News, Events, Photos

The pictures I shot were NGC 4038 Antennae or Ring Tail Galaxy,the Sombrero Galaxy M104, M83 face on Galaxy, and PLN 164+31.1 Planetary Nebula in Lynx Mag.14 and the Sun Flower M63 Galaxy, and I shot the Pelican Neb. in the area of the eye of the Pelican.

These pictures were taking to see how the camera would work, and to see how the picture would frame. The pictures were taking with short exposure times less than two hours, using mostly 10 min. sub. through LRGB filters. Processed with Maxim DL.

The mount I used for the Plane Wave is a AP 1200.

The next bunch was taking out at Borrego Springs, using a Vintage Orange Tube C14 30+ years old.

The camera is a STL 11000M, the mount is a CGE Pro.

The Moon was bright first quarter, so I thought I try shooting Globular. I started with M3, M5, M13, M22 my favorite, and then NGC 5139 the Omega Centauri, I could not find a guild star and the Globular is only up 7.8 Dec.

So I shot it with 1 min. exposure unguided not very good, but I got a picture not a very good one.

The rest were OK to nice, the total time on the Globules was about 45 min. each the sub. were 2 min. Next I shot the whale NGC 4631 then the Dummbell M27, I got about2 hours on each one of these. I was interested in seeing how these cameras and telescopes worked together, than getting good pictures. I was happy with the resole's .

Star Party At Oak Canyon

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 23:56:34 +0000

CLICK HERE for Address, Directions & Map

Gallaxiies -- Nebullas -- Gllobullar Cllustters

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT Oak Canyon Astronomy Group Facebook

The Planets by Tom Bash

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:10:00 +0000

Last night I was able to image all the planets worth imaging from my place in the Tehachapi's, although Jupiter was shot very low, and Saturn too, through high thin clouds and poorer seeing...

The Mars image was shot when the seeing was best using a 2X Powermate, so it is twice the resolution of the others, which were all shot at prime focus and are to the same scale. Venus is getting bigger as it approaches the June transit.

Bear valley Spring By Craig Gates

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:52:32 +0000

Here are some pictures taking last year with the Tele Vue 101 Is. using the STL 11000 and the QSI 583. The mount was a CGE Pro. Processing was done with Maxim DL. Most of the pictures were between 2 and 4 hours total exposure time through astrodon filters.

They were taking in Borrego spring or Bear valley Spring.

The Witch head is in the con by Craig Gates

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:46:52 +0000

The Witch head is in the con. Eridanus west of Orion quit faint, I used a Tele Vue 101 Is. Camera was a QSI 583 Mount CGE Pro. All Happily per just at Woodland Hills. All Sub Frames were 10 Min. RGB were 6 each and Lum was 9 Sub. Total time of 4 1/2 Hr.

Orion, Scorpius and Rho Ophiuchi By Josh Knutson

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:00:54 +0000

Farah, John,

First of all thank you for all of the help you both gave me when I flew out to visit Woodland Hills. Your shop is very impressive!

I was finally able to fully test out the Vixen Polarie a little over a week ago. Even without a Polar scope, I'm able to track for several minutes with the camera pointed due south where field rotation has the most impact. I took a few shots of Orion and stitched the tiles into a mosaic. I was able to put this data together with only a few hours of total time invested, about 30 minutes per mosaic panel. I've attached the results from my first attempts with the Polarie. I used 120 second exposures for each panel with my modified Canon T1i and 50mm lense @ F/3.5 ISO 800. (One of the images is on Vixen's site as well). I also shot Scorpius and Rho Ophiuchi but only managed 20 minutes @ 60 seconds, but the results were still impressive given the short time.

Great product! Setup and alignment takes me less than a minute. The entire setup and my accessories all fit into a small bag making it great for travel. I can't wait to unlock its full potential with the Polar scope. I've started on a project to mosaic the entire Summer Milky Way with the Polarie, and hope to complete most of the work by end of May. The Polarie is going with me to Chaco Canyon to time lapse the upcoming Solar Eclipse with the ruins as a backdrop.

Thanks,

Josh Knutson
Rio Rancho, NM

Mars, Jupiter and Venus by Tom Bash

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 02:03:18 +0000

Last Saturday night I wanted to see if my newer CGEM-DX mount would work with my old C14 optics (it does), and I used my Lumenera camera to take the images on this webpage:

Seeing was pretty decent for awhile, although Jupiter and Venus were imaged early in the night when the temperature was dropping pretty fast.

Then after imaging the Moon I imaged Mars at opposition, but then the seeing started to go downhill as winds appeared out of the East. It turns out my best Mars image was the first one, when it still wasn't that high in the sky, and that's the one on the webpage.

M 45 , Orion M42, Black Eye M46, Rosette Nebulla by Craig Gates

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:18:49 +0000

The M 45 taking with Televue 101 Is, QSI 583 camera 2 hours total time 5 min sub. through LRBB.

M 42 and the Rosette were taking in borrego springs in late Jan. I used a Tele Vue 101 Is. the camera was QSI 583 mono. M42 was a total of 2 hours LRGB using 1min sub on lum. and 2 min. on RGB.

The sky was very Dark SQM meter read 21.70, the seeing was average 2 to 3 ark sec. M 64 the black eye was taking with a planewave 17" using a STL 11000 mono 2 hours total ex. 10 min. sub.

Jupiter from the Tehachapi Mts. by Tom Bash

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:39:27 +0000

Here are some images I took with my C14 and Lumenera camera from Craig's place in the Tehachapi's over the holiday week. This is the best Jupiter I got on Wednesday night, thanks to Craig's 2X Powermate and good seeing:

I shot four images of the moon, none of which came out that well because of the poor seeing and wind gust moving the scope around. These are the best two and were shot in near IR; the other two were throw aways and not worth posting:

I also imaged the Trapezium area in near IR. This is a stack of eleven 30 second unguided exposures with the camera binned 2x2, so the stars don't look that great, but this shows the penetrating power of IR to reveal stars in the brightest part of M42 that are not visible at visual wavelengths:	On Friday night conditions were not so good, at least while I was still imaging. Just like the night before the conditions got much better after I put the bag on my scope and called it a night. Hopefully that is not the start of a trend. Anyway this is the one Jupiter image I took, at f/11 (prime focus), and processed pretty aggressively to salvage it:

On Friday night conditions were not so good, at least while I was still imaging. Just like the night before the conditions got much better after I put the bag on my scope and called it a night. Hopefully that is not the start of a trend. Anyway this is the one Jupiter image I took, at f/11 (prime focus), and processed pretty aggressively to salvage it:
Langrenus area:	Janssen:

Lunar eclipse images by Tom Bash

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:24:33 +0000

I was able to image this morning's lunar eclipse from the coast on the Palos Verde peninsula. It was a cold for LA 50 degrees, and mostly clear. These were taken with my old Olympus 4040 point and shoot camera mounted on a tripod:

Me and Ken with our scopes after the eclipse:	Now for some twilight scenery - across the bay is Santa Monica, and a plane that just took off from LAX:

Deep partial (nearly total) eclipse over the ocean:	The total phase in bright twilight - I didn't do a good job centering this one, the eclipsed Moon is left of center:

For these images I used my Lumenera camera and Vixen 80 mm refractor. I should have used a german mount, because it was a lot of work keeping the Moon on the chip using my alt-az Vixen Porta mount while shooting quick video sequences through each color filter.

Here is the first image through the Vixen, taken at 5:17 am during the partial phase of the eclipse:	The next image was taken at 5:41 am:

This was taken at 5:47 am:	Getting close to total (and getting noisier as the moon got darker) at 5:58:

The Helix Nebula by Robert Finnigan

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:42:18 +0000

The Helix Nebula NGC 7293 is a large planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius. Discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding, probably before 1824, this object is one of the closest to the Earth of all the bright planetary nebulae.

The estimated distance is about 700 light-years. It is similar in appearance to the Ring Nebula, whose size, age, and physical characteristics are similar to the Dumbbell Nebula, varying only in its relative proximity and the appearance from the equatorial viewing angle.The Helix has often been referred to as the Eye of God on the Internet, since about 2003.

Taken with the five Inch Tack at Funks Grove from 8:00 Sep. 21 to 1:00Apogee U16M D07 Camera and Off Axis Guider

Horsehead/Flame by Brian Valente

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:46:51 +0000

NightFall Images by Tom Bash

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:07:31 +0000

We had two clear nights separated by one partly cloudy night at NightFall this year. Seeing was above average for the desert, but the sky wasn't that dark, measuring about 21 on a dark sky meter. The first night I was able to get an image of comet Garradd before it set behind the mountains in the west - these were aligned on the comet so the stars are trailed:

Then I had problems getting MaxIm to guide properly, so I wasn't able to image anymore that night. I never did figure out what happened, and probably a reboot of Windows would have solved the problem. On the partly cloudy night I got everything working again and imaged the Owl open cluster, which was able to punch through the clouds:

On the last night the crescent moon was low in the west once it got dark - this had to be shot through a blue filter to prevent saturation, and the
seeing was pretty soft in the early evening:

During the night I imaged M33, and was able to resolve some of the
brightest stars in that galaxy:

Then the seeing got soft again and I gave up imaging IC342 after getting 1 hour of luminance - this one needs a lot more exposure time:

An observation of moon night by Tom Bash

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 01:16:07 +0000

Last night was International Observe the Moon night, so Craig kindly let
me attach my Lumenera camera to his vintage C14. Early on the seeing wasn't
that good, so these were all shot through a red filter.

The first target was the giant crater Schickard on the terminator just starting to get some Sun:

Then we moved a little North and captured Mare Humorum:

Even further North along the terminator Aristarchus was well placed:

The seeing did get better for this one, which covers the real estate around Tycho and Clavius, and shows what an old orange tube C14 can do in good conditions:

Then we imaged Jupiter, even though it was still fairly low:

Bubble Nebula by Craig Gates

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:58:58 +0000

All the pictures were taking with a 17'' plane Wave on a AP 1200 mount.
the camera is a STL 11000 M. The times for the Bubble were 1 hour and 20 min.
of Lum. using 400 sec. sub frames. the RGB was 3 hours with 600 sec. sub.
frames. I crop the Stephan's Quintet out of the Deer Lick and Stephan's
Quintet pictures. the time on that picture was 1 hour and 40 min of Lum. with
600 sec. subs. and 2 hours and 30 min. of RGB with 600 sec. sub frames.

Eastern Veil Nebula by Craig Gates

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:48:37 +0000

The eastern veil is one of my favorite, I have 2 hours of RGB, 40 min. on
each color, sub frames 600 min. A total of 1 hour Lum. 600 sec. sub.
frames. I shot the top and the bottom, And I Crop these one so there's a total of
four Pictures. Telescope Plane Wave 17" Camera STL 11000 Mono AP 1200
mount.

Astro Photos by Robert Finnigan (Click for More Info and Pics)

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Pickering's Triangle
Pickering's Wedge, this segment of relatively faint nebulosity was discovered photographically in 1904 by Willimina fleming at Harvard Observatory, where Edward Charles Pickering was director at the time. The Triangle is brightest along the northern side of the loop, through photographs show the nebulosity extending into the central area as well.
Taken with 11 inch Edge and new Apogee U16M D07 Camera and OffAxis Guider

LRGB M27 Funks Grove June 8, 2011

30 min L5 min RGB taken with 11 inch Edge and the new Apogee U16M D07 Camera and Off Axis Guider June 18, 2011

M10 60 one min LRGB June 20, 2011

Processed Vail June 29, 2011 30 min HA and Olll

Eastern Vail June 30, 2011 Bob and Lee's Final. Taken with 11 inch Edge and the new Apogee U16M D07 Camera and Off Axis Guider.

M20 taken with 11 inch Edge and the new Apogee U16M D07 Camera and Off Axis Guider

M20 Final

30 min combined Ha and Olll taken July 13, 2011 with the 11 inch Edge and the new Apogee U16M D07 Camera and Off Axis Guider MAOG

The Cygnus Loop - The Vail Nebula is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus. It constitutes the visible portions of the Cygnus Loop, a large but relatively faint supernova remnant. The source supernova exploded some 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, and the remnants have since expanded to cover an area roughly 3 degrees in diametr about 6 times the diameter of the full moon. The distance to the nebula about 1,470 light-years.

Vail West LRGB and 30 min HA and Olll July 4, 2011. The Witch's Broom Nebula in Cygnus. Taken with 11 inch Edge and the new Apogee U16M D07 Camera and Off Axis Guider

Vail West 30 Min HA and Olll July 4, 2011. The Witch's Broom Nebula in Cygnus. Taken with 11 inch Edge and the new Apogee U16M D07 Camera and Off Axis Guider

NGC 6888 July 30, 2011 30 30 30 30 Ha RGB taken with the 130 TOA- Takahashi and the new 4 inch foucer Apgee U16M D07 Camera snd MAOG

PROFILES IN AMATEUR ASTRONOMY: BOB FINNIGAN

Bob Finnigan became interested in the night sky as a youth living in Shirley, IL. There he used a 3-inch Moonscope reflector to view the sky. He remembers distinctly showing his mother the Orion Nebula with that ‘scope. After he grew up and married, Bob eventually moved to Bloomington where he started several businesses. Shortly thereafter, he bought a used 6-inch refracting telescope (which he still has) from Don Erlenbusch. Within a few years he was able to purchase a telescope big time. In early 1973 he acquired a Celestron 14-inch Schmidt-Cass. He installed it on his Oakland Avenue garage roof under a 6-foot dome constructed by a local carpenter. There he successfully observed and photographed comets. A large feature article about him appeared in the Pantagraph.

Constant bothered by the electric twilight of town, Bob moved to Downs with his family. There he built a small observatory with the assistance of TCAAer Bill Zaffiri. He named the new structure the Marie-Antoinette Observatory after his wife. Within a short time, Bob felt that he had outgrown the 6-foot dome and subsequently bought a 10-foot Ash dome. That dome was later donated to the TCAA is now sits atop the Sugar Grove Observatory at SGNC. Bob retained possession of the C14 telescope for many years and it found its way to the TCAA in August 2010 though his generous donation. He now operates with an 11-inch Celestron on a CGEM mount.

Over the years, Bob used the C14 to advantage, successfully photographing among other things comets. Bob notes, “With the Celestron, I took pictures in 1973 of Comet Kohoutek that were used in the Pantagraph. In 1976, the Pantagraph also used my picture of Comet West. This picture was taken in Downs. The Peoria Journal Star printed a set of two photos of Comet Kobayashi-Berger-Milon showing a 3-day movement relative to the stars.”

Bob was treasurer of the club for two years, vice president for one year, and president for two years back in the mid to late 1970s. While with the TCAA, he organized multiple trips to study the Cahokia mounds Woodhenge site near St Louis. Later he planned another trip to the atom smasher in Batavia. He recalls fondly a trip to Ohio Wesleyan University where a group of TCAAers stayed overnight at Perkins Observatory viewing through the 32-inch telescope.

Bob notes with justifiable pride that he also restarted the Messier club within the TCAA (David Williams having been the first years before). He spent one year of weekend evenings at the home of Art Grebner, a Peoria Astronomical Society member living in Metamora. There he made observations of 110 Messier objects, with each observation verified by Art. Shortly thereafter other TCAA members followed Bob’s lead with him serving as a verifier of observations. Weldon Schuette was among the first to complete his Messier certificate under Bob’s watchful eye. This initiated the pursuit of AL observing club awards that has now become a strong tradition within the TCAA.

Art was then grinding a 24-inch mirror that is now at Jubilee Park in Brimfield, west of Peoria in the dome that he donated to the Peoria Astronomical Society. That observatory now bears his name as the Decker-Grebner-VanZandt Observatory.

Recently, following a 28-year hiatus from the TCAA, Bob is back. He is now helping Carl Wenning to finish the TCAA history and assist in its photo editing and publication. Details about Bob’s earlier times in the TCAA are chronicled in the History of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers 1960 – 2010.

Welcome back Bob!

Julian Starfest Images by Tom Bash (click for more info and pics)

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

It was hot and partly cloudy at the Julian Starfest this year, so I only imaged on the last and clearest night (Saturday). The first target was the Pinwheel galaxy M101, since a new supernova was discovered just a few days before. Since M101 was low and setting I only had time to take 3 images through each filter, so this is a bit noisy, and the arrow shows the new supernova:

Then I imaged comet Garradd, at about the same time the air temperature started to rise and my focus became soft. The air temperature rose so much I had to increase the temperature of my camera when the cooler hit full power. This is a combination of an image aligned on the stars with an image aligned on the comet:

The comet was moving fast, as this scaled down movie I created from the red frames shows - 8 one minute exposures taken about 4 minutes apart.
The movie also features a few hot pixels doing the dither dance, and a bright (5.4 mag) bloomed star:

The last image I took was of Neptune, which has completed its first full orbit of the Sun since it was discovered back in 1846. It's the little blue ball in the middle with its large moon Triton next to it:

Lagoon Nebula by Craig Gates (click for more info and pics)

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:39:04 +0000

M8 Lagoon Neb

The Lagoon looks pretty cool, shot through a Plainwave 17 the camera was a SBIG 11000 M on a AP 1200 mount, This was done with 6 Lum at 300 Sec.
each, and the RGB filters were 480 Sec. using 3 Sub frames each. Total of 1 hour.

M 101 and the Swan

M101 was hard to process because the moon 25 day old very bright, But a got a nice picture under those condition. M101 I used 6 Sub of 600 sec.

Through LBGB filter Total 4 hours. scope plainwave 17 AP 1200 mount SBIG 11000 M.

The swan Neb. was 6 Lum. at 300 sec. each, and the RGB 400 sec. done 4 times each total time was 2 hours.

West Veil NGC 6960

This picture was taking using a plainwave 17, AP1200 mount, SBIG 11000 M camera, Sub frames were 600 Sec. through astrodon LRGB fiters.

total time was 2.5 hours. This is the Top portion of NGC 6995

M20 trifid and a edge on gal

M 20 was a test picture, kind of a first light seeing how things were going to work.

I was happy! one shot through each filter of 10 min. total 40 min.

This edge on gal. was the first light for the plainwave 17 using a SBIG 11000m. the gal. is NGC 4565 a total 2.5 hours with Sub frames of 600 sec. through each filter.

A total of 2.5 hours with 600 sec. sub frames through LRGB filters. That's all folk's...

Tehachapi Mountains Observatory by Craig Gates (click for more info and pics)

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:46:49 +0000

Over the Memorial Day weekend I joined John Fox and Joe Fuller up at Craig's Tehachapi Mountains Observatory to help him celebrate first light with his new 17" Planewave telescope.

I spent 5 nights there with my new HD 11", and having two new telescopes in the same place really brought in the bad weather.

When it wasn't foggy or snowing the winds were howling. Actually the winds were howling even when it was foggy or snowing. We did get some clear skies on a few of the nights, and if I didn't have Adaptive Optics to help the guiding, imaging would have been impossible.

On the first night when I cooled my camera down I saw frost in my images, so I had to increase the camera temperature to 0C, or give up. So I increased the temperature and picked a bright target, M4, which was low in the sky and was imaged in nearly 20 mph sustained winds, with gusts to 40 mph:

By the next clear night I fixed my camera, and was able to image some galaxies. Even though the winds remained strong the seeing was very good. I was able to get a complete LRGB sequence on M65. But only 40 minutes of usable luminance (clear filter) data on NGC 5364:

Then more fog, some snow, and clouds came in over the last two nights, and the imaging was done.

Deep Sky Images by Craig Gates (click for more info and pics)

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Trifid Nebula (M20)
The Eagle Nebula (M16)

Deep Sky images with a SBIG AOL by Tom Bash (click for more info and pics)

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Ring Nebula (M57)
The Dumbbell Nebula (M27)
The Omega Nebula (M17)
A Globular Nebula (M22) in Sagittarius

Deep Sky images with a C11 HD by Tom Bash (click for more info and pics)

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33)(IC 434)
The Crab Nebula (M1)
The Wizard Nebula (ngc 7380)

Images from Bear Valley Observatory by Craig Gates (click for more info and pics)

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Veil Nebula Top (NGC-6960)
The Veil Nebula Middle (NGC-6992)
The Veil Nebula Bottom (NGC-6979)
The Trifid Nebula (M20)
The Lagoon Nebula (M8)
The North American Nebula (NGC7000)
The Swan Nebula (M17)

The Sun by Douglas Smith and Andrew Smith (click for more info and pics)

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Solar Disk
The Detail of the Sun

The Moon at the Gates Observator by Tom Bash (click for more info and pics)

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Triesnecker Rilles
Trio of Large Craters centered on Alphonsus
Mare Humboldtianum along the NE limb
Sunrise on the Alps

The Sun in Hydrogen-Alpha by Douglas Smith (click for more info and pics)

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Sun in Hydrogen

Shuttle Launch (STS132) by Dr. Mike Reynolds

Fri, 14 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Shuttle Launch

Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) by Craig Gates

Tue, 11 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Craig Gates

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Orion Nebula (M42)
Pinwheel Galaxy (M101)

Thursday, April 8, 2010 Jon Betancourt - The Sun in Hydrogen-Alpha

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Sun in Hydrogen-Alpha

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 - Craig Gates

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Cigar Galaxy (M82)
Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)
Pinwheel Galaxy (M101)
Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33)
Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33)
Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33)
Rosette_Nebula (NGC 2237)
Rosette_Nebula (NGC 2237)

Sunday, March 14, 2010 - NGC2237-9 Rosette Nebula and NGC2244 Open Cluster by Jeff Weiss

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

NGC2237-9 Rosette Nebula and NGC2244 Open Cluster

Friday, January 29, 2010 - Mars with Polar Cap by Carlos Hernandez

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I made an observation of Mars on January 29, 2010 under good to very good seeing conditions (7-8/10) . The amount of detail visible over the regions between Chyrse/Xanthe (on the preceding (evening) limb) and Elysium (on the following (morning) limb) was impressive. Albedo features over the Tharsis region, during moments of very steady seeing, exhibited a complex mottling that was difficult to render. I welcome any comments on my observations.

Date (U.T.): January 29, 2010
Time (U.T.): 05:30-06:30
CM (Degrees West): 127.4*-142.0*
Ls: 044.4* (Mid-Northern Spring/Southern Autumn)
De: 014.6*, Ds: 17.1*, p 100%, 14.1”
Instrument: 9-inch (23-cm) F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain
Magnification: 295x and 388x
Filters (Wratten): 30 (Magenta) and 80 (Blue)
Seeing (1-10): 7-8, Antoniadi (I-V): II
Transparency (1-6): 5

Notes:
05:45 U.T. (CM 131.0*W, Wratten 30 (Magenta)): The North Polar Cap (NPC) appears brilliant (10/10) with a dark (3/10) collar comprised of Mare Boreum. Mare Sirenum appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) over the southern limb with dull (5/10) projections from it’s northern border connecting to “Valhalla” (4-5/10). Tharsis appears dusky to shaded (4-6/10) and mottled over the central meridian (CM). Nix Olympica appears as a bright to very bright (7-8/10) orographic cloud (Mountain-associated) is visible following the CM over the Tharsis region (a water-ice cloud over the flanks of Olympus Mons). Mare Acidalium appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) over the North-preceding (Np) limb with a dusky to dull (4-5/10) Nilokeras connecting to a dusky (4/10) Lunae Lacus. Chryse-Xanthe appears very to extremely bright (8-9/10) over the preceding (morning) limb. Ganges appears as a dull (5/10) band extending between Lunae Lacus and Aurorae Sinus (3-4/10). Agathodaemon (Coprates) appears a thin, dark to dusky (3-4/10) projection extending from the following border of Aurorae Sinus. Tithonius Lacus appears a dusky (4/10) “knob” at the following end of Agathodaemon. Mare Erythraeum appears dusky to dull (4-5/10) and mottled and bright to very bright (7-8/10) haze over it on the preceding limb. Solis Lacus appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) and “fan-shaped” towards the South-preceding (Sp) limb. Aonius Sinus appears as a dark (3/10) wedge towards the southern limb. Trivium Charontis and the Propontis Complex appear as dark to dusky (3-4/10) condensations towards the following (morning) limb. Elysium appears bright to very bright (7-8/10) towards the following limb. Memnonia and Zephyria appear bright (7/10) without any detail visible within. The evening limb haze (ELH), southern limb haze (SLH), and morning limb haze (MLH) appear very to extremely bright (8-9/10).

06:15 U.T. (CM 138.3*W, Wratten 80 (Blue)): The North Polar Cap (NPC) appears brilliant (10/10). A bright to very bright (7-8/10) cloud is visible over Tempe. A very to extremely bright (8-9/10) cloud is visible over Chryse-Xanthe. Nix Olympica appears a bright to very bright (7-8/10) cloud following the CM. A bright to very bright (7-8/10) cloud is visible over Elysium. The preceding (evening) limb , southern limb, and following (morning) limbs appear very to extremely bright (8-9/10).

Mars with Polar Cap
Mars with Polar Cap
Mars with Polar Cap

Sunday, January 24, 2010 - Mars by Carlos Hernandez

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I made an observation of Mars on January 24, 2010 (5:00-5:30 U.T.) under average to good seeing (5-7/10) conditions. The Tharsis bulge was prominent on the central meridian (CM) with cloud activity noted at both morning (following) and evening (preceding) limbs.

Date (U.T.): January 24, 2010
Time (U.T.): 05:00-05:30
CM: 163.7-171.0*W
Ls : 042.1* (Mid-Northern Spring/Southern Autumn)
De: 15.3*, Ds 16.3*, p 1.00, Diameter 14.1”
Instrument: 9-inch (23-cm) F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain
Magnification: 295x and 388x
Filters (Wratten): 30 (Magenta) and 80A (Blue)
Seeing (1-10): 5-7, Antoniadi (i-V): III-II
Transparency (1-6): 4

Notes:
05:00 U.T (CM 163.7*W, Wratten 30 (Magenta)): The North Polar Cap (NPC) appeared brilliant over the northern limb and was surrounded by a dark to dusky (3-4/10) collar comprised of Lemuria. Mare Sirenum was visible on the CM towards the southern limb and appeared dark to dusky (3-4) with dull (5/10), thin projections extending from it’s northern border appearing to connect with Valhalla (4-5/10). Tharsis appeared dull to bright (5-7/10) and mottled with a very bright (8/10) orographic (Mountain-associated) cloud following the CM. Solis Lacus was visible over the South-preceding limb (Sp) and appeared dark to dusky (3-4/10) with dusky (4/10) projections projections over it’s northern border (Calydon and Eosphoros). Aurorae Sinus (4/10) and Ganges (4-5/10) was visible towards the preceding (evening) limb adjacent to a very bright to extremely bright evening limb haze (ELH). The morning limb haze (MLH) appeared very bright to extremely bright (8-9/10). The haze north of the Propontis complex (4-5/10) was extremely bright in a magenta (W30) filter which may indicate the presence of dust within the haze.

05:30 U.T. (CM 171.0*W, Wratten 80A): An orographic (Mountain-associated) cloud was visible over Tharsis following the CM. The morning limb haze (MLH), evening limb haze (ELH), and southern limb haze (SLH) appeared very bright to extremely bright (8-9/10).

An eighth magnitude star (HIP 44408, 8.05m, a G5 star similar to the Sun (G2V)) was visible north and preceding Mars approximately 1 arc-minute (60 arc-seconds) apart. I have rendered the appearance of the two in the eyepiece field. It was interesting to watch Mars and the star change in positions relative to each other over the time of my observation.

Mars
Mars & HIP44408
Mars
Mars

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - M33 by Richard Lipow

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

M33 by Richard Lipow

Saturday, November 14, 2009 - Orion M42 & M43 by Garvis DiLauro

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Orion M42 & M43

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - Darren Thibodeau

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888) in Cygnus
Lagoon Nebula (M8) & Trifid Nebula (M20) in Sagittarius
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
Orion Nebula (M42)
North American Nebula (NGC 7000) in Cygnus
Hercules Cluster (M13)
Whirlpool Galaxy (M51a)
Edge on Spiral Galaxy (NGC 5907)
Saturn by Brian Feldman

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - Howard Eskildsen - The Sun in Calcium

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The Sun in Calcium (Ca-K)
The Sun in Calcium (Ca-K)
The Sun in Calcium (Ca-K)

Saturday, October 3, 2009 - Rob Johnson

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Heart Nebula
The Sun in Hydrogen-Alpha

Sunday, September 20, 2009 - Rob Johnson - Heart Nebula

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Heart Nebula

Saturday, September 19, 2009 - H-Alpha Images - Lindy Williams and Tom Bash

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Open cluster & diffuse nebula (IC-1396)
North America Nebula (NGC-7000)

Saturday, September 19, 2009 - Daniel Mounsey (Dr. D) and Tom Bash

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
Asterism Pleiades (M45)
Open cluster & diffuse nebula (IC-1396)
Triangulum Galaxy (M33)

Saturday, September 19, 2009 - Victor Eden - Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

Sunday, September 6, 2009 - Craig Gates

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The Dumbbell Nebula (M27)
The Eagle Nebula (M16)
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
Planetary Nebula (NGC-1501)
Sculptor Galaxy (NGC-253)
Sculptor Galaxy (NGC-253)
Helix Nebula (NGC-7293)
Ring Nebula (M57)

Saturday, September 5, 2009 - Tom Bash - Lunar Picture Near Infra-Red

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Copernicus Crater
Petavius Crater
Lunar South Pole

Saturday, August 22, 2009 - Tom Bash - Jupiter

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Jupiter

Friday, August 21, 2009 - Edward Hahnenberg

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Jupiter
Nebula M17 (Omega Nebula)
Nebula M42 (Orion Nebula)
Galaxy M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy)

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 - Craig Gates

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Nebula NGC 6559
Galaxy M33
The Heart Nebula (NGC-1805)
The Cocoon Nebula (IC-5146)
The Helix Nebula (NGC-7293)

Sunday, July 26, 2009 Doctor Ds First Astrophotos

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Takahashi 85mm/450mm Baby "Q"
Tom Bash
Nebula B145
Cocoon Nebula
The E Nebula
Nebula IC-1318
Cluster IC-1369
Nebula IC 5068
Eagle Nebula (M16)
M24
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
Triangulum Galaxy (M33)
Nebula M8
North American Nebula - South
Nebula NGC 6914

Monday, July 13, 2009 - Jon Betancourt - The Waning Gibbous Moon

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Monday, July 13, 2009 - Jon Betancourt - The Waning Gibbous Moon

Sunday, July 5, 2009 - Howard Eskildsen

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000

July 5, 2009 - The Sun in Calcium
July 5, 2009 - The Sun in Calcium
July 9, 2009 - The Sun in Calcium
July 25, 2009 - The Sun in Calcium
July 29, 2009 - The Sun in Calcium
July 29, 2009 - The Sun in Calcium

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 - Paul Keen

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:45:30 +0000

The Orion Nebula (M42)

Thursday, February 26, 2009 - Comet Lulin by Eddy Milanes

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:32:14 +0000

Comet Lulin by Eddy Milanes

Thursday, December 4, 2008 The Orion Nebula (M42) by Victor Eden

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:28:07 +0000

The Orion Nebula (M42) by Victor Eden

Sunday, October 26, 2008 The Orion Nebula (M42) by Rob Johnson

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:34:52 +0000

The Orion Nebula (M42) by Rob Johnson

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - Paul Keen

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 23:34:52 +0000

Total Lunar Eclipse

Monday, January 1, 2007 - Old Astrophoto Gallery

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Spiral Galaxy (M101) by Bob Sullivan
Horsehead Nebula by Bob Sullivan
Ring Nebula by Chris Humphry
The Great Hercules Cluster (M13) by Chris Humphry
Quarter Moon by Unknown
Lunar Eclipse by Lacappa
Saturn by Rob Johnson