Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

— Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law

Astrophotography

The dark side of photography. Deep space and planetary imaging. Occasionally some day light pictures of the Sun.

Full Moon 9/25/2007

Full Moon 9/25/2007

Full Moon, modified to B&W, and auto corrected & sharpened. Meade ETX 90 with 26mm ocular. Camera Nikon Coolpix 4500, shot .036 sec., f 4.5, 26.8 mm, ISO 100

Receding Eclipse with Blue/Green glow

Receding Eclipse with Blue/Green glow

Shot with Nikon Coolpix mounted on a Meade ETX 90, unguided.Photo data, 1 sec, f 4.0, 21.3 mm focal length, ISO 400, at 11:16 PM.

Receding Eclipse from Bloomfield NJ, 11:07 PM

Receding Eclipse from Bloomfield NJ, 11:07 PM

Shot with a Nikon Coolpix 4500, mounted on a Meade ETX 90, with 45 deg adaptor, and without guidance. The shot was ISO 100, 21.7 mm focal length, f 4.0, 1/7 sec.

Dumbbell Nebula

 Dumbbell Nebula

The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 27 (M27), is a bright, large planetary planetary nebula located in Vulpecula constellation, at a distance of 1,360 light years from Earth. It is sometimes also called the Apple Core Nebula or Diablo Nebula. The nebula has the designation NGC 6853 in the New General Catalogue. It was the first planetary nebula to be discovered. Charles Messier included it as M27 in his catalogue in 1764.
Source: http://www.constellation-guide.com/dumbbell-nebula-messier-27/
Ha -12hr as R OIII -06hr as G and B

Moon close up

Moon close up

A close up of the Moon

Lunar Eclipse as seen in Clifton, New Jersey

Lunar Eclipse as seen in Clifton, New Jersey

March 3, 2007  Lunar Eclipse
 
Clifton, New Jersey.  Taken with a Celestron SPC-6 attached to a Olympus Camedia C-4000.  There appears to be some sort of flaring in the photo. 

The Moon

The Moon

This picture was taken on September 1, 2005. Celestron SPC-6, Olympus Camedia C4000. That's all I can remember.  This is an example of Earthshine.  There was moonshine on Earth tonight!

NGC6888

NGC6888

Ha image

Still in the Dark

 Still in the Dark

Oh, brighter than a thousand suns,
the march towards the stars
on the wheel, on the car,
off the plane, off the planet
and on in the search.
Yes, we pray in the dark in the Sciences' church.

Upon the tree of knowledge
the fruit is bitter-sweet;
to the man in the street
all its myriad benefits Science confers
but we're still in the dark, much as we always were.

Run your mind down the Sciences;
none of them lay claim to show more than a part
but still we shout out what we know
the silence is enough to break the mortal heart.

Naming The Rose

Naming The Rose

What is a Youth?

What is a youth? Impetuous fire.
What is a maid? Ice and desire.
The world wags on,
a rose will bloom....
It then will fade:
so does a youth,
so does the fairest maid.
Comes a time when one sweet smile
has a season for a while....
Then love's in love with me.
Some they think only to marry,
others will tease and tarry.
Mine is the very best parry.
Cupid he rules us all.
Caper the cape, but sing me the song,