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Posts Made By: Alex McConahay

April 16, 2005 11:55 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Solar Eclipse

Posted By Alex McConahay

I was with the Asociacion Panamena de Aficionados a la Astronomia at Penonome, Panama, on April 8 for the annular eclipse. We had not seen the sun for a week in Central America, but out hopes were high when about three hours before first contact, the sky was mostly blue. At first contact, we were set up on the airfield, and I got this picture. I had planned to make a collage of shots ten minutes apart, but, alas--the cloud god took over after about half an hour. Luckily, he relented just enough so that I can officially say I saw the eclipse, and was not skunked. Here is the first contact picture, and in the next post, I have the closest the camera could come to annularity.

Alex

(Canon 20D, 75-300 mm Canon zoom with Tamron doubler, 1/500th, I believe, 200 ISO, Baader solar filter. )

April 19, 2005 04:45 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

RTMC Astronomy Expo Imaging Exhibition

Posted By Alex McConahay

RTMC Astronomy Expo in Big Bear over Memorial Day is going to have some events to interest us Astro-imagers. This includes an exhibition and contest, as well as a number of presentations and workshops on imaging. But if you want to display something, or enter the contest, you have to bring a print of your work, so I thought it would be good to remind everybody who might be going.

From their registration materials (available at rtmcastronomyexpo.org):

You are encouraged to bring a print of a favorite film or digital image you have produced this year (January 2004 through May 2005) in any or all of four categories--Solar System, Deep Sky, Eclipses/Transits, and Meteors and Atmospheric Effects. Pictures must be unframed and from 8x10 to 16 x 20 (if matted, do not exceed 16 x 20 mat). Register from Friday at 1:00 until Saturday at 1:00 in the Pavilion. Entry and contest rules are at www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org.

Attendees will enjoy your work and have an opportunity to name their favorites. Awards will be made Sunday night.
This sounds like a good opportunity to share your work with others.

Alex

April 19, 2005 04:47 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

RTMC Astronomy Expo Astro Imaging Exhibition and C

Posted By Alex McConahay

RTMC Astronomy Expo in Big Bear over Memorial Day is going to have some events to interest us Astro-imagers. This includes an exhibition and contest, as well as a number of presentations and workshops on imaging. But if you want to display something, or enter the contest, you have to bring a print of your work, so I thought it would be good to remind everybody who might be going.

From their registration materials (available at rtmcastronomyexpo.org):

You are encouraged to bring a print of a favorite film or digital image you have produced this year (January 2004 through May 2005) in any or all of four categories--Solar System, Deep Sky, Eclipses/Transits, and Meteors and Atmospheric Effects. Pictures must be unframed and from 8x10 to 16 x 20 (if matted, do not exceed 16 x 20 mat). Register from Friday at 1:00 until Saturday at 1:00 in the Pavilion. Entry and contest rules are at www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org.

Attendees will enjoy your work and have an opportunity to name their favorites. Awards will be made Sunday night.

This sounds like a good opportunity to share your work with others.

Alex

April 19, 2005 04:48 PM Forum: Film Astrophotography - Imaging and Processing

RTMC Astronomy Expo Astro Imaging Exhibition and C

Posted By Alex McConahay

RTMC Astronomy Expo in Big Bear over Memorial Day is going to have some events to interest us Astro-imagers. This includes an exhibition and contest, as well as a number of presentations and workshops on imaging. But if you want to display something, or enter the contest, you have to bring a print of your work, so I thought it would be good to remind everybody who might be going.

From their registration materials (available at rtmcastronomyexpo.org):

You are encouraged to bring a print of a favorite film or digital image you have produced this year (January 2004 through May 2005) in any or all of four categories--Solar System, Deep Sky, Eclipses/Transits, and Meteors and Atmospheric Effects. Pictures must be unframed and from 8x10 to 16 x 20 (if matted, do not exceed 16 x 20 mat). Register from Friday at 1:00 until Saturday at 1:00 in the Pavilion. Entry and contest rules are at www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org.

Attendees will enjoy your work and have an opportunity to name their favorites. Awards will be made Sunday night.
This sounds like a good opportunity to share your work with others.

Alex

April 22, 2005 02:32 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Processing Exercise

Posted By Alex McConahay

I'm looking for a web page that was discussed in a thread here a few months back. Somebody had provided a copy of a Jupiter picture and asked everybody to process it as well as they could. The results were then posted on a web site. It was amazing to see how much different the results were.

At any rate, I need to look at that page so I can extract some examples for a talk I am giving. And I have no idea on what to search for. (I've tried.)

Anybody able to point me in the right direction?

Alex

May 3, 2005 02:02 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Hutech SCT Focuser Lock

Posted By Alex McConahay

Has anybody tried Hutech's focus lock for the SCT's. It says it cuts mirror shift. But all it appears to me is something to make sure the focuser knob does not move. How much of an SCT's mirror flop is due to movement of the focus knob itself?

At any rate, I'm interested if this may be worthwhile.

Alex

May 3, 2005 12:48 PM Forum: Star Parties

RTMC Astronomy Expo

Posted By Alex McConahay

Hi All,

They have posted a tentative program on the RTMC-AE website.

http://www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org/2005%20Program.pdf

It looks like they'll be lots to do.

Of course, the most fun part--walking around through the swap meet--gets only half a line mention!!!

I still think we should plan to have lunch together on Saturday. What's say we meet on the big tables out back after we get through the chow line Saturday!?!

Alex

May 6, 2005 01:33 PM Forum: Digital SLR AstroPhotography

20D and SP2 Can now use DSLR Focus

Posted By Alex McConahay

For those of you with a 20D and Windows Service Pack 2 on your computers, you probably know that DSLR Focus has been incompatible.

However, Chris Venter has worked out the problem, and has a link on the website to the update that is ready for beta testing.

Alex

May 13, 2005 04:50 PM Forum: Digital SLR AstroPhotography

M82

Posted By Alex McConahay

Here is a 20 D on M82. Single exposure, 30 seconds, ISO 800, C9.25 at F6.3

ALex

May 24, 2005 04:55 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Webcast of interest to Imagers

Posted By Alex McConahay

Dear fellow photon collectors:

The RTMC Astronomy Expo is trying an experiment with an Internet broadcast of one of the workshops this Memorial Day Weekend. With the assistance of Meade Instruments, we will have a pseudo web cast of Jerry Hilburn's "Imaging with the Canon Digital Rebel, DSLR Focus and Meade 10" GPS" workshop on Saturday morning from 10:30 AM PST to 11:30 AM PDT.

Since the Astronomy Expo is held at a YMCA camp in the San Bernardino Mountains, a broad band connection sufficient to stream audio and video is not available. The camp is still waiting for the fiber optic cable network to find its way into the national forest. However, Meade Instruments is lending their conferencing network which will allow an audio track to be streamed across a normal land telephone line using Microsoft Media Player. Jerry's PowerPoint Presentation will be on the RTMC Astronomy Expo's website. Go to http://www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org/webcast.htm for links to both the audio track and the PowerPoint presentation. Click on the audio link which should bring up Media Player, minimize Media Player and then click on the PowerPoint presentation loading it into Internet Explorer. The presenter will queue you when to advance to the next slide.

As mentioned, the broadcast will be live between 10:30 and 11:30 AM PDT.

If you miss the workshop, it will be archived on the RTMC Astronomy website sometime in the following week.

Alex