So ~ I (FINALLY) got my Celestron mount returned this week. Sooooo glad to have it back! (Just in time for the cool / cold weather?)
Last night was public viewing at the Witte Observatory Complex. Since I wanted to be as helpful as possible, I didn't set up my scope but I did set up the Polarie :-) Here are a few pics
Still waiting for my CELESTRON mount to get back from being repaired. It's been nearly THREE MONTHS since my Avanced Vx Celestron 6" refractor scope was up and running!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice to get that off my chest.....
Though the first part of the eclipse was entirely clouded out.... I was able to watch a bit of the Moon coming out of the Earth's shadow. The clouds gave it an especially creepy appearance :-)
Still waiting to get my Advanced VX mount back from repair from Celestron :-( ..... but enjoying taking photos directly using my camera mounted to my Vixen Polarie :-)
I was out at the Witte Observatory for public viewing Friday night. Here's a quick video I put together a week ago to show students around the observatory:
Here are the pics I took Friday night. The Moon was a waxing crescent.
The Moon with Saturn and Scorpio to the left
A piece of the Milky Way <3
The Moon with a few passing clouds
One of the our two domes open with the Big Dipper overhead
As I wait patiently for my Advanced VX Celestron mount to get back from repair (grrrrrrrr!) my husband, Carl, bought me an early 50th birthday present ~ the Polarie by Vixen. It is indeed easy to use and lots of fun!
We're away in Mississippi right now, looking forward to seeing a few Perseids tonight. Last night I took these of the Milky Way ~ 30 second exposure @ ISO 12800. No star trails?
There's a couple of yard lights nearby ~ check out light reflecting from the tree in the last shot.... Hah!
Again out a the Witte Observatory helping out with a group of Boy Scouts.... I set up my tripod and took pictures as the crescent Moon set with Venus and Jupiter close behind. Here are just a couple of the photos. The partially cloudy sky was beautiful!
Then I stitched them together and made this little video....
After the scouts had gone I worked with John Toney and Dave Philabaum to use our 12" refractor and eye-piece projection (25mm ep) to get some images of Saturn
Still not real impressed.....
Here are a couple of videos shot using the same method
A work in progress? Or simply bumping up against limitations of the technique? Hmmm..... ;)
Friday night while finishing up Public Viewing at the Witte Observatory I put my camera on a tripod and grabbed a few shots of the Milky way =) All pics taken using my Rokinon 16 mm f/2.0 lens. Most shots were 4 seconds long.
We've had some sort of creepy red / orange daytime skies the past several days due to wildfire activity in Canada. Here's the full Moon July 3rd. It was relatively high in the sky when these photos were taken.
July Fourth I my scope up on our deck. Amidst the neighborhood fireworks I took these pics. The Moon is much more "normal" - but the skies still have a thin haze (I think) from the smoke from Canada.
I tried my hand for the first time at "projection astrophotography." I took these through a 25 mm eyepiece. Looking forward to trying some more pics with this technique.
Last, but not least, another video of the Moon: ;-)
