Messier 51 – The Whirlpool Galaxy Under a Full Moon

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…
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Explore Scientific ED127 Robofocus Installation – Part 2

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 …
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Explore Scientific ED127 Robofocus Installation – Part 1

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…
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Robotic Telescopes and the Rosette Nebula

Robotic Telescopes and the Rosette Nebula

February 17, 2013
Nebula
Nine years ago I bought my first "real" telescope.  My experience the year prior with a department store telescope was horrible.  Department store telescopes aren't telescopes.  They're tubes with pretty pictures on their boxes.  I knew from looking through observatories and other people's telescope…
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Backyard astronomy and the Orion Nebula (Messier 42)

Backyard astronomy and the Orion Nebula (Messier 42)

February 8, 2013
Nebula
I haven't done any official research, but my guess is amateur astronomy buffs spend most of their astronomy time in their backyards.  Home-based astronomy is great because it's "right there."  It's easy to set up your telescope and view the planets, moon, and maybe even some darker deep sp…
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Wink At The Moon – Neil Armstrong 1930 – 2012

Wink At The Moon – Neil Armstrong 1930 – 2012

August 25, 2012
Moon
Neil Armstrong passed away today.  In honor of him, his family's request was: For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at…
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Curiosity on Mars

Curiosity on Mars

August 5, 2012
Congrats to the team who got Curiosity this far. Here's the first image from Curiosity. Taken just minutes after touching down on Mars.…
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Venus Transit – June 2012

Venus Transit – June 2012

June 5, 2012
Venus is currently transiting the sun.  This will be the last time until 2117.  Here are some shots of the transit sized to 2048x2048 pixels.  Enjoy! More photos soon!…
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Solar Eclipse Photographs – May 20, 2012

Solar Eclipse Photographs – May 20, 2012

May 21, 2012
I shot the solar eclipse from the south part of Las Vegas, NV.  I set up my old Celestron 80ED refractor (600mm f/7.5) on my CGEM mount.  I shot through that telescope with my Canon 5D Mark II and a Thousand Oaks Optics solar filter.  Most of the shots were taken at 1/125 second and ISO 100.  A few …
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