Mercury-Venus-Moon alignment - Dec 5, 2012
Never stop looking up!
Morning after morning recently, when it hasn�t been raining and with Venus
and the Bears watching, Miles and I have searched for a glimpse of Mercury
between shifting bands of low-lying cloud and fog � the usual around here and a
downside of living near the coast.
At 5:30 this morning, it looked as though today would be a repeat, but wonder
of wonders! Ten minutes or so along my usual run route, I had a gorgeous
sighting of the whole line-up: Mercury, floating midway between a pair of
symmetrical firs, Venus suspended just right of the southern tree�s tip, Saturn
a brilliant dot higher to the south in crystal-clear dawn sky, followed by the
moon, its awkward gibbous shape fully exposed.
After minutes of gazing (guzzling the sight), I noticed rain drops on by back
and that the moon had become thinly veiled, so continued on. Rain didn�t
materialize, so I tried for another sighting from the next place with an
unobstructed view to the southeast: dense cloud-bank again. But, about 10
minutes later, at the next potential view spot, there was earth�s smallest,
hottest sibling again! (Needless to say, I did not see the ice-cap we now know
it sports, but I could imagine it!).
So, keep looking for unlikely sights!
I would let you know what I sacrificed last night � if I could remember!
Clear skies,
Dorothy Paul
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Planetary alignment from Starry Night |
Total
Solar Eclipse - Nov 14, 2012 The Total Solar Eclipse was observed and
photographed by Joe Carr while aboard the Paul Gauguin cruise ship, on
the totality track south of New Caledonia in the South Pacific at position 26�
40' S 166� 46.9' E.
Totality only lasted 3 minutes and 1 second, so that was a particularly busy
time, however I mostly sat back in my chair and concentrated on taking some
photographs with the dSLR and visually observing. Totality was visually stunning
and beautiful. The colours around the edge of the eclipse Sun sparkled, and the
coronal streamers coming off the Sun in all directions was mesmerizing. About 10
minutes before Second Contact, Venus was easily visible in the sky, and then as
darkening continued, Jupiter was also visible. There was a nice display of
Sunspots to observe during non-Totality as the Moon slid across the Sun. Diamond
Rings visible at Second and Third Contact were very dramatic � this is when the
crowd went wild aboard ship (video).
Observing report:
http://tinyurl.com/clx4r6n
Joe Carr |
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Messier 15 - Nov 9, 2012 Taken from the VCO on Observatory Hill using
the TeleVue NP-127is, f/5.2; Paramount ME, guided using PhD; imaged with a Canon
EOS 5D Mark III,
Charles
Banville |
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Charlie's
Moon Study - Oct 13, 2012 This study of the Moon covers lunation from
19 to 24 days, which shows the changing appearance of the craters and other
features.
Charles
Banville |
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Jupiter's Great Red Spot - Oct 9, 2012 Jupiter showing its "Great Red
Spot". The persistent anticyclonic storm that is responsible has been seen from
the time that telescopes were capable of spotting it.
John
McDonald |
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Aurora over
Victoria - Oct 8 & 9, 2012 I observed the aurora from Peacock Hill
Park, and managed to take some photos. It was mainly a green aurora display
close to the NE horizon, however a few spectacular spires showed themselves, and
there was a large green arc visible for a while. There was a bit of pink colour
above the green, however I expect the light pollution washed out the more subtle
colours.
Thanks go to Sherry Buttnor for alerting me to the possibility of aurora, and
to Malcolm Scrimger for first spotting the aurora and sending out an alert to
our members.
Joe Carr |
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Comet 168P-Hergenrother -
Oct 8, 2012
This is a time lapse video of comet 168P/Hergenrother
taken from the VCO.
You can use the HD button to see it full screen.
Thanks to Bill Weir for suggesting it and Charles, Malcolm and Denis for moral
support at the hill. I used the QSI and 14" scope on the VCO Paramount ME.
John
McDonald |
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Comet 168P Hergenrother - Oct 8, 2012 Comet Hergenrother, discovered
in 1998, recently passed through the perihelion and unexpectedly erupted.
Charles
Banville |
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Jupiter - Oct 8, 2012 Using the VCO's Meade 14� LX200, f/10 and a
41AF02.AS Imaging Source Camera
Charles
Banville |
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IC1805 & IC1848 The Heart & Soul Nebulae - Oct 5, 2012 Captured with a
Borg 77EDII, f/4.3, with Baader Narrowband 7nm H-Alpha filter and a Hutech
modified Canon EOS 5D Mark II mounted on a Takahashi EM-11, guided using PhD.
Location: the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Victoria, BC.
Charles
Banville |
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M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula - Sept 6, 2012 Taken at the Victoria Centre
Observatory using the QSI583cs camera on 14" LX200 @ F10 and Paramount ME.
Conditions- Clear with 10/10 transparency, calm and 18�C with last quarter moon.
Matt Watson |
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Iris Nebula - mid-August 2012 This is an example of what I was able to
produce after the work done on the VCO by Matt and myself. I am quite pleased
with the final result, but my processing leave much to be desired (I am just
learning Pixinsight). I thought I would share so everyone could see.
It is 1h50m of ten minute exposures using the QSI through the 127is. The
exposures were guided.
Daniel Posey |
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Cygnus in H alpha - Aug 17-18, 2012 A great night at the RASCALS 2012
Star Party in Metchosin BC. I took light frames using a modified DSLR with and
without an H alpha filter and combined them to give this result.
John
McDonald |
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Wide field image of the region surrounding the Wild Duck Cluster, Messier 11 -
Aug 15, 2012 Location: Pearson College Observatory
Charles
Banville |
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Aquila wide field including Barnard's E dark nebula - Aug 15, 2012 A
wide field image aimed at the galactic equator in Aquila. Notice Barnard�s �E�
Nebula east of Gamma Aquilae (bottom left of image) and the large open star
cluster IC4756 located in Serpens Cauda (top right corner of image). Location:
Pearson College Observatory
Charles
Banville |
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Earthshine from Mt. Tolmie - Aug 15, 2012 Thin Crescent Moon with
Earthshine, taken from Mt. Tolmie near dawn.
Charles
Banville |
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IC59 & IC63 faint nebulae - Aug 14, 2012 Two faint nebulae located
north-east of Gamma Cassiopeiae, taken from Observatory Hill.
Charles
Banville |
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Occultation of Venus by the Moon - Aug 13, 2012
Although I had taken this week off work partially to observe the occultation I
hadn't taken into account the through there wouldn't be perfectly clear sky.
With that in mind I want to thank you Alan [Whitman] for sparking me to setup my
simple alt/az tripod to the exact location the pair would be 1/2 hr before
occultation. When I took my little ED 80 refractor out and set in on the mount
Venus was almost dead centre in the 40mm eyepiece (13X). I then aligned my
little 6" dob on the same area of the sky and it didn't take long to sweep up
the pair also. I had forgotten to figure out focus the day before with the dob
but during the morning did a little solar observing with it to get a close
approximation and it worked.
I switched back and forth between the two scope as Venus and the Moon approached
each other but the actual occultation I observed with the 6" at 100X. It was a
fun moment in time.
I had hoped to be able to take a shot at the reappearance but with the sky
conditions and only having alt/az setups I decided to let it go.
Bill
Weir
Found the pair in binoculars from Cowichan Bay about 11am, then tracked by hand
(no DSC) with 9" Dob until ingress. Tried the point & shoot camera through the
eyepiece but no luck. Too cloudy to find anything at the time of egress. Cool to
watch...thanks for the heads up reminder on this one Bill.
Miles Waite |
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Perseid Meteors - Aug 11-12, 2012 Aug
12 - I observed about a dozen Perseids in the hour or so I was up at the
Victoria Centre Observatory last night with a few others. I didn't get any
Perseids in the photos I took, but the ISS streaked across the northern sky past
Polaris as predicted a little after 11PM.
Here is my star trails photo to capture the evening.
Joe Carr
Aug 12 - Although there were a few more Perseids the night before, we
enjoyed the "show", plus TWO ISS sightings. Joe had his camera set up to catch
the meteors. A bit of high cloud but a good sky - We saw M27, M57, M13 and M15,
plus others through the 12 inch Dob. Mu Cephei (Garnet Star) as well. I enjoyed
meeting Joy - and Brian gave an excellent sky orientation !! In all, it was a
great night.
Diane Bell
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Summer Triangle from the VCO - Aug 3, 2012 I love the summer triangle
region defined by the three bright stars overhead - Deneb, Altair and Vega. This
is a combination of two sessions, one with and one without a 12nm H alpha
filter. It is my best effort in capturing this amazingly rich region of the sky.
John
McDonald |
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Prominences and Sunspot AR1534 on the Sun in Ha - July 31, 2012 The
large prominence just above centre in this image started as a flare, and is
transitioning into a prom. Sunspot AR1534 is clearly visible 1/3 the way from
the bottom of this photo, and has an impressive solar storm swirling around it
on the Sun's surface.
Joe Carr |
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Arching Prominence on the Sun - July 29, 2012 On July 28th I was out
observing the Sun with my little PST. There was this fabulous arching prominence
with a little ghost shaped blod dropping off it. My son had left his old Canon
Rebel at the house so I decided to see what kinds of shots I could get with it.
It seems the answer is So-So.
Bill
Weir |
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Island
Star Party 2012 Astrophotos - July 20-21, 2012 Although the weather
during the Island Star Party didn't cooperate, both Joe Carr
and John
McDonald managed to observe and take some quick photos during some brief
periods of clear sky or sucker holes.
| Wide angle star fields at dusk and dawn |
| Solar prominence just before sunset |
| Milky Way |
| Ursa Major constellation |
Island Star
Party 2012 event photos |
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Aurora
- July 15 2012 This aurora was the result of a massive geomagnetic
storm early this morning. Not only was it a significant event, but it was equal
to many of the great storms of the last solar cycle maximum around 2000-2001.
Sherry
Buttnor |
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Sunspot complex AR1520 and prominences - July 13, 2012 There were
several dozen small prominences visible scattered around the Sun's perimeter,
and some were spewing plasma into space, however the highlight was the huge
sunspot complex AR1520 on the Sun's surface (just above centre in this photo).
This sunspot has a delta-class magnetic field which generated an X-class CME
towards Earth. Another significant sunspot is 1521 to the right of 1520, which
also shows lots of detail (see my other photos).
Joe Carr |
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Milky Way over Kilauea Volcano's lava - July 6, 2012 Charles and I
were in the big island of Hawaii for 3 days. The first evening, we visited the
13796 feet summit of Mauna Kea, the world's largest observatory. I was very
surprised to observe the Southern Cross from that latitude (about +20 degrees
North). The second day, we visited the Kilauea volcano and images its lava at
night from the Mauna Loa lookout.
I uploaded seven images in my folio. I�m very happy with the result of the Milky
Way over Kilauea Volcano�s lava with blue painted trees image.
Michel Michaud |
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Moonbow - July 5, 2012 I finally made it to the Big Island of Hawaii
and visited the observatories atop Mauna Kea. I booked the so-called sunset and
stargazing tour with Mauna Kea
Summit Adventures. My group was driven to the Mauna Kea Visitor Center (9300
ft) where we had supper. We then took off for the summit (13796 ft) and
witnessed a magnificent sunset. We spent an hour on top and descended to the
visitor center where our two guides set up two Celestron SCT�s.
I had a chance to observe a rare optical
phenomenon following my visit of Mauna Kea�s observatories. On the drive down
our tour guide stopped abruptly and informed us that a moonbow had formed in the
distance.
Charles
Banville |
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Mauna Kea
Observatories - July 5, 2012
Michel Michaud
and
Charles
Banville visited the world-class observatories atop Mauna Kea on
the Big Island of Hawaii recently. In addition to photos of the
observatories and sunset, they also took some very interesting photos of the
night sky, so browse their online galleries. |
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Deimos - Apr 7, 2012 Mars' small moon Deimos, taken from the VCO using
the Meade 14" SCT operating at f/10 on Paramount ME. Camera: Canon EOS 20Da
modified.
Michel Michaud |
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Transit of Venus - June 5, 2012
3PM-9PM PDT
What an amazing event! The west coast weather co-operated giving a
clear view of the long awaited Transit of Venus. Weather aligning,
people gathering and that little dot travelling steadily across the face
of the Sun. Congratulations to all who shared and imaged! In Victoria
near the Inner Harbour the transit was coming to a close as it neared
the horizon. The clouds hung over like they did during my test shots on
Sunday. I'm always reminded of the different view near the horizon.
Thicker layers of the atmosphere for the light to pass through gave the
Sun's limb a wavy appearance along with the not so round shadow of the
planet Venus.
What a show! I could see the public was fascinated by the spectacle,
some staying almost the whole time of the transit.
David
Lee |
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How quickly things change from gloom to glory. An hour before the
transit was due the clouds rolled away and the sun shone with all its
might. I quickly made a large sign inviting neighbours into the dome to
see the transit and propped it up at the end of my driveway. That
resulted in a constant stream of neighbours for the next five hours,
around 40 I estimated. Many were children and everyone was in a good
mood. The new 12-inch LX200 ACF GPS worked flawlessly and during the
entire five hours the sun never needed repositioning. At f10 Venus was
quite large and easily seen as were many small sunspots. The filter was
home made from a sheet of Baader film cemented to a frame which gave a
large, bright view of the sun. Just before the sun sank below the
neighbour's rooftop I managed to squeeze in half a dozen images with my
camera. It was all together a very satisfying afternoon and I got to
know many of my neighbours by name. We should have more transits!
Bill Almond |
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My transit experience started at 4:30 yesterday morning. My initial
plan was to head to the mainland in order to give me more options. After
analyzing the forecast I decided to stay on the island and went back to
bed. I set up my scope at the DAO early in the afternoon and Michel
joined me. It was mostly cloudy but I was able to observe the first and
second contacts through clouds. Conditions were not improving as the
afternoon progressed and we could see clear skies above Victoria. I gave
Joe a call and he confirmed that there were no clouds over the city.
Michel and I packed up our gear and moved to Gonzales Hill where we
imaged the transit. After supper I drove to Mount Tolmie and set up shop
by the lower parking lot. I used my TeleVue 85mm and 7mm Nagler eyepiece
to observe the transit. The view was good but it was quite windy. About
40 to 50 delighted members of the public viewed the transit through my
scope.
Charles
Banville |
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Yes! We viewed from Ridgway State Park in Colorado, and shared with
fellow campers. It was great!
Elizabeth & Don van Akker |
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At one point, the wind on the cricket field (in Metchosin) blew my
laptop off the table! Despite the wind, Greg and I received ~90 visitors
to view the transit, including mayor Ranns and much of the Metchosin
municipal staff. All were very appreciative. Thanks, Greg!
Sherry
Buttnor
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You can add 49 (at least that's the number that signed my guest
book) from the Victoria Centre remote location of the Herbert S. Milne
Safety Roadside Rest area, located about 15km north of Red Bluff
California. Furthest away visitor was from Maddison Wi. and the youngest
was 5 yrs old. It was a fun 2700km whirlwind round trip. Two other
seekers of clear skies also stumbled upon this site. One from Bellingham
and the other from Portland. I've dug a few shots out of my old point
and shoot and uploaded them to my Zenfolio page. All I've done to them
is cropping.
Although it seems Victoria might have had even better conditions than I
found in California I don't regret the chase. After all, didn't Edmund
Halley bestow upon us to the quest to witness the event from various
locations? Who am I to question such a quest? Long ago I booked the
vacation time from work.
One other thing. Did anyone else notice the glinting ring of atmosphere
around the half of the planet not on the surface of the Sun while
halfway through first contact? Kreig the guy who showed up from
Bellingham and I could clearly see it.
Bill
Weir |
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A Transit of Venus is a very rare celestial event, and this one was
the last opportunity for me to observe this apparition in my lifetime.
The weather in Victoria cooperated, and I successfully observed and
imaged this amazing alignment of the Sun, Venus and Earth.
Not only did I photograph this event, I also visually observed using my
Celestron 9x63 Ultima binoculars fitted with Thousand Oaks black polymer
solar filters.
I observed virtually the whole event, except the last few minutes or so
when the Sun set just before the event finished.
Observing logI was thrilled!
Joe Carr |
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The weather forecasts for Transit Day in Victoria were generally
discouraging, but in the last hour before the Transit began here shortly
after 3 p.m., the clouds parted and then departed for the rest of the
day. The weather, at least in downtown Victoria, turned out to be almost
ideal. The RASC Victoria Centre held public outreach events for the
Transit at the Royal BC Museum downtown, at Cattle Point in Oak Bay, and
on Mount Tolmie. As well, Transit events in Victoria took place at the
Bob Wright Centre at the University of Victoria and at the Centre of the
Universe at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory on Little Saanich
Mountain.
I set up my ETX at the Royal BC Museum, along with a number of other
Victoria Centre members who brought their telescopes and the specially
filtered Transit viewing glasses, and we were kept busy for hours with a
steady stream of people eager to see the Transit. I am not an
astrophotographer, but I did take an afocal image of the Transit through
my telescope. I had the special pleasure of showing the Transit to my
friend maritime historian Dr. Barry Gough, who has written about
explorers of the Pacific Ocean, including Capt. James Cook, whose first
voyage followed the 1769 Transit of Venus.
As took a last look at the sun before it set with Venus still crossing
its disc, I was surprised at how close the end of the Transit appeared
to be.
Chris
Gainor |
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Venus - May 26,2012 This is the thin crescent of the planet Venus as
it plunges toward inferior conjunction. This approach will ultimately lead to
the planet transiting the Sun on June 5th-6th.
Charles
Banville |
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Moon Detail - May 25, 2012 My most detailed moon image shows some neat
details including the Rupes Altal ridge highlighted by the angle of sunlight at
the terminator. Photo taken at the Victoria Centre Observatory using the Meade
14" SCT operating at f/10 with Canon T3i camera operating in cropped video mode.
John
McDonald |
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Annular Solar Eclipse - May 20, 2012
5:00PM-7:30PM PDT |
The Newtons� Nomad & star trails - May 19, 2012 Pearson College�s
25-inch points to the north celestial pole in this hour-long astro image.
Charles
Banville |
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M64 - the Blackeye Galaxy - May 16, 2011 This image of M64, the
Blackeye galaxy gives a good indication of why it has that name. A very dark
dusty region near the core of the galaxy is responsible for the "blackeye".
Photo taken with a modified Canon t2i dSLR using the Meade 14" SCT operating at
f/10 at the VCO.
John McDonald |
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Sunspot 1476 in Ha - May 11, 2012 Although there were some huge
prominences visible today, the Sun's surface was dominated by Sunspot 1476.
Swirling flares around the sunspot were clearly visible. Equipment: Hutech-modified
Canon T2i dSLR a-focal through a 2.5x Powermate, IDAS VLC filter, & Lunt LS60THa
+ LS50FHa solar telescope mounted on an HEQ5 tracking mount.
Joe Carr |
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Saturn - May
10, 2012 Saturn is everyone's favourite planet with its beautiful
rings. This image taken with a DSLR in video mode shows the planets colors and
rings nicely. Slightly overcast evening with no wind, good seeing and
temperature of 8 deg C. 14" SCT with Canon T3i camera operating in video crop
mode.
John McDonald |
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Sunspots - May 10, 2012
Enlargement of a large sunspot group taken from my backyard in Victoria using a
Williams 105mm APO refractor with Canon T3i camera at prime focus (fl = 735mm)
and Baader solar film white light filter.John McDonald |
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M81 & 82 reprocessed - Apr 13, 2012 Date and Location- 2012-04-13 at
the Victoria Centre Observatory. Conditions- Clear, calm and 9�C with no moon.
Equipment- QSI583cs camera on NP127is and Paramount ME. Exposure- 20x3min lights
with dark, flat and bias frames for calibration.
Processing in Pixinsight done by reddit user PixinsightFTW.
Matt Watson |
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Solar prominences in Ha - Apr 7, 2012 The Sun is finally high enough
in the sky to clear the trees in my yard, giving me the opportunity to observe
the Sun in Hydrogen Alpha wavelength using my Lunt solar telescope. The Sun was
very active today, showing some spectacular large prominences, and some
significant surface detail, including one small sunspot. In this photo, three prominences with plasma
trailing off parallel to the Sun's surface joined creating holes between the
proms.
Joe Carr |
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Monkey Head Nebula - Apr 6, 2012 A bright full Moon forced me to use a
hydrogen alpha filter in order to capture this image of NGC 2174.
Charles
Banville |
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High Sierra - star trails above the Upper Yosemite Falls - Mar 24, 2012
Location: Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Optics: Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Charles
Banville |
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Venus Saturn and Mars - Feb 2011 Venus Saturn and Mars are combined in
this composite. They were imaged in February, 2012. Seeing was poor for the
Venus image, fairly good for Saturn, and very good for Mars. All three planets
are show at the same scale. Photos taken at the VCO using the 14" SCT with a
DSLR operating in a cropped video mode.
John McDonald |
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Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter with Venus nearby and Mercury - Feb 26, 2012
Due to cloudy conditions, at 6:56PM PST there was only a few minutes to observe
Mercury low to the western horizon. I managed to take two photos which captured
Mercury as well as Venus and the Jupiter-Moon conjunction. 4 day old Crescent
Moon over Victoria. This photo is the best of the two I took, with minimal
post-processing.
Joe Carr |
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H alpha enhanced Orion Region - Feb 21, 2012 Orion region with a 28 mm
lens at the 2012 Alberta All Star Party. This is an H alpha enhanced color image
formed by combining a normal color one with an H alpha filtered one. Location -
Painted Pony Resort near Rodeo, New Mexico. I think I can leave this region
alone now for a while as the current result is about the best I can do with my
equipment.
John McDonald |
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Alberta All Star Party
- February 21-26, 2012 at the Painted Pony Resort near Rodeo, New Mexico
Wendy and I attended this years star party and had a great time. Of all
the places I have gone for astronomy parties this one really stands out.
Comfortable lodging, great food and neat people in addition to fabulous
observing and imaging.
Morning Milky Way at the Painted Pony - a time lapse video taken Feb 23,
2012.
Morning Milky Way at the Painted Pony - a time lapse video taken Feb 23,
2012.
2012 All-Star Alberta Party - information John McDonald |
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Comet Garradd - Feb 5, 2012 In the summer of 2011 I imaged Comet
Garradd and the globular cluster Messier 15. This week the comet flew by the
globular cluster Messier 92 in Hercules. Unfortunately I missed the chance
to frame both objects by a day or two.
Charles
Banville |
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Horsehead & Flame Nebula - Jan 12, 2012 An image, taken with a
hydrogen-alpha filter and a Hutech modified Canon EOS 5D Mark II, of the
region surrounding the Horsehead and Flame using the.Tele Vue NP-127is
operating at f/5.2 with Baader Planetarium Narrowband 7nm H-Alpha filter on
a Paramount ME, guided using PhD.
Charles
Banville |
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M42 - The Orion Nebula - Jan 10, 2012 M42 the Great Orion Nebula
is a nebula near Orion's sword.
Location - Victoria Centre Observatory.
Conditions - clear, calm and 0�C with some haze and a near-full moon.
Equipment - QSI 583c camera on Tele Vue NP-127is and Paramount ME.
Matt Watson |
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Observing at the Victoria Centre Observatory
- Jan 4, 2012
10 second long candid photos of people in the moonlight and a few of the
sky.
John McDonald
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