Astronomy Nightly

Losmandy G11 Periodic Error Testing and PEC Programming

June 3, 2024

One of the things I was hoping for with my G11 mount was better periodic error than my old Celestron CGEM. The periodic error on my CGEM was pretty huge. Even after moving to OnStep with belt-drive motors replacing the gearboxes, it still had a periodic error around +/-40 arc seconds. Thankfully, th…

M17 – The Omega Nebula

May 3, 2024

Nebula

Or the Swan Nebula...or Checkmark Nebula...or Lobster Nebula...or Horseshoe Nebula. Whatever your favorite name for it, Messier 17 is a great summer target. I shot the data for this last summer and recently processed it. This was before my CGEM OnStep and pier upgrades, so each night I had to drag m…

I Did a Thing

April 25, 2024

Losmandy G11

I just got home with this. It'll take some custom machine work before I can get it mounted on my pier, but I'm really excited about my G11!…

M42 – The Orion Nebula After My OnStep & Pier Upgrade

March 4, 2024

Nebula

I just finished processing my first image after some recent astronomy upgrades. This fall, I gutted my telescope mount and rebuilt all the mechanical & electronic parts. My telescope is now permanently mounted in our back yard on a pier my brother designed & made. The new setup is tons bette…

OnStepX, Hypertune & Pier Upgrade for the Celestron CGEM Telescope Mount

January 20, 2024

CGEM

Several years ago, my Celestron CGEM telescope mount started acting up. It would randomly stop tracking in right ascension, so the objects I was observing or imaging would quickly slide out of view. I talked with Celestron about it and bought a new control board to solve the problem. A few months ag…

M31 – The Andromeda Galaxy

August 15, 2020

Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is arguably one of the most spectacular objects in the night sky. In typical city lights, it's completely invisible even though its apparent size is roughly 6 times as wide as the moon. In dark skies, you can see it with your naked eye as a smudge about as big as the tip of your…

M82 Supernova SN2014J

January 25, 2014

Galaxy

A few days ago, a Type Ia supernova was discovered in Messier 82 (NGC 3034, the Cigar Galaxy). Because of clouds, it took a few days for me to image it. Here's my first shot of M82 and the supernova. M82 and supernova SN2014JDetails: 12x 300sec L frames, iTelecope.net's T11: PlaneWave 20…

Messier 51 – The Whirlpool Galaxy Under a Full Moon

April 27, 2013

Galaxy

When doing astrophotography, I've always dodged the moon like the plague. Since not imaging when the moon is up severely limits how much shooting I can do, I decided to see what I could do with a full moon high in the sky. I was pleased to find out that as long as you can keep the direct…

Explore Scientific ED127 Robofocus Installation – Part 2

April 27, 2013

Equipment

In my last post, Explore Scientific ED127 Robofocus Installation – Part 1, I talked about how I modified (bent) the attachment bracket to align the Robofocus properly with the telescope's focus knob shaft. I also talked about a few possible options for attaching the bracket to the telescope's …

Explore Scientific ED127 Robofocus Installation – Part 1

March 16, 2013

Equipment

After lots of glowing recommendations, I decided to buy a Technical Innovations Robofocus for my Explore Scientific ED127 telescope and its stock Crayford focuser. Together with my astrophotography computer and camera, this should let my scope automatically focus itself with much better accuracy tha…