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 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 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.

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

Pickett State Park Dark Sky Celebration Weekend 2018 (Sept 7-9)

 Astronomical, Canon 24-70 f/2.8L, Canon 6D, Star Parties, Widefield  1 Response »
Sep 092018
 

Unfortunately we were mostly clouded out for the star party.  From the sounds of it some of the other big star parties going on concurrently were also clouded out.  It just wasn’t a good weather weekend for a large portion of the eastern US.  Regardless of the clouds, the rangers at Pickett put together some good food and speakers for the event to keep it entertaining.  I stayed for only one night and snapped a few pics of the hazy skies with the Milky Way trying to peak through.

 

 

Cherry Springs Star Party 2018

 AP900GTO, Astronomical, Canon 6D, Canon 70-200 f/2.8, Dark Nebula, Emission Nebula, FSQ-106ED, Nebula, Reflection Nebula, Star Parties, SX-46, Uncategorized, Widefield  1 Response »
Jul 012018
 

I made the 13 hour trip up to Cherry Springs State Park for the Annual CSSP Star Party hosted by the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg PA, Inc. I went up a few days before the star party since it’s always helpful to get a good spot.  Those of us that were there early on Monday night were treated to a fabulous night with SQM measurements >21.9!  Overall it was an amazing streak of clear weather for PA with a total of 4 imaging nights.  I was hoping for one or two so as not to set my expectations too high so I was very pleased with four nights!

I even did a little visual at low power with a 4″ refractor.  LDN 1795 (large 50’x50’dark nebula in Scorpius) looked absolutely amazing to me at 19X.  First time I had a WOW moment visually.

Waiting for Darkness

Just Some Slightly Concerning Weather Passing Through
Everything is buttoned up and locked down. Luckily it skirted us to the North.

Rho Region
Canon 6D @ ISO 3200
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 5.6

B312 on the Edge of Sagittarius and Scutum
Canon 6D @ ISO 3200
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 @f/4
8x240sec Exposure

M8 & M20 Nestled Among the Stars
Canon 6D @ ISO 3200
Canon 70-200 f/2.8 @ f/4
10x240sec total exposure

CSSP 2018 Milky Way
Canon 6D @ ISO 3200
Canon 17-40mm f/4 @ f/6.7 and 37mm
1 x 240 seconds

The North American Nebula And The Pelican
Canon 6D @ ISO 3200
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 @ f/4.5
10x240sec exposure

The Cave Nebula
Tak FSQ-106ED
SX-46 w/ Maxi Wheel and Lodestar OAG
AP900GTO Mount
6.5 Hours Exposure Time over two nights

The Cocoon Nebula
FSQ-106ED
SX-46 w/ Maxi Wheel and Lodestar OAG
AP900GTO
3 hours total Exposure

Cherry Springs Star Party 2017 – Gallery

 Astronomical, Canon 6D, Star Parties, Widefield  No Responses »
Feb 042018
 

A couple images from last years 2017 CSSP that I finally got around to looking at.  It wasn’t a very productive astrophotography trip but enjoyable none the less.

 

If you’re going to come to a star party like this please follow the rules and don’t be a rude jackass like the following guy.  We all understand and tolerate some light issues, car alarms, and emergencies but when you light the place up over and over without any regard for your neighbors I would suggest staying home and not ruining everyone else’s vacation!

BFSP 2016 – Cherry Springs State Park Sept 1 – Sept 5

 Apogee A694, Astronomical, Canon 6D, Dark Nebula, Emission Nebula, Nebula, Orion Atlas EQ-G, Reflection Nebula, Star Parties, StarSync Tracker, SVQ100, Widefield  No Responses »
Nov 292016
 

Just getting around to publishing some pictures from the 2016 Black Forest Star Party at Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania.  What a great stretch of weather for PA!  The nights weren’t the darkest or most transparent (SQM 21.4-21.5) nights I’ve had at CSSP but clear and a little murky was way better than the alternative after driving up from Knoxville TN.  Had a great time with some old friends and good to see some old club members too.

Had a few imaging problems related to dithering and settle time / settle criteria that made me lose a fair number of shots but I got two images which, I have to be honest, I’m not real pleased with.  They are however, more challenging objects, but would have come out better had the sky conditions been closer to the SQM 21.8 that I’ve seen before at CSSP.  But, we take whatever quality of clear sky we can get during a pre-planned star party!

ngc-7129

Reflection Nebula NGC 7129 Stellarvue SVQ100, Apogee A694 CCD, Atlas EQ-G Mount, Baader LRGB Filters Lum 9x10min: 1.5 hours RGB each 8x10min: 4 hours Total Time 5.5 hours

sh2-115v7

SH2-115 Atlas Eq-G Mount, Stellarvue SVQ100, Apogee Ascent A694 CCD, Baader narrowband filters Ha: 8x20min, O[III]: 10x20min, S[II]: 13x20min Total Exposure: 10.3 hours

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