Hoping for an upgraded Donald C. Martin Observatory

Behind the scenes there is work ongoing to lead to an upgraded Donald C. Martin Observatory at Huntington High School. How I hope this upgrade comes true. It would represent a fantastic scientific and artistic opportunity for the students of Cabell County, and hopefully be extended to the entire region. As part of the pitch for the upgrade, our local astronomers have been gathering images taken with the current equipment to show others what the instruments are capable of achieving. I only have two images for the submission and Brent Maynard is providing several more. If you are in a position to support the potential upgrades to the observatory, I encourage you to do so wholeheartedly.

Below are the two images I submitted as a part of the upgrade proposal. Fingers crossed!

The Great Orion Nebulae.

Dust lanes of the core of the Great Andromeda Galaxy.

First Light with Canon Ra-Image and Video

Hello astro friends.

Canon had to go and make a full frame astro-modified camera! I was just settling in with my Sony and was perfectly happy. But, I definitely have a soft spot in my heart for Canon as the only world-wide major camera manufacturer who provides the astronomical community a very cool product.

I have a two-part video on my youtube channel which I will embed below. I explain the benefits and zonks of the Canon and share some pixel peeping insight.

My Redcat/iOptron Sky Guider Pro mount is my easiest to setup for testing. And this is exactly what I did last week during some windows of clear sky opportunity. The image below is a compilation of around 90 separate 3 minute exposures stacked to reduce noise at ISO 1600. I did layer in some previously captured H-alpha data of the Horsehead nebula to add more signal and reduce noise.

Next time you look up at Orion’s Belt and Sword area, just imaging this cloud of gas and dust beyond human vision.

For details on image acquisition, please see my astrobin page by clicking here.

Orion’s Belt and Sword. Click for larger presentation.

I apologize for low sound, please adjust volume.

California Gallery

In October I had an opportunity to visit some of my favorite locations in and around southeast California and a few new ones as well. You can check out my video linked in the blog that takes you on the journey with me. Here are some of the images from the trip. The Sony A7RIII and Venus Laowa 15mm f2 and Sony f4 24-105mm G lenses are fantastic. I use the Venus 15mm mostly for astroscapes. The f2 and 15mm really deliver. The edges aren’t perfect, but stars are a very difficult test for lenses. I hope you enjoy the images and drop me a note.

Badwater Twilight

Badwater Milky Way.

High Dynamic Range demonstrated with a blend from the Sony A7RIII. Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells.

Trona Pinnacles and Milky Way

Rhyolite Bank and Milky Way

Dante’s Twilight

California Nebula in Perseus (NGC 1499)

I just love my ultimate portable astrophoto setup. It was clear on Thursday evening and it took just a few minutes to setup in the driveway to capture the California nebula. This nebula lies 1,500 light years away and stretches for over 100 light years in length. Still looking for the West Virginia nebula.

For acquisition detailed images please see my astrobin page.

Please click on image for larger presentation.

Clear skies!

California Photography Trip

Hello and welcome to the blog. Last October my company had a meeting in Las Vegas. Ian of Lonely Speck announced a meet up at Trona Pinnacle the weekend before my trip! Amazing timing and so photographic planning was under way for an early arrival into Vegas and visiting one of my favorite locations: Death Valley. This video presents highlights from the trip. Check it out if you have a few minutes and don’t miss photographing anywhere in California if given the opportunity.