Gotta Take Those Clear Skies When You Can Get Them!

My husband and I, along with several others, headed out to the Witte Observatory Complex Saturday night =)  I set up my 6" refractor, Jim H. opened the Clark 12" refractor, and Ray R. opened and was working on the Ealing (16" reflector) ;)

Here are a few objects I knocked of my M-list.  Still not guiding or stacking.....  These (I hope) are sort of like "base-line" pics.  Definitely "fun" to take!

M97  ~ Owl Nebula

M3 ~ Globular Cluster

M 87 ~ Giant Elliptical Galaxy

Through just the camera, a cool conjunction between Venus and M45

Not to be "out done" ~ a friend pointed out this conjunction the same evening with Jupiter and M44, the Beehive Cluster  =)

The local weather forecast is for cloudy skies for the next 6 days..... sigh!  We shall see ;)

Morning Moon and a bit more

I was thinking I haven't captured images of many waning moons yet - since that means a set-up in the morning.....  So one week from last week's eclipse I thought I should celebrate and take a look at a Last Quarter Moon.  :-)

Some images ~

A rather long video this time, but I enjoyed zooming in 5x and then 10 x and traveling along the terminator :-)

It was starting to get light (I should have gotten up just a bit earlier ~ lol) but I decided to go for M13 and M57.  Not too bad for no stacking and skies getting lighter.

M13 - Globular Cluster in Hercules

M57, Ring Nebula in Lyra... a work in progress.  Hah!

p.s.  Minimum temperature this morning ~ 37 F =)

Miscellaneous pics taken April 5

Jupiter and it's Galilean Moons... with the scope tracking and then with the tracking turned off =)

Venus is still sooooo high in the evening sky.....

More pics of Orion's Nebular, M42.  It's setting a bit closer to the Sun ~ 

Getting ready to wrap up ~ I wanted to take some star trails with the tracking off.  This clearly falls under the category of "just because I can."  =)  I like star trails for some reason.

Thirty-second exposure I "think" in the vicinity of M42 ;)

Earlier in the evening I observed a bright ISS pass and wanted to try and capture it on film.  Here's the video I put together of the pass.  It was an especially L-O-N-G pass.  btw ~ Love the heavens-above.com website!

Last Tuesday's Pics, March 31

March 31, though it was very windy, it was also very sunny.  I set up my scope to get a few pics of the Sun.  There was one big sunspot visible through my scope about 5:30.

While I was waiting for the Sun to set ~ I dabbled with a couple of Earth objects through the scope:

Just because I could.... =)

More pictures of Comet Lovejoy <3  Not too bad considering it's getting lower, moving away from the Earth, moving away from the Sun, and the Moon was pretty darn bright.

A waxing gibbous.....

My porch....  soooo convenient, far from perfect, but I am grateful for nighttime skies and stars =)

Clear and Cold for the Lunar Eclipse April 4th! =)

My husband and I ventured out to the Witte Observatory Complex Saturday about 4 AM to view the eclipse.  The temperatures dropped to 28 F ~ but it was well worth it!  The video and pics I took are "alright" but they just don't do the "event" justice.  I think one of the coolest things is to use binoculars to watch as the Moon passes into the umbral part of the Earth's shadow.  How totally cool!!!

A couple of pics taken after we got home ;)

A handful of pics =)  The Moon looks so darn "flat"

Here's the video I made ;)

Though not quite what I want it to be yet.... here's a quick video of Saturn captured during the eclipse <3

The Moon, Jupiter, Venus and More....

Got the scope out tonight =)

The Moon is a waxing gibbous

I was a bit surprised to see Earthshine.....

I took a couple of Moon videos and merged them into one.  I used the 5X and 10X feature of Backyard EOS.  It's just like being there ~ lol ;)

Took a few videos of Venus at different exposures.  People often want to view Venus through the telescope and don't believe me when I describe it as "not much to see...."  =)

The final video I made was a short one of Jupiter <3

I've got a goal to photograph (or at least attempt to photograph) ALL of the Messier objects.  Tonight I got a few more "under my belt."  Quite possibly will photograph them again when the Moon isn't so darn bright.

M53, a globular in Coma Berenices

M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy (one of my favorites for the evening =)

Last but not least.... M64, the Black Eye Galaxy

With regard to the viewing temperatures, I hate to complain about ~ 35 F, but that's a bit chilly for the end of March.  Ready for warmer temperatures!  :-)

Miscellaneous Sunsets and Stars

So I've had on my list of "events" I want to capture the Zodiacal Lights.  I've got some pretty shots of the Sun setting ~ but nothing of what I think the glow of our solar system's ecliptic plane should look like.  Sigh!  =)  I might have better luck near the fall equinox toward the east at sunrise.  We shall see...

These were taken out at the Witte Observatory March 10 as the Sun was setting.  The fireworks are a from an outfit testing their product.... a bonus ;)

An assortment of other star photos that evening.



While in Mississippi over Spring Break here's my other attempt to capture the Zodiacal Lights at sunset.  I'm thinking it just wasn't dark enough... but they are a pretty series of photos.  Check out Venus looking like she's "all that!" <3



While I had the camera out, I took a few photos of stars through trees.  The green glow on the trees is from the security light.

Last and having nothing to do with astrophotography or even nature, I took a couple of short videos while passing over two bridges on the way home from Mississippi.  Don't worry ~ I was in the passenger seat - Hah!

In the first video I was riding in your newly acquired (in pristine condition with 30,000 original miles) 1985 GMC High Sierra Pickup Truck.

Here's to warmer weather, clear skies, and time to get the scopes out!  =)