Advanced Imaging Conference 2011

Three weeks ago I attended the 2011 Advanced Imaging Conference in Santa Clara, CA. If you really want to improve your astrophotographs this is the conference to attend . Lots of great speakers and many vendor exhibits.

Check it out in 2012, the rates are very reasonable with lots of activities for the family. Here's the link to their website: AIC Website

Dark sky sites - Summer Lake, Oregon

Continuing with a re-occuring theme in this blog -- another dark sky site for astronomy. Summer Lake, located in southeast Oregon, maybe one of the darkest sites in the Pacific Northwest! It is a seasonal lake blessed with three mountain ranges that provide an extensive rain shadow. The lake has three campgrounds. Two are located at the north end of the lake, with the third campground at the southern tip of the lake. The third campground, Summer Lake Hot Springs, has a spring-fed bath house as a bonus!

The skies are absolutely great, with no light domes visible on the horizon and the humidity is non-existent. The only real draw-back to this site is it's distance from civilization, the nearest large city is Bend, Oregon, 90 miles to the northwest. But that's also why the skies are so dark :-)

Earth Hour next Saturday (March 27th 8:30pm)

Don't forget to turn your lights off (and everything else) on Saturday, March 27th for Earth Hour 2010. It may be symbolic, but it shows your support for action against Climate Change.

With health care reform done it will be back on Congress' radar screen soon.

Is the movie Avatar a game changer? You bet it is ...

Saw James Cameron's new movie Avatar this weekend. I can say without reservation that the technology used to produce the movie is game changing. I have never seen such a seamless use of CGI and 3D technologies. Cameron has set the bar high for future Sci-Fi epics. Only one question, can we afford 500 million dollar movies?
One other stand-out feature of the movie was Cameron's attention to detail. Aircraft actually looked used, the gas giant that Pandora orbited had a fast rotational rate, dust and vapor added to the realism.

Green Bank Star Party

Almost finished with the Green Bank Star Party. The star party is located at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. The campground for the party sits in the shadow of the GBT (Green Bank Radio Telescope), the largest steerable radio telescope in the world. This thing is huge! You could drop two football fields inside of it!

The NRAO cafeteria serves great food, we have free showers, and great speakers. The bad news is almost every night has been cloudy. Hopefully tonight (Saturday) will be better.

North pole expedition looking for signs of climate change

A British team is on the arctic ice this Spring looking for signs of climate change. The Catlin Arctic Survey will be trying to determine if the Arctic ice cap is breaking up and if it is, put a solid time frame on the break up. To this end, the three team members, Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels, and Martin Hartley will be out on the ice from February to about May. They will be carrying a ground-penetrating radar that allows the expedition to measure ice thickness and composition.

You can follow the survey at the Catlin Artic Survey's website.

Sanyo solar modules arrive!

The photo-voltaic (solar) power system is now sitting in my garage! Hopefully, when the weather breaks on Thursday, Dave Cozine and crew can get them installed. Here's a photo of the modules.

[caption id="attachment_82" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Sanyo 200 watt modules arrive"][/caption]

For each of the 10 modules (200 watt x 10 = 2,000 watts) there is an Enphase grid-tie inverter. Unlike most systems where there is a single, central inverter, the Enphase converts 32vdc to 240vac at the solar panel. If you lose an inverter you only lose the output from one module. Here's a photo.

[caption id="attachment_81" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Photograph of Enphase grid-tie power inverter "][/caption]

2008 Oregon Star Party

The 2008 Oregon Star Party was great! Some of the best viewing conditions I've ever seen. Good speakers, good friends, and great weather, OSP at its best. There was a threat of forest fires just before the event, but rain and cooler temperatures finished off the fires. I finally got my Pentax 75mm setup to work well and it delivered great wide-field photos. The photos will be in the gallery soon.

It's been a loonngg time!

Since my last post:( Truly both the web site and blog need attention. The kids are getting older and more independent -- that may help. The Two Cats Observatory is up and running, so check that one off the list. Maybe some day I'll catch up to the list:-)

Check out the POD from Google Earth:



Bill C.

2007 Table Mountain Star Party

The 2007 Edition of the Table Mountain Star Party was definitely a
roller-coaster ride. The dips included inconsistent weather (windy and
cloudy) and a Kendrick Astronomy tent that failed within 24 hours of its
first use (fortunately Kendrick has arranged for a replacement tent
pole). The highs included meeting old friends, some excellent
astrophotography, a great speaker list, and finally figuring out the
complexities of astrophotography software.

The speaker list included three "stand-out" speakers. The first was
Gary Seronik, associate editor of Sky and Telescope, who gave an
excellent talk on binocular astronomy. If you haven't tried using
binoculars for astronomy you're missing a real treat. Almost everyone
owns at least one pair of binoculars making it one of the most
accessible ways to start into astronomy. And some objects (M44, M31, and
the Pleiades) just look better in the wide field that a binocular
provides. Gary elaborated on these points and more. He also provided a
nice obscure target list for the evening's viewing.

The next speaker of note was John Dobson. John is the inventor of the
Dobsonian mount. John is now 93 years old, but he is as opinionated and sharp-minded as ever!

The third speaker was Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, former Space Shuttle astronaut and current Director of the Seattle Museum of Flight. She gave wonderful insights into the Space Shuttle program and the future of U.S. manned space flight.

Link to Table Mountain Star Party Site

The SkyShed Pod arrives!

The SkyShed Pod odyssey has ended! On Thursday, July 5th, a Old Dominion freight truck pulled up in front of my house and disgorged many large cardboard boxes containing the POD.



Fortunately, all contents arrived in good order and without damage. After passing the large boxes off to local children (box forts!), construction of the POD began in the backyard. The lower walls were a snap to assemble. Wayne, Farhat, and SPI have done their homework! Hard work really began with the dome assembly. The dome halves are really a two person job (I did it myself, but don't recommend it!) to assemble. When it comes to placing the domes halves on the wall please do yourself a favor -- find a helper, maybe two helpers.

In any event, within 24 hours, I had an assembled POD.



Watch for more information on this exciting product.

My SkyPod XL3 ships!

Received the news I've been waiting for from Wayne of SkyShed. My POD has shipped! Apparently Wayne has had assorted problems with parts suppliers, probably not unusual for a new product. With any luck the POD will arrive before the Table Mountain Star party.

I just finished upgrading the solar panels on my Lazy Daze RV which gives me a spare 85 watt solar panel for the POD and its equipment. The panel will feed a 90 aH deep-cycle battery that in turn will run the telescope mount, cameras, and laptop. All I have to do is wire it all up :-)

BTW, if you're ever looking for solar power equipment, check out Amsolar. Great kits and great support. Their address is: http://www.amsolar.com .

SkyPod Odyssey continues ...

While I wait for Wayne Parker and SkyShed to finish my XL3 pod (a 3 pod bay version) there's plenty to do. One of the major projects is the installation of a 100' network cable out to the pod's location. The install required digging a trench and laying a underground conduit for the cable. One end terminates in a yard shed near the pod and the other end inside my house. The cable pulling under the house required a trip into the crawl-space under the house -- YUCKK!

Anyway the cable is pulled and ready to go. Now I just need the pod :-)

The SkyPOD odyssey begins...

Actually the odyssey to bring a SkyShed POD began in June 2006 when I saw the first POD ad on AstroMart. That was the beginning of a long wait for the POD to go into production. Well the wait ended on April 3rd and I now have one on order :-) I'll be blogging a bit more often now as I follow my POD's travels to my backyard.

What is a POD? It is probably the most innovative small observatory to come along in years. Check out this link for details: http://www.skyshedpod.com/.

A Year in the Life of the Universe -- Robert Gendler's stunning new astrophotography book

All I can say is WOW! Robert Gendler's new book is a piece of work! For those of you who haven't heard of Robert Gendler just take a peak at the year end photo specials that the astronomy magazines publish. He's sure to be in there. His work is also featured frequenty on the Astronomy Picture of the Day website.

But back to the book. The book is your basic coffee table picture book with a brief discussion of each photograph. I only wish there was more technical information on each photograph (exposure, equipment used). The book can be purchased at the Sky and Telescope online store or at Barnes and Nobles booksellers stores. If you're serious about astrophotography this is a must have purchase!

For more information on Robert check out his website.

Televue Paracorr

Want to make your inexpensive dobsonian reflector perform like an instrument that costs twice as much? The Televue Paracorr is the best addition you can make to your reflector's eyepiece collection. Look through a typical reflector's eyepiece and you'll see a nice central image, but the closer you get to the edge you'll see an effect called coma. It's particularly bad with inexpensive, fast (f5.0 or less) dobsonian reflectors. Put this corrector in front of your eyepiece that'll all go away and you'll have nice round pin-point stars. :-)

Click here for an image of the Paracorr.

Dark Sky Sites -- Greenwater, WA

As promised, the Greenwater, WA area is the next in my list of dark sky sites. Greenwater is a small town on highway 410 on the way to Crystal Mountain Ski Resort and Mount Rainier National Park. It is only 45 minutes from my house in Auburn, WA, but, due to the mountainous terrain, has some great dark skies. Hopefully you noticed that I said "area." Greenwater is the gateway to a vast complex of forest roads. Intermingled in the forest are old clear-cuts giving great access to the sky in all directions.

The real fun begins when you travel about 2 miles to the east of Greenwater. On your right will be forest road 70. FR70 takes you into the heart of the Mount Baker - Snoqualmie National forest around the Greenwater river valley. Like I mentioned there are any number of clear cuts that could be used for astronomy -- the trick is finding them. Google Earth is an excellent way to find sites before you travel to the forest. But for starters try following FR70 until you reach FR7030. It'll be on your right and it crosses the Greenwater river. Follow FR7030 until you reach FR7036. FR7036 follows a ridge line that is approx. 5,000 to 6,000 feet in altitude with a large number of clearings. The location you use for observing is up to you :-)

Here's a Google map link to the area: Link to Greenwater area

M31 from a Greenwater mountaintop:
One thing to note. This is a remote area with mountain weather. Prepare yourself accordingly!

The New Astro Zone System for Astro Imaging

Ever wanted a thorough step-by-step guide to processing your astrophotographs in Adobe Photoshop, well Ron Wodaski just answered your prayers! Ron's previous book, "The New CCD Astronomy", has become a classic among astrophotographers and now he's followed it up with "The New Astro Zone System for Astro Imaging".

This book covers image processing after the calibration and combining phase that's typically done in programs, such as, MaximDL. Ron covers bringing out fine, dim details, removing gradients, fixing bloated stars, and refining color balance. The book also comes with a DVD filled with excellent examples.

For more information check out Ron's website at The New CCD Astronomy

Table Mountain Star Party 2006

Life at 6,350 feet can be very good, especially when a big high pressure system settles over the Ellensburg, WA area. It was time for the 2006 edition of the annual Table Mountain Star Party and my family and I were determined to get a good spot by arriving Monday afternoon (the event starts officially on Thursday). The spot we chose overlooked Ellensburg, WA, but was clear in all directions. The first night the temperature plummeted to 36 degrees with a stiff wind. Not ideal astrophotography conditions! Still I managed some wide-field sky shots and decided it was a good night to catch some Zs.

Tuesday dawned with crystal clear blue skies -- an excellent day for a hike to Lion's rock. The hike to Lion's rock allowed ample opportunity for wild flower photography and conversation with other astronomers. Tuesday night was the first of 5 excellent nights for astronomy. With the wind gone it was non-stop astrophotography!

By Wednesday the Table Mountain site was rapidly filling up. The big dobsonian reflectors had begun to dot the main scope field. These beasts of the amateur astronomy world can have mirrors as large as 40 inches! By Thursday the speakers tent went into action. One of the strengths of TMSP is its ready access to the University of Washington. This year Dr. Brownlee of the NASA Stardust project was the UW highlight. Dr. Brownlee was like a proud father discussing his successful Stardust comet return mission. But the star speaker didn't come until Saturday night, David Levy. David Levy, of comet Shoemaker-Levy fame, gave a great talk on the passion of his life, astronomy.

One of the great things about star parties is meeting new friends. Jim, Ed, Kerri and Mark, where just a few of those new friends. I hope to see them next year at TMSP!

Dark Sky Sites - Scooteney Reservoir

One of the problems plaguing today's amateur astronomer is light pollution. Sometimes a little travel is in order to solve this problem. In this post and in future ones I'll try to identify dark sky sites in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. If you know of such a site feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.

Scooteney Reservoir is a nicely maintained BLM campground 17 miles southeast of Othello, WA on state route 17. The skies are very dark and the campground has minimal lighting. Better yet the horizons are very open (high desert has its advantages!) and camping is only $15 a night. The campsites are flat and grassy with little dust.

During the day there are ample opportunities for hiking, watersports, and fishing. Here's a Google Maps link:

Google Maps Link to Scooteney