Saturday - I kind of threw my lower back out, so not much going on. Mostly just watched TV.
You'll note there is no photo of Uranus below. That's because I
couldn't find it using the camera viewfinder. I might try finding it
first, then engaging the scope drive, then changing out the eyepiece
holder for the camera holder, but suspect that the operation will move
the scope enough to move the planet out of the field of view. Or, find
Jupiter, then count revolutions of the slo-motion controls to find
Uranus, then repeat with the camera attached.
There is a need to read up on how to use the DSLR for astrophotography. Google is my friend...
Neptune is somewhere in the sky too, but without a finder scope I doubt I can find it.
Friday 24
September
2010
Friday
- working on the s/w.
Some months ago I found myself working near Scope City in Simi
Valley. I stopped in and bought a T-Adapter and Adapter Ring for my
Canon Rebel Xt (350D). Somehow they never got used, but after seeing
the size and brilliance of Jupiter a few days ago I dug them up and
tried them out.
Prime focus is fairly hard. The camera is hooked directly to the back
of the telescope, which acts as a very long lens, 1000mm in the case of
the Celestron. One must focus through the camera viewfinder, which is very
small and in an awkward attitude, not quite straight up. Get the focus
right is difficult, and then one has to play with the exposure time and
stuff. Jupiter and the Moon are the easiest targets in the world,
fortunately for me!
Jupiter & the four Galilean satellites
Moon.
These images are resized, but Jupiter is about 90 pixels wide in the
original image, which should be more than enough to pick out the belts
and details. Which can't be seen. Suspecting this was a washout effect,
I took images at shorter and shorter exposures, but even when short
enough that the moons did not show (1/100) there is only a hint of
detail. It occurred to me later that I was photographing in JPEG,
rather than RAW, and I'm not sure that the other settings - in-camera
smoothing & such - were correct either.
Still, not bad for the first try!
Thursday 23 September 2010
Thursday
-working away on the script.
Wednesday 22 September 2010
Wednesday
- met with the client in the morning, then headed back north in the
afternoon. More programming tasks have been set, but we are coming to
the end of this particular project soon.
Tuesday 21 September
2010
Tuesday
- working.
Went to see "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in the evening, with a former
roommate. It was a decent enough Disney style movie.
Monday
20 September
2010
Monday
- down to Ventura and work! Picked up some data to exercise the script
with.
Gray and overcast - gloomy weather here, in contrast to the bright high
desert sun.
Book #63 was Odd Hours, the fourth and last (as of this date) in the Odd Thomas series. It was OK, but clearly the author is setting things up for a looonnnngg
(and no doubt profitable) series, and is beginning to introduce other
plot elements that, to me, distract from the OT stories quirky
attraction. Ah well.
Sunday 19 September_2010
Sunday
- working away, getting ready to head down to Ventura tomorrow.
I did go out in the evening and look at Jupiter with the Celestron.
Very nice, even from my suburban patio! And then, just a degree or so
away, Uranus! I've seen this planet before, but just as a dot in
smaller telescopes. With the 8" you can clearly resolve the disk,
though there were no belts or details to be seen. Still, very cool!
Picture of
the Week
Photo
Notes:
The view from my boat in the morning.
