Greetings From Jupiter!

Since getting into the backyard astronomy hobby, I have been trying to get a descent picture of Jupiter.

This time of year one has to be dedicated to the task, becuase the big 'Gas Giant' does not rise in Virginia until 12:30AM.

I had nothing better to do one night, so I stayed up for "Jupiter Rise". It was worth the wait. A new moon and low humidity were factors in allowing me to get my best glimpse of Jupiter ever in my telescope.

Viewing an object is one challenge, but getting a good picture is another.

The first two pictures show a close-up of Jupiter to include Red, Orange and White lines. Unfortunately, the Great Red Spot is not visible this time of year.

The third picture shows Jupiter and four of the planets 50+ moons.










I took the pictures using the AFocal photography method. I focused Jupiter in my telescope using a 5mm eyepiece, then took the picture of the image in the eyepiece using my Nikon D80 & 50mm lens on a separate tripod.


Next stop: "Saturn"


Starpilot


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It Was a Dark and Stormy Night ...

... so I had nothing better to do than raid my astrophotography archive to find pictures to post.

[Image 1] is a picture of Comet 17P/Holmes taken 11/23/2007. The comet is washed out because there was a Full Moon and my neighbor's flood lamp was shining directly at my telescope.

The image was produced using:

Camera: Nikon D80 (Piggyback onto ETX-125)
Lens: Quantaray 70-300mm (@300mm Focal Length)

ISO Speed: 200

F-Number: F/5.6

Exposure time: 48 Seconds

If you want to find out more about Comet 17P/Holmes, here are some excellent links:

http://cometography.com/pcomets/017p_images.html

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/10775326.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17P/Holmes

Now lets have some rainy night fun ...

[Image 2] is a wide field picture I took of the constellation Sagittarius in August 2007.
[Image 3] is a 'film negative' view of Image 2.

[Image 4] is star chart of the constellation Sagittarius I found on http://www.wikipedia.com/

Using Images 4 as a guide, see how many Messier objects you can identify in Images 2 &3, and if you can link the visible stars in the constellation. Actually, connecting the dots (stars) will help you find the Messier objects.

The dense starfield in Sagittarius is the Heart of the Milky Way Galaxy. (This constellation and its many celestial treasures are what hooked me on Astronomy and Astrophotography).

Helpful Star Gazing Hint: In the light pollutes skies of Northern Virginia, I often take wide field pictures of portions of the sky and study them on the computer to learn my constellations and other celestial objects.

Enjoy!

Star Pilot

P.S. - Please excuse the formatting problems. Blogger's editor has a mind of its own.

Comet 17P/Holmes ...New Images

Finally got some clear weather after a cold front passed through. I took these images of Comet 17P/Holmes tonight (11/22/2007) with my Nikon D80 using a Quantaray 300mm zoom lens.

I tracked Mirfak (bright star just below the comet) with my ETX-125EC telescope and piggybacked my camera on top of the telescope.

Mirfak is the brightest star in the constellation Perseus. When the comet clears Mirfak and the Moon doesn't cause problems, I'll be able to get better pictures of the 'Coma' (big dust bubble) and 'Nucleus' (bright center).

17P/Holmes is now bigger than the Moon and I heard is approaching the size of the Sun.

The pictures have a some noise in them caused by a near full moon.

The pictures of 17P/Holmes aren't as good as what observatories produce, but their telescopes cost hundreds of thoudsnds of dollars. Mine cost $500 used.

Keep the Clear Skies Comin'

Star Pilot