I know were two weeks out but IF the weather cooperates I would like to put some dates out in case people want to go observing. 1. Friday, September 3rd, (moon will be a waxing crescent heading to New Moon on Sept. 8th): Wolf Creek or 2. Friday, September 10th, Wolf Creek (moon will be a very thin crescent, two days after new moon). I am shooting for the 10th of September and will probably try Lakeside or what I would really like is try Kim's Skyline Drive on the 3rd of September. So if your not wanting or capable of driving farther to observe for whatever reason, come on out, and observe. Friday night we had a 25", a 17.5", a 14" and a 10" up at Wolf Creek and though the seeing was average, the objects were still fabulous, and for this year, with all the moisture and clouds, it was an incredible night. Either way, dress very warm, it gets cold up there even now, and bring a bag and a ground cover and when your done, put up and just lay down and fall asleep with the grandeur of the summer Milky Way to the west, the fall constellations overhead and Taurus, the Pleiades and Orion to the east! What a sight at 4:30 a.m., and what a way to fall asleep to. Clear skies. I'll post a reminder in a week and a half or so. Jay
Hi all, Here's an essay about failure to photograph. Thanks, Joe http://www.deseretnews.com/blog/47/10009760/Nightly-news-astronomy-A-Strike-...
Just another astro adventure Joe, count your blessings when all is right and you do well cause there are those times when wind plays havoc. Our Perseid night was w/ 35+ mph winds, the next night was at 20 mph and we've had 3 nights now w/ 6 mph. We go up again tomorrow for a run from midnight to dawn, then a couple nights working at the T4 laser station and a long wait for the next new moon. A similar type series of events happened to a friend that bought a CGEM drive, he didn't have the right hardware to mount the adapter to the pier or tripod, the next night the long bolt needed was the wrong thread, he'll try again tomorrow night. And in the head I think October off to the Cooks. A hui ho Rob
Wow, off to the Cooks! Good luck, Rob. Well, I'm pretty discouraged with astrophotography -- in fact, with everything, including blogging. Thanks, and Yokwe yuk! -- Joe --- On Mon, 8/16/10, Rob Ratkowski Photography <ratkwski@hawaii.rr.com> wrote: From: Rob Ratkowski Photography <ratkwski@hawaii.rr.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astrophoto failure To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 2:22 AM Just another astro adventure Joe, count your blessings when all is right and you do well cause there are those times when wind plays havoc. Our Perseid night was w/ 35+ mph winds, the next night was at 20 mph and we've had 3 nights now w/ 6 mph. We go up again tomorrow for a run from midnight to dawn, then a couple nights working at the T4 laser station and a long wait for the next new moon. A similar type series of events happened to a friend that bought a CGEM drive, he didn't have the right hardware to mount the adapter to the pier or tripod, the next night the long bolt needed was the wrong thread, he'll try again tomorrow night. And in the head I think October off to the Cooks. A hui ho Rob _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Joe keep the faith! sounds like equipment more than technique that's bugging you, just work thru it Aloha Rob
Joe, when I'm trying out a new technique, I do it in the daylight so I can see things, and practice it until I can literally do it in the dark--is there a mountain or something that is far away that you can see from your driveway? Dan On Aug 16, 2010, at 10:47 AM, Rob Ratkowski Photography wrote:
Joe
keep the faith! sounds like equipment more than technique that's bugging you, just work thru it
Aloha Rob
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
-- Daniel Holmes, danielh@holmesonics.com "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!" -- Lord John Whorfin
Thanks, Daniel -- Wish I had thought of that earlier! But now I've had the practice. Best wishes, Joe --- On Mon, 8/16/10, Daniel Holmes <danielh@holmesonics.com> wrote: From: Daniel Holmes <danielh@holmesonics.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astrophoto failure To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 10:51 AM Joe, when I'm trying out a new technique, I do it in the daylight so I can see things, and practice it until I can literally do it in the dark--is there a mountain or something that is far away that you can see from your driveway? Dan On Aug 16, 2010, at 10:47 AM, Rob Ratkowski Photography wrote:
Joe
keep the faith! sounds like equipment more than technique that's bugging you, just work thru it
Aloha Rob
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
-- Daniel Holmes, danielh@holmesonics.com "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!" -- Lord John Whorfin _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
I'll be fine. Thanks and yokwe! -- Joe --- On Mon, 8/16/10, Rob Ratkowski Photography <ratkwski@hawaii.rr.com> wrote: From: Rob Ratkowski Photography <ratkwski@hawaii.rr.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astrophoto failure To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 10:47 AM Joe keep the faith! sounds like equipment more than technique that's bugging you, just work thru it Aloha Rob _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
On 16 Aug 2010, at 01:59, Joe Bauman wrote:
Hi all, Here's an essay about failure to photograph. Thanks, Joe
http://www.deseretnews.com/blog/47/10009760/Nightly-news-astronomy-A-Strike-...
Joe, I re-re-re-nominate you for SLAS's most persistant imager of the year (if not the decade). It really sounds like equipment problems, not problems with your technique. The way things seem to loosen or break so much makes me wonder if the equipment just isn't up to being moved around so much. I'd still like to see you try some work from your backyard. As we discussed before you'd only need to install a simple pier. It would then be much easier to set up and you'd have much more time for experimenting. Plus if something breaks it's just a quick walk into the house for repairs. Granted, you're probably not going to produce S&T quality images from in the city but you would be able to figure out how to make everything work. Then, once you've got the equipment working and your technique perfected you could think about more trips to dark skies. And, oh yeah, the experimenting can be done on any clear night, not just moonless ones. Just a thought but have you considered maybe taking your imager to SPOC and using it on the Ealing? You've seen the quality of images taken from here in Stansbury. And you'd not have to worry about setting up or aligning a scope. Again there would be drawbacks (like probably having to rediscover manual guiding) but at least you'd be making progress. But I really think that you should go with a pier in your yard and work out the kinks there. Hang in there, patrick p.s. I'll be happy to help you install the pier and with getting the wedge polar aligned.
Thanks, Patrick. The real problems were the wind, my unfamiliarity with the new guider program and a declination disorder that I fixed. I really think I can get it down OK next new moon. I just thought a blog is most useful if I records failures as well as triumphs. As for backyard imaging, it's just not possible with the number of trees in the way in all directions. Best wishes, Joe --- On Mon, 8/16/10, Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com> wrote: From: Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astrophoto failure To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 2:50 AM On 16 Aug 2010, at 01:59, Joe Bauman wrote:
Hi all, Here's an essay about failure to photograph. Thanks, Joe
http://www.deseretnews.com/blog/47/10009760/Nightly-news-astronomy-A-Strike-...
Joe, I re-re-re-nominate you for SLAS's most persistant imager of the year (if not the decade). It really sounds like equipment problems, not problems with your technique. The way things seem to loosen or break so much makes me wonder if the equipment just isn't up to being moved around so much. I'd still like to see you try some work from your backyard. As we discussed before you'd only need to install a simple pier. It would then be much easier to set up and you'd have much more time for experimenting. Plus if something breaks it's just a quick walk into the house for repairs. Granted, you're probably not going to produce S&T quality images from in the city but you would be able to figure out how to make everything work. Then, once you've got the equipment working and your technique perfected you could think about more trips to dark skies. And, oh yeah, the experimenting can be done on any clear night, not just moonless ones. Just a thought but have you considered maybe taking your imager to SPOC and using it on the Ealing? You've seen the quality of images taken from here in Stansbury. And you'd not have to worry about setting up or aligning a scope. Again there would be drawbacks (like probably having to rediscover manual guiding) but at least you'd be making progress. But I really think that you should go with a pier in your yard and work out the kinks there. Hang in there, patrick p.s. I'll be happy to help you install the pier and with getting the wedge polar aligned. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
participants (5)
-
Daniel Holmes -
Jay Eads -
Joe Bauman -
Patrick Wiggins -
Rob Ratkowski Photography