISO Speed: 3200Focal Length: 55.0 mm35mm focal length: 82.0 mmLens: Nikkor 55-200mm F4-5.6 ED VR
Tags: moon saturn opposition || 0 comments
Here's an image I put together tonight of Orion Nebula. This is 4 images plus one dark frame stacked in The Gimp.
1 @ 60 seconds, 3 @ 30 seconds, 1 @ 30 second dark frame, ISO 1600:Medium || Large
And one of the moon. This one is 10 images stacked in The Gimp:
Click here for large, original image
Tags: moon astrophotography nebula orion || 0 comments
Just took this image (with 6" reflector and 2x barlow) of the X feature that is of interest to a lot of amateur astronomers and astrophotographers when the moon is at the current phase.
Took some images of the full mon last night. They turn out pretty well as the moon was close to Regulus.
First is one I took of the moon rising above Kennesaw, GA:Medium || Large
Next, a couple shots of the moon next to Regulus and Algieba (upper left).Medium || Large
This one is zoomed in on the moon and Regulus: Medium || Large
OK, so I printed out some detailed information from CalSky.com and set out around 4:00 pm today on a 10 mile trip through the mountains of northern Georgia. I reached the area where I had found a logging road going straight through the centerline of the ISS as it was to pass the disk of the moon. I had to hike around 400 yards up the side of a hill, carrying my 50 lb. 6" reflector and a backpack with my camera gear and accessories.
I had the scope leveled with a rough polar alignment (used a compass to align as true north as I could), motor drive attached and tracking the moon, and the Nikon D40 attached with 30 minutes to spare. I took the following picture to show the setup and surroundings.
So, after taking the image above I set myself in front of the scope and watched the clock. Around 2 minutes before the scheduled pass I started to take some images to test for exposure and focus. Unfortunately, when the time came for the pass I hesitated for just a second or two and zoooooom! I could see a streak of white light shoot out from the moon and out of the viewfinder in a millisecond. Man, the ISS is really moving!
So, I knew I didn't capture the ISS crossing the moon, but I thought I might have got it when I saw the streak of light through the viewfinder. I drove all the way back to the cabin in a rather sad mood. I didn't expect it to happen that fast. I don't know why though, CalSky.com says the transit is 1.02 seconds. Doh! Anyway, at least I captured the following image, and I now know that it would be best to capture this with video or let the continuous mode roll for 30 seconds or so before the transit time, which is what I had planned.
Here's the ISS just after passing the moon:Medium || Large
Also, it looks like I have a chance to capture the ISS crossing the disk of the sun on Sunday. Stay tuned for updates on that!
Stephen
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According to CalSky.com I will have the opportunity to capture the ISS as it crosses in front of the moon tomorrow afternoon around 5:45 PM. The center line is within 10 miles from our cabin in the mountains of north Georgia, so I am planning for my first attempt at capturing the event live using my Celestron Omni XLT 150mm reflector with a Celestron Omni 2x barlow and Nikon D40 at prime focus.Here's a screen shot (dual monitors) of the most excellent information on the CalSky.com site, including a Google Earth kmz file they provide for free.
Medium || LargeI will post an update tomorow night if I actually capture the event. Weather man says clear skies, so keep your fingers crossed for me! ;-)
Just captured the ISS as it passed over Talking Rock, GA, in the mountains of northern Georgia. Was a bit cloudy, but I think it turn out OK. Notice the Pleiades right next to the moon. ;)
Best to view the large image.
Tags: moon iss astrpphotography pleiades || 0 comments
I'm almost never awake early in the morning, so I never get shots like this. Furtunately, I pulled an all-nighter at work last night and was able to capture this early morning shot of a waxing bibbous (60%) moon.
Wow! A record low tonight, coldest it's been in six years. I almost didn't take this image, but then I would be missing one for this lunar cycle.
Waning Gibbous, 68%:Medium || Large
It's not the best image, but I had to shoot and scoot.
