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M42 and M43, originally uploaded by ThinkingCamera.
I was pleased with this. The fog was coming in and I snatched a few 30 second exposures – this was the best and I had fun developing it in AstroArt then in Photoshop. I am aiming for a poster I can hang on the wall!
Seriously, looking at an area where new stars are literally being born is awe-inspiring.
M42 – Great Orion Nebula, originally uploaded by ThinkingCamera.
Another astro photo that is recognisable. As this was coming onto the screen, it was very exciting. I did 30 x 30second exposures, but had to discard quite a few because the tracking gave slight star trails.
I think I can do better in future, but this is already worth hanging on the wall and I can re-process the data when I understand in more detail how to get the best from it.
To capture this, I stood out on the snow with an air temperature of about -4C. Fortunately, there was not a breath of wind and the air was fairly dry (all the water had already condensed and frozen onto the ground) so it was not too uncomfortable, especially wearing lots of layers. I did have to use the hairdryer a couple of times to deal with condensation (ice?) on the telescope optics.
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It started snowing about 8pm last night, but was only light. Around 10:30pm, the wind had picked up, the snow became heavier and we had a genuine blizzard. The snow was dry enough to be driven by the wind and came in sheets off roofs and from the ground to be blown across the road. It was like a film of the antarctic ice-sheet with lines of fine snow snaking across the surface.
This morning, there are 10cm here. Roads are blocked or dangerous and the forecast was for more (though this has not actually happened). So I closed the school and stayed in the warm at home.
Double Cluster in Perseus, originally uploaded by ThinkingCamera.
First light with the ATIK16ic camera fitted to my telescope. I took some time focusing, but am still not sure if this is quite “tight” enough. Still, pleasing enough for a first try.
I was keen to use a rare clear night, but very shortly after taking this, the telescope was so covered with dew that it could not see a thing – visually or with a camera, so I had to give up.
Taking astronomical photos is a black art and reminds me of fishing (not that I have done that for decades). You do everything you think you need to, but it is never enough. You have to add the “secret sauce” (or bait) and then, very occasionally, it works. Most of the time you come back empty handed despite carefully doing everything right.
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