Calhoun County Park Oct (21-24) 2022

 AP900GTO, AP92 Stowaway, Astronomical, Canon 6D, Cherry Springs, Dark Nebula, Emission Nebula, FSQ-106ED, Nebula, QHY268C, Reflection Nebula, Star Parties, ZWO ASI533MC  No Responses »
Dec 102022
 

 

IC 348 FSQ-106ED Scope with QHY268C Camera on AP900GTO Mount, 5.67 Hours Total Exposure

 

IC 348 Annotated

 

NGC 1788, FSQ-106ED Scope with QHY268C Camera on AP900GTO Mount, 8 hours total exposure

 

NGC 1788 Annotated

 

NGC1333 -AP92 Stowaway Scope with ZWO ASI533C camera on Atlas Mount, 6.1 hours total exposure

 

NGC 1333 Annotated

 

 

NGC 7293 - The Helix Nebula

NGC 7293 – The Helix Nebula: AP92 Stowaway Scope, ZWO ASI533C camera, Atlas Mount. 4 hours total exposure time.

 

NGC 7293 – The Helix Nebula Annotated

 

IC 405 – The Flaming Star Nebula. AP92 Stowaway Scope, ZWO ASI533C Camera, Atlas EQ-G Mount. 7.9 Hours total exposure.

 

IC 405 Annotated

 

NGC 7822 – FSQ-106ED Scope with QHY268C Camera on AP900GTO Mount, 4.1 hours total exposure

 

NGC 7822 Annotated

 

 

Cherry Springs – July 2022

 AP900GTO, Astronomical, Canon 6D, Cherry Springs, Dark Nebula, Emission Nebula, Equipment, FSQ-106ED, Location, Nebula, Orion Atlas EQ-G, QHY268C, Reflection Nebula, Rokinon 135mm f/2, Star Parties, Widefield, ZWO ASI533MC  No Responses »
Jul 122022
 

We had four relatively clear nights in a row. Some didn’t start great but all four produced usable imaging time even if the nights aren’t much more than 4 hours of astronomical darkness this time of year.

A couple shots with the Canon 6D DSLR and a Rokinon 135mm wide open at f/2.

  • M16 & M17
  • M16 & M17 Annotated
  • M8 Lagoon & M20 Triffid
  • M8 Lagoon & M20 Triffid Annotated
  • vdB 123
  • vdB Annotated

vdB 123 – Taken with FSQ-106ED and QHY268C OSC CMOS Camera on an AP900GTO Mount, 58 x 5min exposures totaling 4.8 Hours Exposure across two nights.

  • Sh2-136
  • Sh2-136 Annotated

Sh2-136 Taken with FSQ-106ED and QHY268C OSC CMOS Camera on AP900GTO Mount, 79 x 5 minute exposures totaling ~6.6 Hours Exposure time across two nights.

  • M20 – The Trifid Nebula
  • M20 – The Trifid Nebula Annotated

M20 – The Trifid Nebula: ZWO 533C OSC CMOS Camera with AP92 Refractor on Atlas EQ-G Mount. 57 x 5min exposures for a total of 4.75 hours captured across two nights.

Calhoun County Park Sept 2021

 AP900GTO, Astronomical, Calhoun County Park, Emission Nebula, FSQ-106ED, Nebula, QHY268C, Star Parties, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Sep 262021
 
Hoping those clouds clear out!
Sunset
Star Trails over our campsite on the ridge
IC 59 & IC 63 eroding away under the radiation from the bright star Gamma Cas
IC 59 & IC 63 in context
IC 59 & IC 63 Annotated
Classic Car show on Sat!
Live Music Too!
A couple of the cars; I missed a few of them unfortunately.

Calhoun County Park August 2021

 AP900GTO, Astronomical, Calhoun County Park, Canon 6D, Cluster, Dark Nebula, Emission Nebula, FSQ-106ED, Nebula, Open Cluster, Orion Atlas EQ-G, QHY268C, Star Parties, Uncategorized, Widefield, ZWO ASI533MC  No Responses »
Sep 262021
 
Hoping for Clear Skies
Frank caught red handed covering up evidence of proprietary Rubbermaid Astro-technology theft 🙂
The Bubble Nebula (AKA NGC 7635, Sharpless 162, Caldwell 11) is seen here next to Open Cluster Messier 52
The Bubble Nebula region Annotated
Circumpolar Star Trails

Calhoun County Park Oct 2020

 AP900GTO, Astronomical, Calhoun County Park, Canon 6D, Dark Nebula, Emission Nebula, FSQ-106ED, Galaxy, Nebula, Orion Atlas EQ-G, Reflection Nebula, Star Parties, SVQ100, SX-46, ZWO ASI533MC  No Responses »
Nov 082020
 
View of the barn and new stage under construction from the ridge where we typically setup for astronomy.
Looking SW’ish where most of the informal star party group was setup.
Looking NE on the ridge
Sh2-155 The Cave Nebula
SVQ-100 with ASI533MC OSC CMOS on Orion Atlas EQ-G Mount
IC 342
SVQ-100 with ASI533MC OSC CMOS on Orion Atlas EQ-G Mount
Galaxy NGC 891
SVQ-100 with ASI533MC OSC CMOS on Orion Atlas EQ-G Mount
Sh2-136
SVQ-100 with ASI533MC OSC CMOS on Orion Atlas EQ-G Mount
Sh2-150
FSQ-106ED with SX-46 Mono CCD on AP900GTO

Cherry Springs Sept 2020

 AP900GTO, Astronomical, Cherry Springs, Dark Nebula, FSQ-106ED, Nebula, Star Parties, SX-46, Widefield  No Responses »
Nov 062020
 

This trip to Cherry Springs State Park promised an amazing clear stretch but was marred by dense smoke obscuring much of the sky from the wildfires raging in CA and other parts of the US.

The sun looked like a planet hanging in an overcast sky due to all the smoke.
If there had been any sun spots they may have been naked eye visible without a sun filter!
The sky was clear yet the blue wasn’t quite able to break through the hazy smoke.
Frank in the Astro Tent
This is what dealing with the public usually looks like 🙂
LDN 1235 – The Dark Shark
FSQ-106ED with SX-46 CCD on AP900GTO Mount
Only salvaged image during the few smoke free nights
Cherry Springs Time Lapse

Cherry Springs June 2020

 AP900GTO, Astronomical, Canon 6D, Nebula, Rokinon 85mm Lens, Star Parties, SVQ100, SX-46, Widefield, ZWO ASI533MC  No Responses »
Nov 052020
 
Two rigs imaging with the MW rising.
Cherry Springs Sunset
Jupiter & Saturn Rising with the Milky Way
Mosaic of Cygnus with Canon 6D and Rokinon 85mm
Cluster NGC 6604 and surrounding nebulosity. This is an often overlooked region just above the famous Eagle Nebula M16 which is just peaking in on the left.

Informal Calhoun County Park Fall Star Party 2019

 AP130EDT, Astronomical, Galaxy, Star Parties, SX-46  No Responses »
Oct 272019
 
Road to the Observing Ridge at Dawn Thursday Morning

After missing the BFSP at Cherry Springs State Park, PA last new moon we were anxious to get out for one last hurah for the year. Weather looked great initially from midweek into the weekend but rapidly went downhill as we got closer to the weekend. We did however have an amazingly clear Weds night and clear until 3:00am or so on Thursday.

Observers on the Ridge on Thursday Morning

 

Friday morning arrived with clouds and slightly warmer temps (no frost) than Thursday morning. The sunrise was spectacular.

I am not a galaxy imager. I’m at home with short refractors imaging large nebula in our own galaxy. Spring and Fall are more or less galaxy season though if you want to be able to image the same object the majority of these longer nights. So I picked out a decent size bright galaxy and dusted off the long f/ratio 5″ refractor and gave it a try. It’s not without it’s problems but nice to see a 28 year old refractor still collecting photons!

Crop of Galaxy NGC 891
Click image for full size
NGC 891 – Full Frame (minor crop)
5.3 hours of Lum, 5.5 hours RGB
AP130EDT f/8 with SX-46 CCD on AP900GTO
Click image for full size
Annotated NGC 891
Click image for full size

Pickett State Park Dark Sky Celebration Weekend (8/30/2019)

 AP900GTO, Astronomical, Canon 6D, Cluster, Dark Nebula, Emission Nebula, FSQ-106ED, Nebula, Open Cluster, Star Parties, SX-46, Widefield  Comments Off on Pickett State Park Dark Sky Celebration Weekend (8/30/2019)
Sep 302019
 

We had some great weather for the annual star party at Pickett State Park, TN last new moon. This star party is still young and looking to grow. The park rangers are doing a great job, it’s a great venue for presentations and a great field for observing / photography. I’m not sure why it still remains a hidden gem of sorts.

Overall sky quality, other than some early clouds, was excellent. With SQM measurements around 21.77 mag/arcsec^2 this was the darkest I’ve seen Pickett. I would note too that of the other dark sky sites I routinely visit, this quality of night is nothing to complain about.

Presentation Space
Setup on the field
Dusk; waiting for the thin stuff to clear
Last few clouds clearing with the MW shinning through!
The rig is facing N,NE towards the Constellation Cepheus imaging Sharpless Object SH2-154
SH2-154: AP900GTO, FSQ-106ED with SX-46 CCD. Image scale of 2.33 arcsec/pixel. Exposure time ~13.5 hours. Also plainly visible on the right edge of the frame is SH2-155 The Cave Nebula. Sometimes the faint objects like 154 don’t get a lot of love because they’re not much to look at. At least it’s got a nice tight open cluster NGC 7419 nearby to draw some attention.
Annotated

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