The PSSG was suppose to be this week, instead they changed it to last week.
This week it is going to be great, no rain, clear skies.
This stinks shit big time. I spent over $200 for one photo of the northern sky and I got to see Jupiter and some of it’s moons. Oh, I also got to see the movie “Forbidden Planet”, and I got to hurt my back and sleep in a very wet tent.
I’ll create a time lapse / star trail photo set and see what shows up. I think I can do this from my back deck without too much trouble. Only problem is the weather, I think it may be cloudy tonight.
Also the Peach State Star Gaze is coming up soon, info here http://www.AtlantaAstronomy.Org/PSSG
I know my brother plans on being there all week, I think I should go as well, could be a bunch of fun and I think I can do all kinds of photography while there.
the Lagoon Nebula, M8
I’m going to have to keep better records of the objects I photograph, I get confused as to which is which.
I had a great time taking shots of the sky last night. Got everything setup pretty quickly although my polar alignment wasn’t the best I shot for 90 seconds most of the time. Next time I think I’ll try a precise polar alignment, haven’t tried that yet. I ended up taking photos of M81, M82, M57, M13, M22 and M8. Really only got good shots of M57 and M13 and possibly M8.
Getting ready to go with HeatherO to take some pictures of her 4 horses that she has stabled in Dacula GA. I’m hoping to get back soon enough to get to the pool and possibly get the front yard mowed.
I did some post processing on the M81-M82 image I took over the weekend. Here is the result:
Brian and I went out to the Shroom, got to see Colleen and Lucia as well as Mark Lucia’s husband again. Chatted about issues we all have with the opposite sex, and commitment. Then the brother and I went over to Fry’s and then just back home.
Drove over to the Hooters Lw and had some beers with LaurenShaf, then AmandaH until I needed to get home so I could do some astro-Photography with the brother. Yes, nerds are us, we be nerds!
It got a bit chilly by 3am when we finally packed up back into the house. The light out front still really sucks and your eyes never really get used to the dark. I’d had quite a few beers and I couldn’t really get the scope polar aligned since my polar scope has no illumination, I couldn’t see where the damn circle was. Had a bit of a time trying to get the scope two star aligned, trying to find stars I could align on. I had set up the scope closer to the south side of the driveway so I got to see Saturn a bit longer than Brian could and although I took some shots I mostly just looked at double stars. Mizar and such.
http://cometman.com/Mask.html
http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/FOCUS/METHODS.HTM
It was a bit cooler today, got up to only the upper sixties. I went straight home after work and then took off with Brian to get some screws for the new focuser for the Vixen 100mm Telescope. I then had to set it up and get the spotting scope aligned. I then tried to align the polar scope, need to find a place that will allow a better alignment. By the house there are so many trees and you cannot find something to align with that is at least 1/4 mile away.
The focuser is nice but when I had the camera attached I had trouble with the tension and either it would slip down (the scope was pointed up) or it wouldn’t fine focus because the tension was too great. Also, It seemed that the tube would jiggle too much, I think it was due to having the focusing tube almost fully extended.
Looked at Saturn and my brother and I quized each other on some stars, I think I can now locate, about 12 stars:
Sirius, Arcturus, Pollux, Castor, Capella, Rigel, Procyon, Betelgeuse, Polaris, Kochab, Dubhe, Mizar
need to find, Vega, Deneb, Altair, Aldebaran, Regulus, these are almost too south though: Antares, Fomalhaut, Canopus, Achernar
and 4 constellations : Ursa Major(Big Dipper), Ursa Minor (Little Dipper), Orion, Cassiopeia
Looked at the beehive Cluster, I’ll need to take a photo of it if it is clear on Wednesday or Thursday.
OK, more in the morning.
Edit:
I stopped in at the Suwanee Taco Mac, had my normal BOTM, Beer of the Month, got my pint glass, had a salad (better than wings for me) and also had another wheat beer. A Horny Goat, in a can, it actually was very good.
After I stopped in at Hooters since I had some time to kill and also since LaurenShep was working (she told me last night she was working a double) and I wanted to get to see her a bunch before she graduates this semester and becomes entrenched in nursing. There was a small but violent skirmish between a couple of dudes right behind me at some tables, the one guy was very odd with the top of his hair bleached and earrings and shit. There certainly are some odd folks out there.
I got home just before sunset and my brother and I lugged out the scopes and had some quality time looking at the sky. I got a few shots of the moon and Mizar (a double star in the Big Dipper) as well as a few other things, M95, and M92. I’m just not sure I have anything there.
Got home and got a call from Nicki, she got her check so things are OK as far as bills but she isn’t making enough money to really afford her lifestyle. She wants to become a “Closer” which I think will but her right back into the quota deal again. I just wish she would change her lifestyle, get a roommate or three, she doesn’t “trust” her friends enough to room with them, what kind of “friends” are they?
Brian and I got our telescopes set up around 7pm and by about 8pm we started our alignments. I tried to use Brian’s controller and it only gave me stars I couldn’t find for alignment. I did notice right after I aligned with my controller that the stars were streaking and found that the polar alignment was off a bit (after 30 minutes) and that the Tracking was for the Southern Hem. ??? Not sure how it got changed.
I then took 50 shots of M42, the Orion Nebula, at 30sec through the Vixen with the D200 and 2x converter. The focus was not as good as I had liked and I ended up just eye balling it after I tried twice to focus on Sirius. The focus was not as good as I had hoped, I need to figure out why I’m not focusing well. It may be the screen I’m using on the focuser.
I’ve just finished getting everything back in the house.
Orion Nebula – M42, Saturn, Horsehead Nebula, Mars, M41
Temp 54 degrees, cloud cover 10-clear, transparency 3, seeing 3-4, humidity 50-60
Ended up ordering a 8mm Baader eyepiece and a 28mm ring to enable use as a 2″ 5mm. I’m not sure if I really need it but I’m hoping I’ll be able to see some cool stuff sometime. With the summer months coming I’m not sure what I’ll be able to see.
I almost decided to hit the Mellow Mushroom for a beer but instead just went on home and got ready to set up the Scope and take some pictures.
I messed around with some computer stuff first, then watched a little TV. Around 6:30 I started to setup the scope and stuff outside, it was already around 36 degrees (F) and dropping fast. First I pulled out an extension cord, plugged in the camera and mount AC adapters, brought out the metal table, and then setup and leveled the telescope mount. I then mounted the OTA (optical tube assembly or telescope), and added the T-adapter and camera T-ring to the focuser on the scope. My brother then helped me collimate the finder scope using one of his eyepieces and a flip mirror (later in the evening he gave me an extra (3rd) one he had, he’s really nice that way!). I’m going to have to do it again later since we only did it with an object less than 100 yards away (it should be more like a mile or so). By this time it was dark enough to see the north star (Polaris) so I polar aligned the CG-5 mount. Had a little trouble with this since there were a few clouds moving to the east right over the top of the celestial north.
I then began to align and calibrate the GoTo on the mount. Most of the stars I’m familiar with are in the Southern sky, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Sirius so I was just using them and Brian started his sarcastic way of saying I was doing it wrong, I knew that I wouldn’t get a really good calibration but exact GoTo was not something I was really worried about. I told him I knew that it wasn’t as good but I wasn’t worried about that and he took it as if I was telling him he didn’t know anything. Funny thing is I know and do ask him about almost everything I do for the first time or at least get his opinion, I may not use it but I think that is my choice.
Finally, with my hands nearly frozen I had the scope basically aligned and began to set up a picture taking sequence. I did a 6 photo run for 10 minute exposures with 5 minutes between them in order for the camera to do it’s noise reduction. It was too much and there was a lot of wiggle, and some drift. I hadn’t done any drift alignment so I expected this. I then did a six shot run with 60 second shots and only got two that were not streaked at least a tiny bit. This may be from the mount movement, improper alignment (drift) or maybe the mirror since I did do the exposure delay but not mirror lockup.
NEXT: Use the 2X converter with the camera to get a bit closer to the nebula, and then possibly try another nebula or star cluster. M17: the Omega Nebula, M31: Spiral Galaxy, M20: Trifid Nebula
I stopped in at the Mellow Mushroom for dinner and a few beers before heading home to view/photograph the lunar eclipse. Amanda was there along with Kat (Katheryn?). A fellow server (the dude) had called in and wasn’t going to make it, he had called earlier and another server told him he wasn’t on the schedule. Nicki called while I was finishing my beer and was at the house hoping to get her tax forms printed so she could get them sent out tomorrow. I finished my beer and becoming a little pissed off at the news about Obama. Seems his wife has NEVER been proud of America/Americans or politics except for the people wanting her husband to be president. Personally, I feel he may be the anti-Christ.
I got home and started Nicki finishing her tax stuff, and printing it out. Then I started setting up the camera for the lunar eclipse. It was somewhat cloudy, only wisps but right in line with the moon. It was still behind the trees to the east but was coming up fast. By 8:30 I was getting the mount aligned and trying to get the focus right. Something went haywire with the mount and it got off alignment somehow, right after I tried to have it seek to Saturn (it was just below the moon). Re-aligned and then started shooting the moon so to speak. 🙂
By the time totality occurred the clouds had came in quite heavily, and stayed that way for some time. Around 10:45 it started to clear up a bit and I got some more shots like the one above with Saturn in the lower left-hand part of the frame. The shot to the left is one just as totality was complete and the lower right edge is beginning to emerge from the Earth’s shadow. It was after 11pm by then so I started packing up and getting the stuff inside. I was tired and sore (all the bending and standing on my feet for the last 2-3 hours, I’m not as young as I used to be.
The moon will be totally eclipsed from 10:00 to 10:52 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Start will be around an hour and a quarter before (and after) so the start will be around 8:43pm and should end around 12:09am, these times are from the article here from Sky & Telescope Magazine.
This will be the last total lunar eclipse for the Americas until Dec 2010.
Just as a note to myself, looking at other photos of a total lunar eclipse, try ISO 200 f/6 at 8 sec. and vary from there.
Moon rise is at 6:10pm EST. Sunset at 6:25pm EST. These times are from the USNO website.
So far the weather looks like it may be OK for the eclipse. So far.
Decided not to get the OTA that I was looking at, the focuser is a rack and pinion, so I’d have to buy another better focuser for about $200 for a total of $700+ and I can get a brand new OTA for around $900 with better glass and the better focuser. I need to just think about this for awhile.
I did get my Federal Tax Refund today as well as my “bonus” at work. Just a bit over 2% I think, it will allow me to catch up and order some cool photography stuff and pay off my brother for the CG-5 mount. Earlier this morning I had more money than I’ve had in my account since just before I bought my house.
Ordered a multifunction remote and a right angle viewfinder for my D200. The viewfinder description is for a screw-in type and the one compatible with the D200 is a slip-on but the part # is for the newer slip-on. I wonder if they got it wrong or if I’ll be getting the correct one. Should arrive around Wednesday for the lunar eclipse.
I decided to head straight home since I had anticipated the arrival of my polar focusing scope via UPS today. Instead, I found out from my brother that UPS usually delivers after 4-5pm, today they got my package to me at 6:30pm. By six I was almost ready to head out for a beer and get to see Jaime again but instead I watched some TV and waited.
I then calibrated the scope, and then collimated it as well, twice. I had to remove the counter weights and the camera in order to do this and then after getting it all done, including aligning with Polaris (I think) I bumped the tripod and had to align all over again. By this time it is almost 8:30pm and I’m cold so I remount the weights and the camera and warm up while the camera acclimates to the cold.
I then fiddle around with the mount’s controller trying to get the thing to just do a quick alignment (I’m not at all worried about the GoTo on the mount just it’s tracking abilities. Finally, I figure out how to change the alignment after you have entered the time, date and GPS coordinates. The thing is tracking, I think. I then move the camera to point to Messier 42 in the constellation of Orion, it’s also called the Great Nebula in Orion or the Orion Nebula. The pictures all turned out blurry, I think I didn’t focus very well. Kind of hard to see through the camera while it is pointing up at the stars.
After getting home from trivia I decided to “quickly” take a few shots of the comet since the sky was clear and I wanted to get a couple of more shots of the comet before it disappears…
Only problem is I tried to get a few other things as well as messing with the Starry Night software my brother has in order to figure out if I really do want to try and get a telescope after the new year. I stayed up late, only got to bed very close to midnight. The picture to the left was taken with my D200 and my Sigma 120-300mm lens with a 2X converter This is full frame at 600mm I think (makes it 900mm with 1.5x of D200 sensor). ISO 1600, 10 sec at f/5.6
After getting home, I had wanted to chat with Brian about telescopes and stuff, thinking about getting one or at least a platform to allow long exposures with my camera and my 300mm lens (which with the 2x converter and the D200’s 1.5 multiplier comes out to 900mm, almost as much as his smaller telescope – 1200mm).
Picked up Eric and after arriving at Hooters, David showed soon afterward. Jaime was looking great and seemed in a really fantastic mood, the two guys I saw at the bar on Sunday were there again, they seem to either be friends or one of them is a “boyfriend”. The guy with the bandanna around his head under is hair aka. was in true “hair band” form. Along with a long blond hair look and very young looking face he could pass for a very young member of Def Leopard. We started off the game with a perfect first round and I helped the “Pam” team with the bonus question, maybe I shouldn’t have but then they helped with a question in the last round that helped us a lot. Our second round was just as good, acing it and then we stumbled in the third missing the first two, getting the last two and then missing the bonus question to end up tied in first with another team. The tie breaker is always a song length and nobody on the team though about timing it. We guessed and it just so happened that the other team guessed the exact same time, so we did another and they ended up getting closer, we were over by about 40 seconds, damn. So we ended up with only second even though we were first the whole rest of the game. Final score, 62 out of 77
Brian set up his scope again although it “setup” ok it really never moved to anything we could see. Stayed up way too late, almost midnight.
Stopped in at Hooters earlier and said hello to Amanda. She left soon after since she worked the day shift. I then talked to Holly, and Katrina. I stopped in at the Brickhouse and things were really slow. Heard way too much about the guy, Cho, who killed all the people over at VaTech, how senseless. I hope there is a special place in hell for people like that.
Nicki and I went around a bit, not too bad though. She got another letter from Phoenix High about Withdrawing not sure what’s up with that but it is her business.
