Observing Report: Saturn for the First Time this Year

I wanted to get a quick look at Saturn tonight. I put the ‘scope out at 8:30pm and let it cool for about an hour. I went out around 9:30pm. I used Sky Safari Plus on my iPhone and quickly located Saturn next to Spica in the South-western sky. I had my 21mm Baader Hyperion eyepiece in. I was stunned when I saw it for the first time in 2013. I remember the first time I ever saw it last year, and it had almost the same wow factor seeing it again. I popped in my 8mm Baader Hyperion to get a closer view. I was able to make out the Cassini division. For an even closer look I put in my 28mm adjustment ring. I was amazed as I saw the Cassini division and even some textures in the clouds. Despite average seeing, it was one of the most detailed views I’ve ever gotten of the ringed planet.

I did not take this picture

Super Moon 2013 + ISS Passover

Last night was a great night for imaging. The moon was at it's closest point to Earth since 1930. It was only about 221,824 miles away. Like May 2012, I wanted to get another picture of the "Super Moon".

1/1250 sec., ISO 200.

Also, here is a wide-field image with two separate exposures. 1/320 sec. for the moon, 1/2 sec. for the background. Both were shot at 300mm and ISO 200.

Finally, here is the ISS passover at 9:32 p.m.

15 sec., ISO 200. 18mm.

15 sec., ISO 200. 18mm.

The Sun Today

Here's some pictures of the sun today. There were some good spots, hoping they get better as we reach solar maximum.

1/1250, ISO 200.

Observing Report: 2 New Messier's + Solar Images

This is the first observing report of 2013. I haven’t been out a lot this year, this is my longest session, about 45 minutes. I completely forgot about the Messier marathon, and  when I remembered a week later it had been cloudy most of March. I’m hoping to get out a lot more this month, starting with tonight. I went out at 8:15pm, with two new Messier’s on my list; M40 and M94. Transparency and seeing was average, with no cloud cover. However, there is a lot of light pollution. I started the night by adapting my eyes, observing Jupiter and the Orion nebula first. Both were setting in the south-west sky. Then I moved onto M40, a insignificant double star. It is in the constellation Ursa Major, by the Big Dipper. After a little time looking I confirmed it. Not much to see. The highlight of the night was M94, a spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici. I was suprised by the brightness, a small smudge with a bright nucleus. I closed out the night by looking at a few open clusters around Orion and the star Sirius. Overall, tonight was satisfying and can’t wait to get out more. Two new Messier’s make that a total of 59/110.

I also got some solar images earlier today.

1/1250 sec., ISO 200

Cloudy and Busy

It's been cloudy nonstop here for the last month! I missed the Messier marathon and I haven't been out in a while. It's sunny during the day, but there is almost no sun spots to photograph. Hopefully it will clear up soon and I will get out on the first night I can. This is just an update, I'm still very much into astronomy but I've been really busy lately and haven't found the time.

99.4% Waxing Gibbous

Here's tonight's almost full moon. It's a 99.4% Waxing Gibbous. I forgot to set my camera on large mode so the image dimensions are smaller. Also, the messier marathon is about a month away, so I'm starting to think about that.

1/1250 sec., ISO 200

First Night Out In a While

I observed tonight for the first time in a while. Weather and me being busy has kept me in for the past few weeks. I got stunning views of Jupiter, the Moon, Orion Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy. I got a picture of the waxing crescent moon too.

1/100 sec., ISO 200

First Lunar Image of 2013

I haven't been out in a couple weeks, the moon was in a good phase and it was a good night for observing. After taking some pictures I looked at Jupiter and the Orion Nebula.

1/320 sec., ISO 200.

Visiting the Space Shuttle Endeavour

On Monday I went to the California Science Center in Los Angeles to see the retired space shuttle Endeavour. It was an amazing experience and was much bigger than I expected. Here are some pictures taken with my iPhone camera of the shuttle.

First (Solar) Image of 2013!

Here's my first image of 2013, a solar image. There were a lot of sunspots today, possibly the most I've ever captured. A good beginning to the new year.

1/1250., ISO 100. Single shot.

Final Observing Report of 2012

Tonight was a good end to a great year of astronomy. I haven’t been out in a couple of weeks so I decided to wrap up the year with a short session tonight. Conditions weren’t great, transparency and seeing were average. I got a good view of Jupiter and its moons, as well as the Pleiades. I waited a little bit for Orion to rise and observed the Orion nebula and Auriga and Gemini clusters, M35, M36, M37, and M38. This year was my first full year in astronomy, and I really enjoy this hobby and look forward to more experience and clear skies in 2013.

Here's a short video I threw together documenting some of my experiences in 2012.

Widefield: Orion and Moon

Here's a wide-field shot of the Moon and Orion. This picture was taken around 9:30pm, the full moon washes everything out. Also, here's a close-up shot of the moon.

10 sec., ISO 200.

10 sec., ISO 200.

1/2000 sec., ISO 200.

2012 Space Year in Review

I recently made a video of space highlights in 2012, including Curiosity, SpaceX, etc.

Also, here are pictures of the sun and moon from today.

1/640 sec., ISO 400

1/1250 sec., ISO 200

Halo around the Moon

The world didn't end! Here's an image from tonight; a Lunar Halo. This event is caused by moonlight reflecting off ice crystals in our upper atmosphere.

10 sec., ISO 800

ISS Passover

The International Space Station passed over earlier this evening. I got some wide field images, it leaves trails. It was my first time ever seeing the ISS pass over. It started out dim in the SW, then got really bright as it passed overhead. It got dimmer as it retreated in the NE. Seeing the ISS was a great experience.

All images are 15 sec., ISO 400. Processed in Photoshop CS6.

Pictures from Tonight

Here's some pictures through my scope tonight. It was a good, clear night. I focused on imaging because the Waxing Gibbous makes it hard for DSO's.

83% Waxing Gibbous - 1/640., ISO 200

Jupiter and moons - 1/4., ISO 800

Pleiades Star Trail - 30 sec., ISO 800

Observing Report: High Powered Viewing + Moon

Tonight was a great night! I went out at 7:45 and did 30 minutes of Lunar observing. Transparency was poor but seeing was good. I saw the Apollo 11 landing sight close up at 250x with my new adjustment ring. I also saw Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin craters. I used Turn Left at Orion for narrowing in on spots on the moon. The moon is still one of my favorite objects to observe. I then turned to Jupiter, one of the best views I’ve ever gotten out of the planet. It looked great at 250x. The Great Red Spot and four of Jupiter’s moons were clearly visible, and cloud belts were easily seen. I was going to wait another half an hour for Orion to rise above the trees, but things started dewing up and my telescope was soaking wet. Tonight was fun and I can’t wait for later this winter.

Here's tonight's picture of the moon. 1/500 sec., ISO 400.

Sun: November 12, 2012

Here's today's sun. A lot of sunspots are visible. Single shot, 1/1250 sec., ISO 200. Processed in Photoshop CS6.

Observing Report: A Bad Night Out

Tonight was a bust. Conditions weren’t great, and it was very cold and dry. I looked forward to a good night, having 12 objects on my list. I only ended up observing 3 of them. The only positive thing about tonight was the fact that I observed M76, The Little Dumbbell Nebula. Conditions weren’t good enough for M33, M74, and some other Messiers. On top of all that, I misaligned my finder scope at the end of the night. Hopefully next session will be better. On the bright side though, I am buying a high powered planetary eyepiece tomorrow. 

M76 The Little Dumbbell Nebula

Observing Report: M33 Triangulum Galaxy

Tonight was an amazing night. I went out at 7:30pm. This is my first time observing since the time change; it’s getting dark around 5:30pm now, which is great. I had one simple goal for tonight: observe the Triangulum Galaxy (M33). I used my SkyandTelescope pocket atlas for the first time. I like it but I have to get used to it. Mobile sky maps are easier to read for me right now. This was also the first night I listened to music while observing. The song is The Far River by John Sierre. Hubblesite’s Tonights Sky videos use that music. It is relaxing and awe inspiring, really complementary to observing. Seeing and transparency were both above average. I could pick out magnitude 4.8 stars with my naked eye. I got sidetracked in Cassiopeia at first, finding a few NGC open clusters with the Pocket Atlas. I revisited M103, nothing special. Then I moved on to my goal, the Triangulum Galaxy. I used Sky Safari Plus as my guide. The Sky map is really good. I searched for 5 minutes with no luck. Then I slowly went through the area it was supposed to be in. I saw a very faint, large smudge! I moved it around the eyepiece to make sure I wasn’t just seeing things and sure enough, it was M33! I looked through the Tel-Rad and confirmed it’s position in the sky. I can’t believe I found it in an orange zone on the bortle scale. I spent 10 minutes gazing at it. Thinking about how their could be intelligent life there looking at our own Milky Way Galaxy. The music added a nice effect to it also. I wrapped up the night at 9:15pm, looking at Jupiter, it’s four moons in a straight line, and the Great Red Spot. The GRS transited across the center of the planet at 8:15pm, but getting earlier each day. Tonight was my last chance to see it for a couple of weeks.

I did not take this picture.

M33 Triangulum Galaxy