http://www.astroslacker.com/ RSS Feed for amateur astronomy and astrophotography. en-US AstroSlacker.com http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/http__acis.mma-tv-pro.com9499_listen.pls http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/http__acis.mma-tv-pro.com9499_listen.pls Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:35:37 -0000 2009-04-19T02:35:37Z <p>http://acis.mma-tv-pro.com:9499/listen.pls</p> http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_04_04_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_04_04_2009 Sat, 04 Apr 2009 05:05:05 -0000 2009-04-04T05:05:05Z <p>The sky finally cleared a bit tonight after more than a week of clouds and rain, so I captured the First Quarter moon plus one day (three frames stacked in The Gimp) through my 6" reflector and ... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/kepler_passing_saturn http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/kepler_passing_saturn Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:06:56 -0000 2009-03-19T02:06:56Z <p>Finally captured Kepler tonight! The image is Kepler passing by Saturn through my 6" reflector with a 20 second exposure at ISO 3200. Click the "Large" links for best views.</p> <p>Please corre... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_discovery_pass_03_17_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_discovery_pass_03_17_2009 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:37:52 -0000 2009-03-18T03:37:52Z <p>Took some images of the ISS (with Discovery docked) pass tonight from Talking Rock, GA. The first ones are a bit off level because the camera was "piggybacked" on my 6" reflector on an equatoria... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sts-119_and_kepler_sighting_opportunities http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sts-119_and_kepler_sighting_opportunities Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:45:50 -0000 2009-03-15T19:45:50Z <p><a href="http://www.calsky.com">CalSky.com</a> has added STS-119 (Space Shuttle Discovery) and the Kepler satellite to their database. To find sighting opportunities in your area, go to <a href=... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sts-199_discovery_launch_today http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sts-199_discovery_launch_today Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:20:38 -0000 2009-03-15T09:20:38Z <p><img src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/153212main_disc-rss.jpg" alt="" width="426" height="280" /></p> <p>Discovery is set to launch today at 7:43 p.m. on a mission to the ISS. Don't miss... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/full_moon_corona_03_11_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/full_moon_corona_03_11_2009 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:04:50 -0000 2009-03-11T08:04:50Z <p>One last capture of the full moon next to Saturn with a thin layer of cloud which produces the corona/halo effect.</p> <p><a rel="lightbox" href="/static/images/medium_fullmoon-saturn-20090311-... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sunset_with_venus_animation_03_10_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sunset_with_venus_animation_03_10_2009 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:55:43 -0000 2009-03-11T05:55:43Z <p>Sunset with Venus time-laps animation.</p> <p><img src="/static/images/thumb_sunset-venus-20090310-anim-001.gif" alt="" /><br /><a href="/view_image/medium_sunset-venus-20090310-anim-001.gif">M... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sunset_over_talking_rock_03_10_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sunset_over_talking_rock_03_10_2009 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:40:33 -0000 2009-03-11T04:40:33Z <p>Uploading sunset images captured from Talking Rock, GA today.</p> <p><a rel="lightbox" href="/static/images/medium_sun-setting-20090310-001.jpg"><img src="/static/images/thumb_sun-setting-20090... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_saturn_and_awesome_sunset_03_10_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_saturn_and_awesome_sunset_03_10_2009 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 03:09:29 -0000 2009-03-11T03:09:29Z <p>Took 4 gigs of the sun setting with Venus and the full moon rising with Saturn tonight. Uploading while processing...</p> <p>Full Moon with&nbsp; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(m... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/the_moon_and_saturn_03_10_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/the_moon_and_saturn_03_10_2009 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:10:17 -0000 2009-03-10T19:10:17Z <p>Took this image of the moon and Saturn at 3:27 a.m. this morning. The moon was 99% (waxing gibbous) full and Saturn was at opposition on the 8th I believe. So, this was Saturn at opposition plus... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/kepler_launch_tonight http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/kepler_launch_tonight Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:52:18 -0000 2009-03-06T20:52:18Z <p><img src="/static/images/thumb_kepler.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="350" /></p> <p>NASA's Kepler is set for launch tonight. I've put together some feeds for NASA TV. These are higher resoluti... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/comet_lulin_passing_m44 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/comet_lulin_passing_m44 Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:31:51 -0000 2009-03-05T06:31:51Z <p>Just captured comet Lulin next to Praesepe (Open cluster - M44 - NGC 2632) a few minutes ago with my Nikon D60 at 200mm. The image is a stack of 7 captures one at 45 seconds and the rest at 30 s... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_and_orion_nebula_03_04_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_and_orion_nebula_03_04_2009 Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:39:40 -0000 2009-03-05T03:39:40Z <p>Here's an image I put together tonight of Orion Nebula. This is 4 images plus one dark frame stacked in The Gimp.</p> <p>1 @ 60 seconds, 3 @ 30 seconds, 1 @ 30 second dark frame, ISO 1600:<br /... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/lunar_x_is_back http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/lunar_x_is_back Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:06:59 -0000 2009-03-04T02:06:59Z <p>Just took this image (with 6" reflector and 2x barlow) of the X feature that is of interest to a lot of amateur astronomers and astrophotographers when the moon is at the current phase.</p> <p>... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_crossing_disk_of_sun_03_02_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_crossing_disk_of_sun_03_02_2009 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:35:15 -0000 2009-03-02T14:35:15Z <p>Finally captured the ISS crossing the disk of the sun this morning at 8:10 am over the north Georgia mountains, about 20 miles east of Talking Rock, GA. Here's an animation of four images.</p> ... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/comet_lulin_and_satellite_03_01_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/comet_lulin_and_satellite_03_01_2009 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:08:28 -0000 2009-03-02T06:08:28Z <p>Finally got a chance to test out my new 55-200mm Nikkor ED VR lens. Here's an animation of lulin and a satellite passing to the left. I believe this is a mid-earth orbiting satellite, but I don'... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/orion_wide_field_stack http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/orion_wide_field_stack Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:06:56 -0000 2009-02-26T03:06:56Z <p>Just finished stacking 4 x 300 second captures of Orion from the 19th. Among other DSOs (if you know where to look) is the Flame Nebula and Horsehead Nebula.</p> <p><a rel="lightbox" href="http... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/comet_lulin_saturn_and_orion_nebula http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/comet_lulin_saturn_and_orion_nebula Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:38:51 -0000 2009-02-24T06:38:51Z <p>Spent a good deal of time out in the cold tonight viewing Orion nebula, and then the Saturn/Lulin show which was an <strong>awesome</strong> sight! I did manage to get a few nice captures of eac... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/tropical_rainfall_measuring_mission_satellite_02_23_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/tropical_rainfall_measuring_mission_satellite_02_23_2009 Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:35:28 -0000 2009-02-24T00:35:28Z <p>Just captured the TRMM (<a href="http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/">Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission</a>) satellite passing over Orion. <a href="http://astroslacker.com/view_image/dsc_0236.jpg">Larg... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/comet_lulin_02_20_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/comet_lulin_02_20_2009 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:38:12 -0000 2009-02-20T08:38:12Z <p>Captured a few nice images of Lulin tonight with the Nikon D60 from Talking Rock, GA. It was extremely cold out there! I'm still trying to get warm after 30 minutes inside. Weather.com says 27, ... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/orion_capture_and_chuanxin1-02_rocket_02_19_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/orion_capture_and_chuanxin1-02_rocket_02_19_2009 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:18:53 -0000 2009-02-20T04:18:53Z <p>First light with my new Nikon D60. Captured the Chuanxin1-02 Rocket passing over the north Georgian mountains this evening. If anyone has any information on this sattelite please post a reply. T... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/venus_at_sunset_02_16_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/venus_at_sunset_02_16_2009 Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:58:41 -0000 2009-02-16T23:58:41Z <p>Just finished cleaning the sensor on my Nikon D40 so I thought Venus might make a good target for testing if all dust particles were removed. The images turned out rather nice, but the true test... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/orion_capture_02_15_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/orion_capture_02_15_2009 Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:30:18 -0000 2009-02-16T05:30:18Z <p>Took some shot tonight (very clear sky) of Orion and Ursa Major. Mainly trying to find a good setting to capture comet Lulin as soon as the moon allows for proper imaging. I had the D40 "piggyba... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/full_moon_and_regulus_02_09_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/full_moon_and_regulus_02_09_2009 Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:38:51 -0000 2009-02-10T22:38:51Z <p>Took some images of the full mon last night. They turn out pretty well as the moon was close to Regulus. <img title="Laughing" src="http://astroslacker.com/static/js/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/im... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/the_sun_at_sunrise_02_08_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/the_sun_at_sunrise_02_08_2009 Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:43:59 -0000 2009-02-08T15:43:59Z <p>Took a series of images of the sun this morning, just after sunrise. 30 miles or so to the north the ISS passed in front of the sun, but I didn't feel like driving. <img title="Undecided" src="/... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/adding_comet_lulin_to_stellarium http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/adding_comet_lulin_to_stellarium Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:18:50 -0000 2009-02-08T12:18:50Z <p>If you are planning to get a look at comet Lulin, here's a simple way to find it.<br /><br />1. Download and install <a href="http://www.stellarium.org/">Stellarium</a>, one of the best open sou... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/venus_and_iss_in_pisces_animated http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/venus_and_iss_in_pisces_animated Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:54:10 -0000 2009-02-07T20:54:10Z <p>Check out this wonderful capture of the ISS by Twitter Micro-blogger and <span class="bio">Amateur Astronomer</span> <a href="http://twitter.com/TaviGreiner">TaviGreiner</a>. The image shows the... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_crossing_moon_almost http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_crossing_moon_almost Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:01:55 -0000 2009-02-07T01:01:55Z <p>OK, so I printed out some detailed information from CalSky.com and set out around 4:00 pm today on a 10 mile trip through the mountains of northern Georgia. I reached the area where I had found ... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_crossing_moon http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_crossing_moon Fri, 06 Feb 2009 02:07:35 -0000 2009-02-06T02:07:35Z <p>According to <a title="http://www.calsky.com" href="http://www.calsky.com">CalSky.com</a> I will have the opportunity to capture the ISS as it crosses in front of the moon tomorrow afternoon aro... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_pass_near_venus_02_05_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_pass_near_venus_02_05_2009 Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:05:51 -0000 2009-02-06T01:05:51Z <p>Captured the ISS tonight as it passed near the mountains of northern Georgia. The animation is made from a series of four second exposures.</p> <p><img title="ISS Pass 02/05/2209" src="http://a... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_pleiades_and_iss http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_pleiades_and_iss Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:48:32 -0000 2009-02-04T00:48:32Z <p>Just captured the ISS as it passed over Talking Rock, GA, in the mountains of northern Georgia. Was a bit cloudy, but I think it turn out OK. Notice the Pleiades right next to the moon. ;)</p> ... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sun_01_31_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sun_01_31_2009 Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:07:08 -0000 2009-01-31T19:07:08Z <p>Took a few shots of the sun today, just for fun. Heh, there's nothing much going on at all. <img title="Undecided" src="static/js/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-undecided.gif" border="0" a... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/hubble_space_telescope_flyover_northern_georgia http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/hubble_space_telescope_flyover_northern_georgia Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:00:22 -0000 2009-01-29T02:00:22Z <p>So the wife and I bought a little cabin in the mountains of Northern Georgia, in the states. It's a wonderful place with super dark skies. I can finally view the Milky Way for the first time sin... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/lunar_rover_inaugural_parade_video http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/lunar_rover_inaugural_parade_video Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:31:25 -0000 2009-01-24T01:31:25Z <p>In case you might have missed the Lunar Rover driving past the new and improved President of the United States, <a href="http://wm.nasa-global.edgestreams.net/wm.nasa-global/exploration/NASAInau... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/the_sun_extra_large http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/the_sun_extra_large Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:09:11 -0000 2009-01-22T01:09:11Z <p>Took a few pictures of the sun today with my new Celestron Ultima 2x barlow lens. This is a great barlow, and I can't wait to get some lunar shots with it. Anyway, here's a mosaic of the sun fro... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/lunar_rover_in_the_inaugural_parade http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/lunar_rover_in_the_inaugural_parade Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:06:10 -0000 2009-01-22T00:06:10Z <p>I just love the pictures NASA released showing the Lunar Rover at the<span class="bold"> Inaugural Parade. Just look at these. I just love the smile on Obama's face as he looks at the Lunar Rove... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/a_boring_sun http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/a_boring_sun Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:16:03 -0000 2009-01-18T21:16:03Z <p>Still nothing happening today, not one sunspot to be had.</p> <p><img title="A Boring Sun" src="http://www.astroslacker.com/static/images/thumb_sun-20090118-001.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_capture_01_16_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/iss_capture_01_16_2009 Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:47:33 -0000 2009-01-17T02:47:33Z <p>Had a great opportunity to image the ISS as it flew Mobile, AL over tonight. It was an awesome sight, all the way from one horizon to the other. I was able to take a shot through my 6" reflect w... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_01_16_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_01_16_2009 Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:38:35 -0000 2009-01-17T02:38:35Z <p>I'm almost never awake early in the morning, so I never get shots like this. Furtunately, I pulled an all-nighter at work last night and was able to capture this early morning shot of a waxing b... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/a_cold_moon_shot_01_16_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/a_cold_moon_shot_01_16_2009 Fri, 16 Jan 2009 07:21:08 -0000 2009-01-16T07:21:08Z <p>Wow! A record low tonight, coldest it's been in six years. I almost didn't take this image, but then I would be missing one for this lunar cycle.</p> <p>Waning Gibbous, 68%:<br /><img title="Wa... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/moon_and_the_sun_01_15_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/moon_and_the_sun_01_15_2009 Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:03:14 -0000 2009-01-15T08:03:14Z Here's an interesting study, the sun from earlier today and the moon later in the evening. <img src="http://www.astroslacker.com/static/images/thumb_luna-sun-200901145-001.jpg"> <a href="http:/... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/my_first_iss_capture http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/my_first_iss_capture Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:15:09 -0000 2009-01-15T02:15:09Z I have been waiting to capture the ISS for a while now. I keep up with viewing opportunities via <a href="http://www.heavens-above.com">heavens-above.com</a> and <a href="http://www.calsky.com">cal... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/a_loney_place http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/a_loney_place Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:15:36 -0000 2009-01-14T19:15:36Z Continuing my collection of moon shots, I stepped out into the freezing cold last night to capture this image. A single frame (no stack or crop) of Luna in all (well most of anyway) her glory. <... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/the_network_nebula_aka_eastern_veil_nebula http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/the_network_nebula_aka_eastern_veil_nebula Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:39:56 -0000 2009-01-14T05:39:56Z Rob Hodgkinson, of South West England, is a very talented astrophotographer. So when I looked at one of his latest images I knew I had to post an article here on astroslacker.com. Just looking at t... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sun_01_13_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sun_01_13_2009 Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:27:49 -0000 2009-01-13T20:27:49Z Sunspot 1010 is no longer viewable for me with my white light filter. <img src="http://www.astroslacker.com/static/images/thumb_sun-20090113-001.jpg"> <a href="http://www.astroslacker.com/stati... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/solar_activity_by_peter_lawrence http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/solar_activity_by_peter_lawrence Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:39:14 -0000 2009-01-13T18:39:14Z If you have ever wondered why Solarscope filters are so expensive, or how they can justify the extreme price tag, I suppose you can start to understand a bit more by studying the following images t... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_01_12_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/luna_01_12_2009 Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:11:02 -0000 2009-01-13T11:11:02Z <img src="http://www.astroslacker.com/static/images/thumb_luna-20090112-001.jpg"> <a href="http://www.astroslacker.com/static/images/medium_luna-20090112-001.jpg">Medium</a> || <a href="http://www... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sunspot_1010_01_12_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sunspot_1010_01_12_2009 Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:48:30 -0000 2009-01-12T18:48:30Z Finally able to capture sunspot 1010 this morning. Though it's a small spot, I'm excited as this is my first sunspot capture! Annotated and cropped: <img src="http://www.astroslacker.com/static... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/perigee_plus_one http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/perigee_plus_one Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:46:39 -0000 2009-01-12T05:46:39Z Perigee Moon plus one day. <img src="http://www.astroslacker.com/static/images/thumb_perigee_plus_one-001.jpg"> <a href="http://www.astroslacker.com/static/images/medium_perigee_plus_one-001.jp... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sun_spot_1010_animation_and_coronal_hole http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/sun_spot_1010_animation_and_coronal_hole Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:30:10 -0000 2009-01-11T23:30:10Z On January 4th 2008 a reverse-polarity sunspot (about the size of the earth) appeared, signaling the start of Solar Cycle 24. <img src="http://www.astroslacker.com/static/images/thumb_solar-cycl... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/perigee_moon_halo http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/perigee_moon_halo Sun, 11 Jan 2009 07:48:37 -0000 2009-01-11T07:48:37Z Just stepped out back and captured a nice halo around the Perigee Moon. This shot was taken at ISO 200 with a 10 second exposure. <img src="http://www.astroslacker.com/static/images/thumb_perige... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/perigee_moon_01_10_2009_take_2 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/perigee_moon_01_10_2009_take_2 Sun, 11 Jan 2009 04:55:19 -0000 2009-01-11T04:55:19Z Just stacked 7 images in The Gimp. Much better detail in this one. ;) <img src="http://www.astroslacker.com/static/images/thumb_perigee-moon-20090110-002.jpg"> <a href="http://www.astroslacker.... http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/perigee_moon_01_10_2009 http://www.astroslacker.com/permalink/perigee_moon_01_10_2009 Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:15:09 -0000 2009-01-11T02:15:09Z Just after sunset and before the clouds rolled through I was able to snap this shot of the Perigee Moon. The image is taken with a Celestron Omni XLT 150 and Nikon D40 at prime focus. <img src="...