Astronomy




	We enjoy viewing planets and deep sky objects, such as nebulae and distant galaxies. Recently, we have been experimenting with astrophotography using modified web cams. You can see some pictures below taken with a modified QuicCam Pro 3000 and a SAC 7b, which uses the same chip, but has been modified for longer exposures. Our primary observing instrument in a Celestron Nexstar 11 GPS telescope and we are fortunate to have a few of the excellent Teleview Nagler eyepieces. We occasionally share our hobby and some of the fabulous views with university classes, introducing many to the subject for the first time. This is a most rewarding experience. We are also members of Orange County Astronomers and enjoy both the company of other members and their excellent dark sky observing site near Anza, CA.


	The 11" telescope set up for observing in the driveway. Click on image for larger view. The corrugated looking tube over the front of the telescope is a dew shield. Without the dew shield, dew would fairly quickly form on the large glass "corrector plate" - a large lens that is on the front of the telescope.



	This shot of Saturn was taken on 1/17/2004 at the Orange County Astronomer's Anza site. We used the 11" Celestron and a Logitec QuickCam Pro 3000 web cam to collect about 600 frames of video which were then stacked and processed using Registax 2 software. You can clearly see the cassini division and if you look carefully, the crepe ring.


	This is shot of Jupiter was taken 3-27-2004 at about 11:45 Pacific time. The three black dots on the planet are shadows of its moons, Ganymede, Io and Callisto from left to right. The small white dot at about the 10 o'clock position above the planet is Callisto. This was taken with the 11" Celestron and a SAC 7b modified web cam.


	The most recent attempt at photographing Mars. This image was shot through the 11" Celestron with a 2X Teleview Powermate barlow lens and a Logitec Quick Cam Pro. I shot about 500 frames, stacked the better ones using Registax and processed with Micrografx. You can just see the icecap to the right of the 12 o'clock position, but it is almost all gone.


	This image was taken 9-20-2003 at Blackstar Canyon near our home. Conditions were poor with lousy "seeing" (much atmospheric distortion). Compare this image to earlier attempts below, especially the eyepiece projection image. Image stacking with the Registax software makes all the difference. Click on image for slightly larger version.


	This is obviously a picture of the Moon. The photograph was taken with a Nikon D100 camera body mounted at the telescope's prime focus Because of the fairly long focal length of the 11" telescope, all of the moon cannot be seen at one time unless a focal reducer is added.


	This is a picture of Mars. I'm still working on getting this to come out better, but you can see some indication of surface features and the white polar cap of solidified carbon dioxide. The polar cap will be melting as Mars gets closer to the sun around 8/28/2003.You can compare this image to one taken in July below.

Lunar Eclipse May 15-16, 2003

Here's a not too detailed image of the recent lunar eclipse. Click on image for a larger version. This was taken with a Nikon N90s / 300mm zoom on a camera tripod, Kodak ISO 400 color print film.

During a total lunar eclipse, such as this one, the light that reaches the moon has come through the Earth's atmosphere and been refracted (bent) so that it reaches the moon. If the Earth had no atmosphere, the sunlight would not refract and the moon would be completely dark. Because the light has come through the earth's atmosphere, it is colored by whatever dust, pollutants, volcanic ash, or whatever, are suspended in it. While this picture does not show great detail, the color is fairly accurate. Because the content of the atmosphere varies over time, the exact color of the eclipsed moon is somewhat unpredictable.

Mars

Mars will be in the news a lot over the next couple of months. In August, it will be closer to the Earth than it has been in the last 50,000 years. To the left is an image showing how Mars looked on July 4, 2003 through the 11" telescope.

This image looks a little fuzzy because of atmospheric turbulence. While viewing the image live, however, one will see brief moments when the image becomes crystal clear and it is these moments that the astronomer patiently awaits while observing. You can see in this image, the south polar ice cap (white) as well as light and dark splotches on the planet. These light and dark areas are not related to surface features so much as on how much light is reflected off of different parts of the surface. This is referred to as albedo. For details about how this image was taken, click on the photograph.

Comet Hyakutake

This photograph of the comet was taken in 1996 when it was visible to the unaided eye. I don't recall all of the photographic details other than that it was on ISO400 color print film with camera piggyback mounted on a Celestron C8 telescope. The image was taken from a suburban backyard. More information on this comet is available HERE.


	One of our recent astronomy adventures was a trip to Anza Borrego to view the Leonid Meteor shower. Click on this photo for story and picture gallery:


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