By: Sam Pitts (samsastro.com)
Image of Jupiter taken with a Celestron C14 at f/27
Image of Jupiter Taken with Celestron C14 at f/27 with ZWO ASI120MC camera. FeatherTouch focuser and Starizona MicroTouch Autofocuser. Taken near Anza, California at 4200′. Several imaging runs averaging 1.2 GB of data then processed & graded. Best images used in final processing. Thousands of frames stacked using AutoStakkkert, RegiStax6 & Photoshop 6.
Transit of Mercury across the Sun 11/11/2109 8:23:53 am (PT)
The small dot is Mercury 1/2 way out to the 2 O’clock position from center.
Next Mercury Transit won’t occur until 2032
Orbital period 87.97 days, it is tidally locked to the Sun like our Moon is to Earth. Only one side of Mercury always faces the Sun. It is only safe to look at Mercury when it is away from the Sun and Only after the sun has completely set or before it starts to rise! Always Use appropriate, Commercially made Sun Filters for viewing at any other time.
Average on temperature on Mercury during the day is 800 degrees F and at night drops to -300 F. Mercury stays 35,980,000 miles from the Sun (Earth is 93,000,000 miles)
I Mars Images 09/05/2005,captured using A Phillips ToUcam. The imaging platform consisted of a Celestron 11″ Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope and Losmandy G11 mount. The fourteen avi files (video clips) of Mars were finally captured after several hours of work. Registax was used to process the video avi files. Registax is able to select the best frames and because of this a sharper image of Mars is possible. The processing in Registax vastly increases the signal to noise level so sharper images are possible. This was my 1st attempt to image Mars with a Webcam. It is amazing how stacking images compensated for Earth’s turbulent atmosphere.
The Mars Images 09/05/2005, were taken from a Dark Site called “Eagles Rest”, South of Dexter, Or.; 2557′.
Mars orbits our Sun in 687 earth days at an average distance of 142 million miles. a day on mars lasts 24 hours 37 minutes. This fourth planet from the Sun has a diameter of only 4,220 miles thus having .375 the gravity of Earth. Mars more distant than Earth from the Sun because of this, it’s average surface temperature is -81 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mars offer the possibility of colonization, therefore NASA is vigorously exploring Mars.
Saturn video taken with a Phillips ToUcam through a Celestron 11″ SCT at f/25 on a Losmandy G11 mount. Dark Sky site South of Dexter, Oregon with 6+ magnitude skies at 2512′. Over 7000 frames processed in Registax, final image 413 frames. This was my 1st attempt at imaging Saturn with a Web Camera.
The photo of Orion was taken with slide film from a Dark Sky location near Dexter, Oregon. Canon F1 camera, 50mm f/1.4 lens with Elite Chrome 200 film for 8 minutes and pushed processed. The Camera was piggybacked on a Losmandy G 11 Mount and manually guided through a telescope.
Orion is a constellation near the celestial equator and dominated by bright stars, it is certainly one of the most prominent and recognized constellations. Orion depicts a Hunter from Greek Mythology with the two most noteworthy stars being Rigel (blue-white) & Betelgeuse (Red Giant).
Observations of Orion back to 32,000 years and probably further. In Ancient Egypt, Orion was a God and certainly is prevalent in many cultures of the past. Some theories suggest the pyramids were fashioned after the belt stars of Orion, likewise the Nile Rivers depicts the Milky Way.