The Astronomy hobby thread

[Eric Hahl]

^
A reflection of his phone in the eyepiece.

[Rusty Heap]

Super Duper Uber Close up video of the sun.

note the scale to size earth circle imposed!

https://videos.space.com/m/3BnjzkcK/wow-see-suns-south-pole-in-stunning-high-res-solar-orbiter-close-up?list=9wzCTV4g

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Eric Hahl

^
A reflection of his phone in the eyepiece.

Thought so but was hoping for something much cooler!

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

Super Duper Uber Close up video of the sun.

note the scale to size earth circle imposed!

https://videos.space.com/m/3BnjzkcK/wow-see-suns-south-pole-in-stunning-high-res-solar-orbiter-close-up?list=9wzCTV4g

One could think that is a pic of a sunrise/sunset thru some nasty clouds. Cool.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Thought so but was hoping for something much cooler!

It almost looks like it could be ISS, but if you've got the time and place, that would be easy enough to confirm. And ISS would probably only show up as a shadow if transiting. My guess is that it's just a reflection or lensing or something.

[Eric Hahl]

Captured the super nova explosion in M101 the other night.

[Eric Hahl]

Well, some clearer skies Sunday and Monday nights allowed me to get some time in before the clouds rolled back in today. This is 6.6 hours of exposure over two nights. Target was the area around NGC6871(star cluster near top right) in Cygnus. Not a typical area to capture, just ho hum milkyway. Amazing how much dust is there though. None of this dust would show up visually through a typical amateur telescope.

[flatbutt]

How do you ensure that your alignment stays put between split sessions?

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

How do you ensure that your alignment stays put between split sessions?

The steps I take on the second night are as follows....

1. Setup scope and do a polar alignment.
2. Slew scope to eastern sky and take a 5 second exposure.
3. Plate solve that image and sync mount.
4. Select image from previous nights session and do a plate solve. Then do a goto.
5. Setup new imaging session and start it.
6. Go to bed.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Eric Hahl

Captured the super nova explosion in M101 the other night.

So cool!

[Eric Hahl]

Well, it's summer time which finally means clearer skies in the Pacific NorthWest so time to do some imaging. The last week has been fairly productive. Of course, lots of daylight means I can't start imaging until at least 10:30-11:00 and have to wrap it up by 4:00- 4:30.

Monday and Tuesday I trained the scope on a Galaxy I've never captured before. A small one called the Fireworks galaxy. Captured exposures over two consecutive nights for this one.



Thursday and Friday evenings I pointed to the Elephant Trunk nebula.



Saturday evening the Crescent nebula near Cygnus.



All shot with the William Optics FLT-120 refractor, ZWO 2600 color camera with light pollution filter and an iOptron GEM-45 mount. All controlled with the ZWO ASI-Air and apple tablet.

[Rusty Heap]

stunning astrophotography work as usual!!!

[Eric Hahl]

Thank you!

[masraum]

Lots of great stuff. I need to get my rear out to view. I have all of these clear skies, and relatively dark, but rarely get out. I'm so used to going to bed early to get up early for work.

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by masraum

Lots of great stuff. I need to get my rear out to view. I have all of these clear skies, and relatively dark, but rarely get out. I'm so used to going to bed early to get up early for work.

Viewing, yep, gotta stay up late for that. Astro photography...I just start the session and go to bed, lol.

[flatbutt]

"The Day We Found The Universe" by Marcia Bartusiak. A great read...if you're nerd-ish.

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

"The Day We Found The Universe" by Marcia Bartusiak. A great read...if you're nerd-ish.

Will have to check it out. Thanks.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Eric Hahl

Will have to check it out. Thanks.

It's the background details of the lives and discoveries of all the great ones including a lot of tech detail. I was fascinated by the political aspects of astronomy in the early days as well as the development of reflectors vs refractors.

[Eric Hahl]

This last weekends captures from the backyard. Both shot with the William Optics FLT-120 refractor and 2600MC pro camera on top of the iOptron GEM-45 mount..

The bubble nebula and salt & pepper cluster in Cass. About 1.5 hours of exposure.


The great wall in Cygnus. About 4 hours of exposure.

[masraum]

Really spectacular, Eric. Thanks for continuing to shoot and share!