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Posts Made By: Stephen Fugardi

May 29, 2007 05:24 PM Forum: Home Observatories

Bee Attack and Power Outage

Posted By Stephen Fugardi
Last night was looking pretty clear, so I decided to try some observing for the first time in weeks. As I went to open my dome, some huge yellow jacket nests were hanging right where the chains and clips were. I poked them with a stick and ran out, fortuneately with the dark interior, the bees were still sleeping! After an hour with the fans running, my power went off in the neighborhood. After a couple of hours of waiting I gave up and packed it in. It is amazing how dependent we are on power. Luckily the seeing is looking even better this evening, assuming the power stays on...

Clear skies!
Regards,
Steve

May 30, 2007 02:15 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Venus f25 5/29

Posted By Stephen Fugardi
Using my C11 & 2.5X barlow/toucam, I managed to take 1 decent avi at approx 8:15AM just before Venus ducked behind a tree. With a dead 9v battery in my electric focuser, I had to manually focus the planet. Being careful not to over expose, I shot this at 1/250 and stacked the best 150 frames. It is the first time I have been able to image Venus with a barlow. Seeing was average. It would have been nice to have a UV filter.

Regards,
Steve

May 30, 2007 02:27 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Jupiter f25 5/30

Posted By Stephen Fugardi
I waited until 2:30am for Jupiter get in between 2 sets of trees for a brief 30min window. Unfortuneately, my best viewing position is 1hr past transit. With nearly a full moon in average seeing, I captured a few avis using my C11/2.5X/Toucam. The "best" 200frames from the best avi are stacked below. Focus at this low altitude is brutal. Maneuvering around the dust motes is also a challenge with the massive barlowed gas giant filling the view field.

Regards,
Steve

June 8, 2007 10:39 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Re: Venus 6/6/07

Posted By Stephen Fugardi
Dan, Excellent shot! With all your Venus images this season, there may be enough on your harddrive to make a .gif movie of them showing the changing phases. Sat June 9 will be its greatest elongation. Thanks for posting

Regards,
Steve

July 17, 2007 04:56 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Jupiter f25 7/16

Posted By Stephen Fugardi
For a brief 30minute window between clearing the trees and just before the clouds rolled in, I had some decent seeing for Jupiter here in CT last night. Using my C11 with Toucam/IR filter with 2.5x barlow, I stacked the best 200 frames stacked in Registax and caught the GRS. Last week, I viewed Neptune and Uranus through the eyepiece as they are approaching opposition, however, they are also pretty low in the sky. It would be nice to get some clear steady nights before the summer is over.

Regards,
Steve

July 26, 2007 04:40 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Congradulations to Mike Salway, p99 Astronomy

Posted By Stephen Fugardi
Mike, just got my Sept issue and found your awesome Jupiter images filling the entire page. Thank you for sharing them

Regards,
Steve

July 26, 2007 05:15 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Jupiter f25 7/25 W/GRS & Io

Posted By Stephen Fugardi
I recently modified my Toucam 840 to use 900nc firmware. For the first time, I used YUK2 mode with the built-in image enhancer and saturation & contrast set to 100%. After star aligning on Vega, I adjusted my collimation while waiting for Jupiter to clear the trees. My C11 mirror temp was within 1.0degC of ambient. As soon as I noticed Io in the f25 Toucam field of view, I knew I had the "best" conditions this season. Most times I need to overexpose Jupiter to even see the moons. Seeing was average according to the CSC with a slight yellowish haze in the sky. At 1/33sec, the best 200frames were stacked.

After seeing Anthony's absolutely stunning shots, I almost didn't post, however, for me this was a significant improvement. Maybe in a few years with Jupiter higher in altitude, I'll have this figured out...

Regards,
Steve

July 29, 2007 01:19 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Re: Venus 7/27/07

Posted By Stephen Fugardi
Dan, great shot! I didn't realize Venus could ever appear larger than Jupiter. At a 12% phase, there's not much left of this one. You must have a great viewing spot. After Venus fades away, I'd love to see a composite of the entire sequence of shots you've taken this season. Thanks for posting!

Regards,
Steve



August 2, 2007 09:53 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Jupiter f25 8/1/07

Posted By Stephen Fugardi
Haven't got my peltier cooler yet, so I waited 2.5hrs to cool my C11 mirror in hopes of catching one last Jupiter in hazy but average seeing. Sadly, even with that much time, my mirror could only achieve 1.2degC within ambient. Seeing was not even average since Ganymede barely showed on my computer screen and I was unable to pull it out of the final image. I was able to improve my collimation as I checked it on nearby Altair. Best 350frames stacked, toucam + IR + 2.5x barlow.

Regards,
Steve

August 9, 2007 09:22 PM Forum: Home Observatories

Mirror Cooldown Data from C11 8/8/07

Posted By Stephen Fugardi
I have been trying to solve my thermal tube current problem with my C11 and have attached a thermocouple to the mirror. Last night, I left the thermocouples plugged in 6hours and have learned some interesting lessons:

1) My obs temp gets too hot during the day and the mirror retains this peak heat. I have a solar shed vent on order to help reduce this.

2) The back of the OTA which is mostly metal is the heat sink for trying to cool the mirror. Even with the lymax cooler going, this mass slows the process. I measured this temp early in the night and found it to be approx 1/2 way beween the mirror temp and ambient.

3) My body heat after re-entering my dome stopped the ambient cooling inside! Next time, I plan to roll my cart which holds all of my power boxes and computers outside with myself as well.
4) Having 2 10" box fans mounted in the dome opening blowing in and having the 20" box fan pulling the air out the doorway seems to be the best setup. I was able to achieve 0.7degC delta within 1 hr, where previously my best was 1.0-1.4degC delta with the 20" fan only.

I'll post more data as I get it

Regards,
Steve

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