Good Bye Ole' Friend

Ready to explore the heavens!!!

This is a picture of my ETX-125 all packed and ready to go to its new home :(

Well, I did it! I sold my ETX-125 telescope to another person interested in Backyard Astronomy. I will miss my ETX, because celestial objects were sooooo easy to find and track with it.

But ... my interest in the hobby has changed to where I want to do more astrophotography than casual viewing.

My first goal is to photograph as many of the Messier Objects as one can see in the Northern Hemisphere. It will take time, persistence and patience, but that is half the fun.


I installed the motors and computer on the new telescope this weekend (Orion 80mm ED with SkyView Pro GOTO Mount), now I am waiting for the clouds to part so I can actually use the scope. I will let you all know how that goes.

Clear Skies!


StarPilot


P.S. - To the ETX-125's new owners: "It doesn't need a night light. My experience has been that it prefers the dark". (May you get the enjoyment out of the scope that I did, and did I ever enjoy it)

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

Obeservatory Equipment & Photography Methods

Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the bright fuzzy object (left side of picture).

You may ask: "What's needed to become involved in backyard astronomy ?"

Short Answer:
A star chart, your eyes and clear, dark skies.

Long Answer:
Binoculars or a telescope are needed, especially if you want to view fine details of solar system or deep space objects.

What's the Attraction to Amateur Astronomy?
Many amateur astronomers like to keep it simple and merely observe the wonders the heavens have to offer, while others like to photograph their observations. Others still spend their time studying certain classes of objects, (i.e. - The moon, planets, nebula, star clusters, galaxies, binaries, etc...). I've even met astronomers that dedicate their time to the study of 'one' object.

What's the Cost ? A few hundred to several thousand dollars.
Some are satisfied buying a $300 90mm telescope, and occasionally viewing the moon and planets. Others spend tens of thousands of dollars on mini-Hubble observatories that can rival some professional observatories. The cost reflects what you want to do.

If you plan to observe the heavens one or more night a month, purchase a telescope from a reputable dealer (Celestron, Meade, Orion or Vixen) and buy a motorized mount that has GOTO capability. Make sure the Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) has an aperture of at least 125mm. Stay away from department store junk that measures telescope performance as 40x or 120x power. They are not quality instruments and you will quickly lose interest in astronomy.

Here's the equipment I use:
- Meade ETX-125EC Telescope with Meade #884 Field Tripod
- Autostar #497 Handbox
- Meade Electronic Controller
-Meade Series 4000 1.25" Eyepieces (6, 9, 12.5, 15, 20, 26, 32 and 40mm)
- Nikon D80 D-SLR camera
- Black & Decker "JumpStart" portable battery starter.

Astrophotography techniques:

Prime Focus: I use the telescope's OTA as the lens on my D80 camera. The connection is made using a Nikon T-mount and Meade T-Adapter.

Piggy Back: I mount my D80 onto the ETX-125EC's OTA and use a standard camera lens to photograph a desired region of the heavens. This method works well I want to track an object in space for long exposure astrophotography.

Wide Field (with Tripod): The D80 is mounted onto a camera tripod. The drawback here is that exposure times for each photo must be short (5 - 15 seconds or less), otherwise noticable star trails can be seen. Here's my basic rule of thumb:

50mm Lens - Star trails noticable after 15 seconds of exposure.
100mm Lens - Star trails noticable after 8 seconds of exposure.
200mm Lens - Star trails noticable after 5 seconds of exposure.

Check http://www.astropix.com/ for several astrophotography tips and techniques. (Hit the back button to return to my BLOG)

Happy Star Gazing!

StarPilot