Image of the day

Captured by
Craig Bobchin

Coathanger CR 399

About Astromart

My Account

New to Astromart?

Register an account...

Need Help?

Posts Made By: Alex McConahay

February 28, 2004 01:53 AM Forum: Film Astrophotography - Imaging and Processing

Good Night in January--Andromeda

Posted By Alex McConahay
I had a real good night last January, and captured five shots. Here is Andromeda Nebula

Elitechrome 200, push one stop, 1 hour, OM-1, Losmandy G-11, St-4 autoguider, Meade 10" F4.5 tube, Landers, California, Photoshop and Picture Window post-procesing.

February 28, 2004 01:58 AM Forum: Film Astrophotography - Imaging and Processing

Good Night in January--Horsie and Flame

Posted By Alex McConahay
I had a real good night last January, and captured five shots. Here is Orion region, the Flame and Horsehead

Elitechrome 200, push one stop, 1 x 50 minutes, OM-1, Losmandy G-11, St-4 autoguider, Meade 10" F4.5 tube, Landers, California, Photoshop post-procesing.

March 22, 2004 01:10 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Focus Hints for digital camera astro work

Posted By Alex McConahay
Anybody know of the best ways to get a digital camera to focus well with a telescope for astrophotography? I am interested in all suggestions, and will try what I get. Links to websites welcome, or just tell me how you do it in a posting.

(I am using Nikon Coolpix 5400, Maxview II, and various scopes. Have hooked output to television. Still do not have good focus, and certainly not easy focus--and I don't want to have to carry around a television to focus astrophotos.)

Thanks in advance,

Alex

April 4, 2004 02:04 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Re: Meade Autostar Suite with LPI

Posted By Alex McConahay
What are the computer requirements for running the software. I use an old 125 megahertz pentium 2, I think, laptop when observing.

Alex

April 27, 2004 03:46 PM Forum: Film Astrophotography - Imaging and Processing

Re: Any tricks for viewing through lens???

Posted By Alex McConahay
The easiest way, if I understand your setup correctly, is to make a parfocal eyepiece.

Focus and aim your imaging camera on an object at infinity. Remove the camera. (Here, I am assuming you now have a 1.25 eyepiece holder waiting there attached to the lens.) Insert one of your favorite eyepieces, and focus by moving it in and out of the holder. (Best eyepiece would be a short focal length with wide field of view and reticle if possible.) Mark where it sits when in focus. (If you have a parfocalizing ring then put it in--of course if you have such a ring, you probably already know how to use it and this explanation is redundant!!!). Next time you are setting up, just use the eyepiece set in as far as that mark (or parfocalizing ring) in the lens, find and focus, and then remove the eyepiece and replace with camera.

Alex


May 31, 2004 05:07 AM Forum: Film Astrophotography - Imaging and Processing

Re: t rings for olympus om1

Posted By Alex McConahay
You have a t-ring. Those threads accept any one of a number of attachments. These include camera lenses of various types, slide copiers, microscope adapters, and all sorts of things.

Specifically, you need to attach your t-ring to a telescope. You can do this directly by getting an adapter. It has a 1.25 end that slips right into a diagonal or focuser on one end and on the other the male mate to those female threads on your t-ring. However, you may wish to attach it instead to an off axis guider, which has SCT threads on one end, and those male threads on the other. Or you can get a projection adapter (which attaches to your SCT on one end, and that t-ring on the other.) Which of these devices you want depends on what kind of photos you want to take with the SCT. (You probably want the off-axis guider if you want to do prime focus astrophotography with our SCT.)

Call Anacortes, and tell them what you want to do, and they can sell you what you want.

Alex

July 2, 2004 02:40 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Transit of Venus-Second Contact

Posted By Alex McConahay
I'm a little late getting to the party--I stayed in Europe an extra couple of weeks after the tansit. Here is one of mine. Just as black drop was clearing on second contact. Cape Sounion, Greece, Nikon 5400 w/ 40 mm Scopetronix on photo-tripod mounted undriven Ranger 70 mm, Baader soloar filter, 1/500, F4.6

Alex

July 5, 2004 02:44 PM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

Famine and Free press

Posted By Alex McConahay
I heard an interesting "fact" a while back. I wonder if it would stand up to scrutiny. SO, I thought I would ask the smartest bunch of people I know:

"There has never been a famine in a country with a free press."

Anybody out there have enough background in history, and an interest in speculating on this.

The issue is not whether a country has had crops ruined due to bad weather, or locusts attack the crops, or whatever. THat can happen regardless of the state of political freedom. However, in a country with political freedom, the government somehow provides enough food at these times. In a country without, the people starve, and nothing is really done about it.

Things like the Oklahoma dust bowl come to mind.....DId masses of people go starving? Or was there just a big disruption while farmers lost their homes, and the government and charities somehow kept them going.

Was there a free press in Ireland of the 1840's?

What were the ten greatest famines of the last two hundred years, and did they have free press in those countries at the time?

(I know, I could look this all up somewhere, but I thought I could get somebody else to do my work for me off the top of their brain.)

Alex

July 11, 2004 02:00 PM Forum: Meade

Re: LXD55 Mount Usage

Posted By Alex McConahay
Jim,

I haven't done it but a few times, and here may be another way--but as far as I know, just set the system up, pointing roughly north, and then do an align--but don't really do it. That is, just tell the scope that everything is pointed where it should be, even if you never check to see that it is.

There may be an easier way--but I was told that this is the way, and I've never really experimented otherwise.

I'll be interested in hearing from others.

Alex

July 13, 2004 09:18 PM Forum: Politics

Liberals Label/Shallow Campaigning

Posted By Alex McConahay
THis morning, the sound bite was President Bush labelling Kerry a Liberal, and Edwards another liberal, and then saying "That's the way they balance the ticket in Massachusetts." (Is that the way to spell that?)

OK, so, let's concede the label.

What I find so frustrating is that seems to be all that is coming out of the president. It seems as if the campaign on the Republican part is "Let's call him a liberal, so the people won't like him and will vote for us."

Is there anything else the president can say on his own behalf? Or is the whole weight of his argument that the other guy is "Liberal."

Alex

Funding Member

Sponsors


View all sponsors

Search