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Valarie and I have been avid amateur astronomers since 1996. We have a
whole family of telescopes ranging from Val's 18" Starmaster to my
William Optics Z-105 on a Tak EM-10. I have taught astronomy at the Delta Rehabilitation facility in
Snohomish, Washington and you can
read all about that
here. Northwest weather makes astro-imaging pretty tough but I do manage to get out once in a while. I mostly use an SBIG ST-7E dedicated astronomical CCD camera and a digital camera. Here are just a few of my better or more interesting keepers... |
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I caught Saturn just off the limb of the moon using a digital camera and an 80mm achromat. |
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I took this CCD image of the Whirlpool galaxy from my back deck here in Woodinville. |
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Edited together digital camera shots from a couple of years ago of the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. |
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Just for laughs, I thought I'd teach the Hubble a thing or two :-) |
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The Horsehead Nebula: Takahashi Sky 90 and ST-7E for 30 minutes total exposure time. |
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The Sombrero galaxy taken in Arizona using an ST-5 and a Takahashi FS102. |
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This is an ST-5 grab of M51, also known as the Whirlpool Galaxy, taken with the FS102 on the same trip. |
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Well, at least I was looking through the right end of it. A genuine 1958 Gilbert I got for Christmas that year. |
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OK, so its not astronomical, it's still pretty cool :-) I took this shot off the Maui coast. My answer to "Do you believe in alien life?" is, "Sure, grab a mask, a snorkel, and a $10 deposable camera and follow me." |
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My best lunar shot ever. Using a Meade LX200 10" and a 2.1 megapixel digital camera. This shot took second place one year in the SCT users group imaging contest run by Rod Mollise. A highwater mark for this imager. |
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First imaging light for my Sky 90 using my ST-7E. 12 exposures of 20 seconds each, taken on 1/22/01 using a Sky Patrol-II mount. This is of M42, the Orion Nebula. |
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The great spiral galaxy M101. I managed to capture a satellite skewering this beauty right through the heart. This was a 20 minute exposure, taken in Arizona using an ST-7 camera and a Takahashi FS102 scope. |
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My 6 year old niece Madeline's delightful rendition of the solar system complete with comets and inhabitants. This image is color reversed to bring out the details. |
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Here's a picture of the Sky 90 mentioned above, perched on my EM-10 mount. The Sky 90 has since been replaced by a beautiful William Optics Zenithstar 105. |
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A seagull slips past the waxing moon. Taken from the bow of the Anacortes bound ferry using a Nikon Coolpix 5700. I just framed the moon and waited for a circling gull to pass by. I love that ferry ride to and from Friday Harbor. |
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My niece Emily lives in Northern Arizona and drew this picture for me. Only in rural Arizona would children routinely include the Milky Way in their drawings of the sky. |
