Telescope: Meade 12” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071 MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Exposure: 2x(64×0.002sec), saved as FITS

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Registax, Nebulosity, ICE, Photoshop

This 2-panel mosaic of the moon image was taken last night (December 26^th) when the moon was just about as high as it was going to get.

Telescope: Orion AstroView 90 EQ @ f/10

Camera: Canon 450D (Rebel XSi, stock)

Filter: None

Exposure: 11×1/500sec, ISO 400 saved as RAW

Software: Registax, Nebulosity, Photoshop

This image was taken on the evening of December 22^nd, about 24 hours after first quarter. The source images were taken by first setting the focus on Vega using a Bahtinov mask and then swinging over to the moon take a few test shots to check the exposure, using the camera’s histogram function to make sure that the image was not over-exposed. I then framed the field so that the moon would drift across the center of the field as I took a series of pictures. Using a remote switch and the camera’s mirror lock-up function I paused about 5 seconds between each frame to allow vibrations to settle. I took two sets of images of about 5 frames each, resetting the field between each set. The source images were then converted to TIFFs, roughly aligned and cropped in Photoshop, and then stacked and sharpened in Registax. Using Photoshop I rotated and framed the moon and then separated the image into its separate red, green, and blue colors. Since the AV90 is a Fraunhofer doublet it is optimized for green with the red being slightly blurred and the blue being relatively soft. I took the green data as the luminance channel and layered the color data back on top of it to preserve both the sharpness and color of the original image. This was flattened and saved as the final image. It sounds like a lot of work, but quick’n easy once you get the hang of it; maybe 20 minutes from start to finish.

Telescope: Orion AstroView 90 EQ @ f/10

Camera: Canon 450D (Rebel XSi, stock)

Filter: None

Planets: 16×1/100sec, ISO 400 saved as RAW

Moons: 16×1/25sec, ISO 400 saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Software: Registax, Nebulosity, Photoshop

This image was taken on the evening of December 22^nd, about 24 hours after the closest approach of Jupiter and Saturn while they were about 1/5^th of a degree apart. The source images were taken by first setting the focus on Vega using a Bahtinov mask. Next, the images of the conjunction were taken using a remote switch and the camera’s mirror lock-up function, pausing about 5 seconds to allow vibrations to settle. Two sets of 8 images each were taken with the field being reset between each set. The source images with then converted to TIFFs, roughly aligned and cropped in Photoshop, and then aligned and sharpened in Registax. Photoshop was used to combine the images of the planets with the images of the moons. The final composite image was cropped, scaled, and color balanced in Nebulosity. It was worth the effort getting a picture, but nothing beats how beautiful the real thing was! Before the pair sank below my local trees I was sure to pull the camera off of the scope and to spend a few minutes just enjoying the view. Wonderful!

Camera: Canon 450D (Rebel XSi)

Lens: Canon EF 75-300 @ 135mm f/5.6

Filter: Sunpak UV/IR

Exposure: 1x2sec, ISO 400 saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Software: Nebulosity, Photoshop

Wellll, we got lucky! The clouds parted just long enough to sneak a peek at the Grand Conjunction! I grabbed my camera and ran over to a local park and managed to grab a couple of quick frames before the clouds rolled in. I just used my Canon 450D on a tripod and a 2-second delay to allow vibrations to settle before the shutter tripped. If you look closely you can see a couple of Jupiter’s moons.  Their separation at this time was 0.1 degrees! Closest approach! Over the next couple of nights the view will be very similar as Jupiter slowly slips off to the upper left. Wonderful!

Jupiter & Saturn Conjunction – 12/20/2020, 18h23m EST

Camera: Canon 450D (Rebel XSi)

Lens: Canon EF 75-300 @ 150mm f/5.6

Filter: Sunpak UV/IR

Exposure: 1x2sec, ISO 400 saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Software: Nebulosity, Photoshop

This is just a quick single frame of the Grand Conjunction taken about 24 hours before closest approach. Their separation at this time was 0.13 degrees (1/8^th degree). I just used my Canon 450D on a tripod and a 2-second delay to allow vibrations to settle before the shutter tripped. If you look closely you can see a couple of Jupiter’s moons.  Over the next couple of nights the view will be very similar as Jupiter slowly slips off to the upper left.

Telescope: Astro-Tech 8” f/8 Ritchey-Chretien, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200, Baader Mk III MPCC

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, Meade DSI Pro II, PHD

Exposure: 7x240s (11/8) & 11x240s (11/9), saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32×0.2s, sky flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, fair transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.5 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

I have wanted to try this for a long time and I have been waiting for a pair of nights with perfect transparency to give it a try. However, my window of opportunity is closing for this year so I decided to go ahead and give it a try, and much to my surprise… success! This is a composite of two images taken 24 sours apart at about 10:30pm EST on the evenings of Novermber 8^th and 9^th in Cetus. The tiny smudges near the center of this field are the dwarf planet Eris, one of the most distant objects in the solar system. Eris is currently 8.8 billion miles from the Sun, almost 3 times farther than Pluto. It takes sunlight over 13 hours to reach Eris, and another 13 hours for the feeble reflected sunlight to make the trip back to Earth. Eris is about the same size as Pluto and with a more reflective surface it is so cold out there that the surface is likely coated with frozen methane, but unlike Pluto the sunlight is so faint that it is unlikely that the surface has been darkened by the formation of tholins. Shining at an incredibly faint Mv 18.8 this is the faintest object that I have been able to photograph and identify from my backyard