First Processing Attempt (almost) EVER!

Ok! So I decided to do a little QUICK processing of my image and found that it was actually not that hard and there was definitely a vast improvement in the picture quality (I think).  So I took the advice from this website (and changed the RGB settings based on what I liked).  I really just changed the RGB levels and contrast and brightness (after cropping it).  What do you think?

Obviously, it's not show quality, but it does give me hope for later.

March 26th, 2011 - Orion Nebula

Alrighty, so I knew that if I wanted to try getting the Orion Nebula M42 through my scope and with the DSLR, I had to try it soon since Orion won't be up for much longer and it's always setting and getting closer to more light pollution all the time.  So I went out last night and just messed around with DSLR and got some decent shots for just messing around.

150s exposure, ISO 200 with DSLR & EON refractor 

This one was my favorite.  Light pollution limited me to this long of an exposure.  Perhaps next time I'll use a nebula filter or a light pollution filter (just thought of that right now...wish I had last night).

 

270s exposure, ISO 100 with DSLR & EON refractor

As you may be able to tell if you zoom in on this one...tracking was a problem.  I'm pretty darn sure it's because the mount has shown to be more wobbly and moveable - this movement has increased after every star party I hold.  Lesson learned

70s exposure, ISO 400 with DSLR, 2x Televue Barlow, EON refractor

 This is using a 2x Barlow Lens to get up close a little more.  It was hard to focus, and I was running out of patience, but you can see the red vs. blue stars well because of the lack of focus.

Yeah yeah, I know I should have used my Newtonian for better light collection, but it doesn't track - perhaps I'll use the SCT next time.

Lunar Eclipse Pics - FINALLY!!!

Sorry for the long delay.  School caught up to me and has kept me incredibly busy.  I could rattle off the reasons, but I doubt you want to hear me whining. 

Alas, here are my favorite pictures (of about 500 or so) from the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. 

I had two setups going.  One was just a DSLR identical to mine (Canon EOS Rebel XS) with the 18-55mm IS Lens.  The pictures taken with those are the ones that give a wide field of view with the constellations in them.

The other setup was my DSLR hooked up to the back of the Orion Sirius EON 120ED EQ-G GoTo Refractor.  Those pictures are the close-up shots of the Moon.

Overall I was very happy with the pictures.  The lone DSLR got some great artistic shots and required not much effort.  I did have to focus using the LiveView function and zooming in 10x on a far away radio tower - but it seemed to work.  With the telescope setup, there were a few that were out of focus which frustrated me, but luckily I did get a few really good ones. 

What to do with all of these pictures?  I'd like to photoshop some of them into one single picture that shows the track of the Moon through the umbra or something like that.  I haven't gotten into Photoshop quite yet, so that's later.  Anyone have suggestions, ideas, resources for putting these images together in one shot?

Definitely my favorite shot with the DSLR only.  F4.0  30s   ISO400   27mm

 Another great one, with star trails of Orion.  F4.0  360s   ISO100   27mm

 Toward the beginning of the eclipse 1/200s   ISO100  through scope

My favorite of the bunch  3.2s   ISO400  through scope

Here are the rest of them - Total Eclipse Pictures

Hawaii Astrophotography Part 2: Mauna Kea

Where to start? While in Hawaii on a family vacation, I was able to go up to Mauna Kea. That's 13,796 feet above sea level and plenty of feet above the clouds. This makes it pretty much THE place for astronomy, since being so high up reduces the amount of atmosphere between you and the stars (less twinkling, more clarity) and being in Hawaii above the clouds means there's essentially NO light pollution. To save space on the blog, my favorites are up here in the gallery. But here are my two favorite star shots from the night. Only wish I could have gotten more!

The Milky Way through Sagittarius and Scorpius
180s f5.6 ISO1600

The Milky Way as it appeared to the naked eye (roughly)
120s f5.6 ISO1600

What did I learn? I wish I had higher ISO levels on my camera to get brighter stars (though more noise, but I'm sure there's a nice happy medium). I wish I had had a star-tracking mount (it would have been ridiculous to bring my telescope mount with me on the plane).

Hawaii Astrophotography Part 1: Oahu

Skies in Hawaii are good...IF you get on the beach and look away from the light pollution, as is the case with the third picture here. The first two I caught one morning waking up jet-lagged very early. The pollution was astounding, but I guess that's what you get for living in a city like Waikiki. I probably could have gotten some better pictures by walking on the beach, but a) I was tired and b) I didn't feel like being mugged by a homeless person (no seriously, they have a homeless problem there, somebody was stabbed the week before I got there).

Orion in the AM

Orion running across the sky in the AM,

Mars, Venus, Saturn at the Luau

More pictures here.

Wisconsin Road Trip Part #2: Indiana Dunes State Park - July 22nd, 2010

After picking up Danielle and traveling to Indiana, I took a good portion of the night after sunset to take a bunch of different pictures of different subjects. Here are some of my favorites:

Conjunction of Saturn, Mars, and Venus with the lights of East Chicago. Submitted this to Sky & Telescope - here's hoping they publish it!Second picture of the conjunction of Saturn, Mars, and Venus with the lights of East Chicago. Submitted this to Sky & Telescope, too - here's hoping they publish it!Big Dipper - best one I have so farLyraStar Trails (Polaris in the middle)I love the effect of moonlight lighting up the foreground, no matter how unfocused the shot is
More pictures from the night here

Wisconsin Road Trip Part 1: Ohio

Before catching up to Danielle, I stopped off at the Wayne National Forest in Ohio. Despite the family down the trail setting off bottle rockets, it was a good night to take some pictures. There was a good bit of light pollution from the gibbous moon, giving the background a bit of a blue hue.

I like how you can still see the stars really well even though there's light from the moon and clouds. Note Corona Borealis (Northern Crown) to the left of the center tree.Some decent star trails from a 10 minute exposure, though less moonlight would have made it darker.A good look at Hercules, though the background color is too gray.
More pictures (including some moon shots) here