undermidnight

Centaurus A from Australia

jhissong — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:19:22 +0000

NGC5128

Exposure Details	6x500s
Telescope/Mount	Takahashi Sky90/Paramount ME
Focal Length	850mm
Focal Ratio	F3.4
Camera	SBIG ST2000XMC One Shot Color Camera
Binning	1×1
Comments	Processed with Maxim/DL V.5.0 and Adobe Photoshop CS2.

M20 from Australia

jhissong — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:17:04 +0000

M20

Exposure Details	6x500s
Telescope/Mount	Takahashi Sky90/Paramount ME
Focal Length	850mm
Focal Ratio	F3.4
Camera	SBIG ST2000XMC One Shot Color Camera
Binning	1×1
Comments	Processed with Maxim/DL V.5.0 and Adobe Photoshop CS2.

M3 from New Mexico

jhissong — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:30:52 +0000

Another image from iTelescope.net using the T4 telescope in New Mexico.

Exposure Details	10x120s
Telescope/Mount	Takahashi Epsilon 250/Paramount PME
Focal Length	850mm
Focal Ratio	F3.4
Camera	SBIG ST10XME Monochome Camera
Binning	1×1
Comments	Processed with Maxim/DL V.5.0 and Adobe Photoshop CS2. Image is cropped.

M101 from Nerpio, Spain

jhissong — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:22:11 +0000

I recently signed back up to iTelescope.net to get back into imaging. I hope to get an imaging rig myself someday, but in the meantime, I can do some remote imaging to get my feet wet. Here is M101 taken from the T16 telescope in Nerpio, Spain.

Exposure Details	5x300s
Telescope/Mount	Takahashi TOA-150 APO refractor/Paramount PME
Focal Length	1095mm
Focal Ratio	F7.3
Camera	SBIG STL11000M Monochome Camera
Binning	1×1
Comments	Processed with Maxim/DL V.5.0 and Adobe Photoshop CS2. Image is cropped.

Perkins Observatory promotional video

jhissong — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:28:24 +0000

One of my favorite places on Earth, Perkins Observatory, just released a promotional video. My song, “The Perfect Machine“, is the background music. Wonderful job by Brad Hoehne on the video!

Jeremy Perez’s Sketching Video

jhissong — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 04:25:51 +0000

Jeremy Perez published a video introducing Astronomical Sketching. He does a great job at giving an aspiring sketcher or veteran tips and ideas on getting started into this wonderful aspect of observing. I have long admired Jeremy’s work and I hope you take the time to watch this video. One of the things I enjoy about sketching is the intimate connection between the observer and the object observed. Everytime I look at a sketch, whether it is mine or someone else, I am transported to the eyepiece. Thank you Jeremy for sharing!!!

Pipes and Astronomy

jhissong — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 02:34:11 +0000

Last night before bed, I wrapped myself up in a coat, grabbed my Meerschaum churchwarden, a tin of tobacco, and proceeded out into the frigid night air. Overhead, the sky was crystal clear and the night enjoyed a welcomed calm wind. The Geminids meteor shower was about to start and I wanted to get a preview of the show. Often, when one grabs a pipe, contemplation sets in and like my pipe smoke, my thoughts and gaze drift skyward.

To me, the constellations are like old friends. They faithfully appear at their appointed time every year and are yet another reminder of the changing seasons. We humans are creatures of habit and most find comfort in some sort of routine. The seasons set a grand framework that we have long set our lives around. As I stare into the firmament, I visit my friends.

With its ruby eye, Taurus eyes Orion down while Orion stands his ground and prepares for yet another charge from the celestial beast. The Twins look on indifferently as they have seen this scene before countless times. Both of Orion’s hunting dogs stand faithfully by his side in anticipation for the coming blow.

My earliest memories are of the sky and the first constellation I learned was Orion. His belt stood out to me as they are almost in a perfect line and separation, a wonderful chance alignment that we get to enjoy here on Earth. Our ancestors noticed it too. In the Book of Job, it is mentioned “Can you loosen Orion’s Belt?” (38:31) Those three stars are like a beacon that beckons us heavenward.

The region occupied by Orion consists of a huge star making complex that is in large part obscured by interstellar dust. The Great Orion Nebula stands out as a blister and provides a glimpse into this vast star forming region. When one peers deeper into the nebula, baby stars can be seen burning hotly, as new stars often do, taking their first steps into the void. They burn away the local remnants of the gas and dust cloud that formed them and as a result, the surrounding gas will glow. Sometime in the far future, these stars will drift away from their birthplace and form new constellations for some future generation to gaze upon. In fact, most of the stars of the Big Dipper were born in the area of Orion as well as most of the stars in Orion itself.

Standing out among its younger siblings is mighty Betelgeuse, huge and smoldering red like the flame in my pipe. It is showing its age. It has become moody as it changes in brightness to let everyone know that it is reaching the end of its life. Someday, in the not too distant future, it will flame out in a spectacular fashion and be one of the brightest objects in our night sky. It will cast shadows during the night and be seen in the daytime. Thankfully, we are far enough away to witness the event in safety.

I look down to into my pipe bowl and notice that its flame has gone out. I have finished my bowl and it is time to turn in. I enjoyed my time with my friends and look forward to seeing them again on these rare, cloudless winter nights in Ohio. Before I leave, I look up one last time and witness the fiery death of a piece of comet dust: a meteor blazes a trail across the sky.

Good night friends.

M12

jhissong — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:15:34 +0000

M12

Telescope: Ultima 2000
Eyepiece: University Optics 25mm Ortho
Power: 80x
Location: Grieser Field (CAS Dark Sky Site)
Date: 09/13/2012

My Ultima 2000

jhissong — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 20:13:26 +0000

Thanks to my astrobuddy Andy Miller, I now have an Ultima 2000 (U2K) back in the telescope arsenal. I used to use a U2K back when I did astroimaging and sold it back in 2006. I do miss this telescope though because it is a great scope with awesome optics. One of the nice things I enjoy about the U2K is that you can move the telescope manually once it has been aligned with the sky and not loose its alignment. Most goto scopes today cannot be moved manually which I don’t like. With the U2K, it can function as a goto scope or a “push-to” scope. This is a wonderful combination.

Andy warned me that there may be some issues with the scope, so I got it out for first light to see what is going on. I noticed right away that it seemed to have been tracking very fast in altitude. After a little reading, I discovered the tracking ratio was set to 3.0 where it should be tracking at 1.0. After I adjusted that, it tracks just fine.

First light with the U2K

The corrector plate needed a little cleaning and the secondary mirror assembly was loose in the corrector plate. So I found some instructions on removing the corrector plate. I plan to take some more pictures of the dis-assembly process and post them here.

Cleaned corrector plate.

I got the secondary mirror assembly tightened up a little, but it still has a tenancies to turn a little. I will have to work on that. I also collimated the secondary mirror and the images in the eyepiece are great!

I planned to get back into imaging again but this time, I plan to use the Hyperstar system from Starizona and an Atik 420 One Shot Color camera.

New Secondary for the 12.5″ Scope Finished

jhissong — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:58:31 +0000

Ever since I converted the 16″ to use a secondary cage, I wanted to replace the single ring for “Ada”, my 12.5″ scope to a secondary cage. This afternoon, I finally finished it. Fellow CAS ATMs suggested using 3M Automobile Molding Tape for attaching the flock board to the inside of the secondary rings. They also suggested putting a layer of contact cement on the inside of the rings. I did this and it holds extremely well!

Now I need to recut my truss poles to get everything ready.