Bored and with a rare clear night, I decided to venture out to my usual spot by the Copernicus statue to test out my new camera adapter that fellow Chicago Astronomer Steve graciously got for me as an early Christmas Present.

It came from China and the package was as interesting as the content...



Packed very well, Steve tells me it took about three weeks to get here.



It's a 58mm to 1.25 eyepiece T-Ring Adapter that screws onto my Canon Powershot S3 Adapter Lens...very nicely.

This X-mas evening was a bit windy by the lakefront, and not too viable for steady imaging, as the winds buffeted the scope a bit. So instead of the main OTA, I coupled the camera to the 60mm finderscope, which brought in lower magnifications which is fine.



Setting up, I saw that the waning Moon was just peeking up over the Adler Planetarium, which made a nice scenic image. Not a single car was parked along the drive, but as soon as I parked, people stopped by to ask what I was doing and if they could take a peek. Always willing to share a view, it interrupted the imaging session, but it was ok.



The whole assembly of camera and scope fit well, and I rotated the reflector in the cradle so that the camera rested on the tube to help support the weight.

I started out with a small shot of the Moon and progressed to larger magnifications...



Finding sharp focus was difficult, as the winds kept shaking things around, but I think on this trial run, the images were acceptable.

It was now getting a bit colder, but one of my original Chicago Astronomer members, Debra stopped by with her son Frank. We talked a bit and she viewed the lunar landscape for a bit.

I then put the scope away, and decided to take straight camera shots sans scope.

The Copernicus site is heavily light polluted, as the above images reveal, but if one walks around to the back of the Adler Planetarium, the city lights cut out dramatically. It was here, where I shot some celestial images...



Shown above are two shots of the constellation Orion and Mars at the feet of the constellation of Gemini. Mars glowing bright red and the brightest object in the evening sky now, (apart from the Moon), looks great to the naked eye, but I have always found it lackluster in the eyepiece...even with the assistance of filters. Tonight brought Mars in opposition...a mere 55 million miles away. Good for Martian invasion.

In one, you can catch an aircraft infiltrating the shot.



Orion has always been my favorite constellation. One of the few constellations that actually looks like the mythical figure it represents. If you look closely, one can just make out the Orion nebula (M45), in the sword hanging from the three star belt.

Walking back to the car, I noticed that Chicago great skyline was sparkling in the cold clear air. I always enjoy taking skyline shots, and this evening was no exception...



I like the wide formatted shot shown here, with the reflecting lights on the surface of the water.



In the skyline was a bow. Zoomed in, I discovered that we had a Christmas present...bow and all.

The T-ring adapter worked well and will come in very handy in the upcoming sessions...especially for the Lunar eclipse in Feb '08.

Thanks Steve!