Posts Made By: David Eccles

Fellow Celestron Users,

I own a Nexstar 8 and use it for both observing and photography. As I obtained the equipment needed for photo taking, I realized I needed a counterbalance for my scope to improve tracking, as well as helping to preserve the motors. A nice tip I picked up from someone was to get a small bungie cord and a c-clamp and strap it around the front end of the OTA.

This works well, but occassionally it will fall off during a session and I usually have to begin the alignment process all over again.

I've looked around for other ideas and have essentially decided to create a cloth tube filled with beads, or some other material and then use strips of velcro to secure the tube to the OTA.

Can anyone suggest what materials might work best for the tube and its filling? Or if anyone has a good alternative, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks and happy observing,
David Eccles
Lompoc, CA

Attention Central California Coastal Observers,

The scheduled impact of Deep Impact on comet Tempel 1 will provide astronomers around the world with a unique opportunity to witness an original event.

In Santa Barbara County, there is the observing location out on Figeuroa Mtn, half way between Santa Maria and Santa Barbara. It is an excellent site for observing the sky, and with the moon in its new phase it will be especially dark. The observing location offers enough space for 15 to 20 vehicles, as well as equipment.

If you live in this area and wish to see the impact, let me know and I will give directions, observing locations and contact info. The road is paved and easily accessible from both cities I mentioned.

It would be great to see many of you there, so I look forward to hearing from you.

Clear Skies,
David Eccles
Lompoc, CA

Help!!

I will be making my first attempts at photographing a comet this Sunday (7/3/05) night during the Deep Impact event. I've gathered all the information I will need regarding the object itself, but am having a difficult time finding info on photo techniques.

Specifically, I'm looking for information regarding object magnitude (comet Tempel 1), exposure times, tracking mode (i.e., EQ North, Sidereal, etc.). Should I track the comet, or a guide star?

Can anyone provide information or resources for taking photos?

Here's my equipment list.

Celestron Nexstar 8
f/10, 2032mm
Radial Guider / guiding eyepiece
Prime Focus method will be used

Camera - Minolta Maxxim 5
Film - Fuji Superia 400

Location - Figueroa Mtn.(Santa Barbara County, CA), Skies will be clear / transparent, elevation from location is approx. 4000 ft.

Thanks for your help.

Clear Skies,
David Eccles
Lompoc, CA

Help!!

I will be making my first attempts at photographing a comet this Sunday (7/3/05) night during the Deep Impact event. I've gathered all the information I will need regarding the object itself, but am having a difficult time finding info on photo techniques.

Specifically, I'm looking for information regarding object magnitude (comet Tempel 1), exposure times, tracking mode (i.e., EQ North, Sidereal, etc.). Should I track the comet, or a guide star?

Can anyone provide information or resources for taking photos?

Here's my equipment list.

Celestron Nexstar 8
f/10, 2032mm
Radial Guider / guiding eyepiece
Prime Focus method will be used

Camera - Minolta Maxxim 5
Film - Fuji Superia 400

Location - Figueroa Mtn.(Santa Barbara County, CA), Skies will be clear / transparent, elevation from location is approx. 4000 ft.

Thanks for your help.

Clear Skies,
David Eccles
Lompoc, CA

I've been watching this forum for days now, along with all the annoying emails I've been getting.

I never realized there was so much to say about a battery-operated lite stick.

Fellow Photographers,

I've been looking around and reading information about different DSLR's and came across some information regarding the Minolta Maxxum 7D 6.1MP camera.

Although it advertises 6.1, it is possible (if I'm reading this corectly) to achieve 11.5MP if using the RAW+JPEG format in the large format (3008 x 2000). You can capture 19 frames with this setting if using a 256mb CF Card, with a continuous advance capability of 9.

The camera also features and anti-shake CCD shift mechanism with a compensation factor of 2-3 shutter speeds depending on lense used and shooting conditions.

The LCD is 2.5 inches and can allow viewing of multiple frames up to 16, with a choice of image only, image + text, or image + text + histogram.

The camera shop I regularly work with getting film developed is offering this camera at approx. $1200, which includes a standard lense (28mm to 80mm I believe).

What I'm seeking is reviews, opinions, or other information reagrding this camera. Is $1200 worth it, or would I be better off looking at other products? Are there other technical features I need to consider and compare?

Thanks for your help.

Clear Skies,
David Eccles
Lompoc, CA

To All,

I attempted to post a photo earlier and had some difficulty. Specifically, I mae the photo size in PS 7.0 to be 7 inches by 5 inches and approx. 497K. After posting, I opened the attachment and all I got was a small box with nothing in it. I'm assuming my size adjustments made it too small. What is the proper size in inches and in file size?

Some photos I've seen here take the entire screen and others display in a average size window.

Thanks for your assistance.

David

I recently purchased a laptop and made a cable for connecting my scope (Nexstar 8) to it. I'm using Starry Night Pro 4.5 and am planning to try it out Saturday night (1/28) for photography. I'll be doing some warmup practice during the day so I can get comfortable with using the product with my scope.

The software comes with a release of ASCOM (not sure what version), but I also have a newer version of ASCOM (4.1) on CD which, according to the website, has updated features related to Periodic Error Correction (PEC).

My questions are;

Is there anyone out there who uses Starry Night Pro who has any tips or advice for using this software to track and photograph? How reliable is the software for tracking an object? Does the version of ASCOM that comes with SN Pro provide PEC features, or should I install the newer version? Anything else I should know about but haven't mentioned?

Thanks.

Clear Skies,
David

Does anyone have the most current Orbital Element information for comet Schwassmann-Wachmann. Here's what I need.

Eccentricity (e)
Pericentre distance
Ascending node
Arg of pericentre (w)
Inclination (i)
Pericentre time (Tp) in Julian

I've tried looking through the data at the IAU website, but haven't located any information for this week.

Thanks for the assist.

Clear Skies,
David

As the owner of a Nexstar 8, accurate polar alignment for phtotgraphy can sometimes be a chore. The technique I use is relatively simple, and I can get an accurate alignment about half the time.

I've found a couple new resources (new to me) regarding alignment techniques which refine what I already do, but I'm hoping to get some input from all of you regarding what works for you and what you have found to be a reliable method.

When I go through an alignment, here's what I do.

1) Mount the scope on a wedge and point it at Polaris. I physically adjust the wedge up and down so the eyepiece shows Polaris just outside the eyepiece (I use a 40mm plossl) FOV and is positioned to show the angle between Polaris and Kochab (this is where true north is). About .85 degrees off Polaris.

2) Make sure the scope is level. I use a small round bubble-level for this. But this isn't done until after I have the OTA pointing at Polaris.

3) Turn on the scope, select Auto-Align and point the OTA at the ground. Since it's on a wedge, North and Level really means pointing the OTA so it's perpendicular to the fork arm, which means it's really pointing at the ground.

4) Enter date, time, Lat and Long

5) Go to first star, center it using the up and right arrows on my handset, then repeat the process for the second star.

*Note: I try to use stars in opposite sides of the sky, but sometimes it's not possible. I found some information that may help with this and will post it here after this.

That's it.

Below is a couple of links I found which provide further details for this process. I'd like to hear from anyone who uses methods that may provide greater accuracy, or tend to be more consistent.

Thanks for sharing and Clear Skies to you all.

David


http://www.allaboutastro.com/Articlepages/iterativemethod.html

http://home.earthlink.net/~mjbarrell/setup.htm