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[katodog]

I got out last night for more comet observing, and got quickly bored with it. It's really exciting the first night, and then, on subsequent nights, the thrill sort of fades as the comet does. But, it's still really cool to see it. So, I spent a little time on the comet, and then turned towards other stuff. I took some shots of the comet through the 100mm Orion achro that came out really nice. Then I took some shots of the Toyota (Mazda? Datsun?) and the Double Cluster. The Double Cluster came out nice, but if I didn't know it was the Double Cluster, I would think it was just a bunch of stars. I turned to M27 as my final target, and was amazed that, once again, I could see it in the 100mm.


All shots were 30 second, single frames, with the Fuji S6000fd, Celestron 40mm Plossl, and the Orion 100mm achro, piggybacked on the 12" SCT. Except for Holmes 001, which was a stack of 14 jpg frames, and the Pleiades shot, which was 16 frames.















You know, Joe, I'm going to keep picking on you about using the name Subaru. I have a hard enough time trying to spell Pleiades, and now you throw another name in the mix. I know you're a big shot telescope operator, but I'm a dingdong. You can't keep confusing me like that.


Getting up at 6a.m. to go to work gives me the opportunity to see the sky before sunrise, and it's a lot better looking than it is at night. I keep stopping and looking up, and then spend about two minutes trying to calculate just how long I could bring the scopes out before I would make myself late for work. Hopefully it will be clear tomorrow morning, I'll get up around 3 or 4 and get some shots of M42, Saturn, and Venus, and probably some wide-field of Venus and Saturn and the surrounding stars. If I give myself enough time, I'll shoot Mars and see how it turns out. I don't think the Moon will be a problem, since it won't be too bright. Maybe I'll get some shots of it, too, if it looks good.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Kdog,

I know you're a big shot telescope operator, but I'm a dingdong. You can't keep confusing me like that.

Lol...No big shot here, just in awe in looking up and sharing the experience.

The shots you are capturing are improving dramatically and quite cool. I have noticed in my own observations that comet Holmes is fading and not as bright as last week. Your shots confirm this. In the second comet shot, the post processing/solarization of the image has brought out faint concentric rings surrounding the object. I like the last one displaying a rich star field and tungsten setting.

I'm looking into doing webcam imaging, and I understand that you use a Toucam? Please to embellish and explain your technique some. Maybe even a couple of shots if your setup.

We have a bunch of planets crowding our morning skies now, and it is a great opportunity for astrophotography. Maybe I'll even try to do some.

Thanks for sharing and keep them coming.

[katodog]

I haven't used the webcam much. I just got it about a week or so ago, and I've only used it once for about 30 minutes, just to see if it was something I wanted to use. It's definitely a billion times easier to use than the DSI was. The settings are a piece of cake. I didn't spend enough time with it yet to really get familiarized with it, but, it's only a matter of time. A few good nights with it and I'll be a pro. The cam is the Phillips SPC900NC, which is one of the newer ones, I believe. It's a really nice setup, and I got the adaptor for it from CNC Supply. I had to ream out the camera a tiny bit, since the adaptor wouldn't fit in. It was just a tad too big. But, I got the camera opened up just enough, and uniformly, to get the adaptor in with a really nice, snug fit. If you're looking to do webcam stuff, I'd definitely suggest this cam, or one of the other Phillips cams.