Gosh I sure hope skies start clearing up everywhere. Here the skies are clear some days but the moisture is so thick. I had my SCT out for a few hours to cool down and put a paper bag over it. When I went out the bag was drenched. Luckily there was no moisture on the corrector plate. I was able to use the scope for only about 15 min and took it inside. Now to the subject at hand. Over the past year there have been only 4 members active on this site which is a travesty--Gabby, Reggie, Ed... Happy New Year Everyone ..read more

I found this video of the eclipse on YT by Thierry Legault from Spain. It's best viewed at .25x to see the subtle dimming of Betelgeuse: I notice the dimming around the 5-second mark, peaking at about 10 seconds, and recovering by the 14-second mark ..read more

Depending on where you live, you may be able to see Betelgeuse eclipsed by an asteroid Monday night at 8:17 p.m. EDT. In the United States, observers in South Florida (namely Miami and the Keys) will be in line to see it. Others can watch it online via the Virtual Telescope Project from Italy. Here's the story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/08/eclipse-asteroid-betelgeuse-star/71849625007/ I'm not quite in the zone but I'll be out there anyway ..read more

The year 2023 has not been a very good year for me realted to anything astro. Weather has been consistently bad day and night where I live in Miami, Florida. It also seems life has been particularly demanding this year as well. But, there were occasions when everything seemed to come together and I was able to capture something worthwhile. These are my better images of 2023: View attachment 8297 Orion's Sword and Nebula - January 1, 2023 View attachment 8301 Comet C 2022... My 2023 Astro Photo Showcase ..read more

It's been a productive year for me and astrophotography and I need your help in choosing my best photo of the year. You can only choose one: Mars (ASI 224mc) View attachment 8283 Comet ZTF (prime focus) View attachment 8284 The Orion Nebula (prime focus) View attachment 8285 Venus & Jupiter conjunction (prime focus) View attachment 8286 Venus clouds in UV (Astromania filter, ASI 224mc) View attachment 8289 Saturn (ASI 224mc) View attachment 8292 ... Looking for my Best Astrophoto of 2023 ..read more

It was quite a challenge, but I was up for it, and with a clear night calling I couldn't resist! Same setup: 180mm Mak, ASI 224mc, Celestron 2x Barlow, Firecapture, Registax 6, and Photoshop. The most difficult part was getting such a dim target (especially using Barlow) onto the sensor: View attachment 8281 For comparison, here is the recent image of Uranus using the same setup: View attachment 8282 To the ice giants! Reggie ..read more

Here are some prime focus images of Uranus over the past few years in conjunction with some other famous luminaries. I used my Orion 127mm Mak and Nikon D3200: View attachment 8274 View attachment 8275 ..read more

View attachment 8278 Just two weeks ago I was down to two scopes and one mount. Today I have 5 scopes and 5 mounts. My wife said I am nuts. My latest one, which I got yesterday morning, my wife did not notice. I put a bag over the scope so it would not be so obvious...LOL. Like the unknown comic... I was hard to hide this puppy View attachment 8276 View attachment 8277 ..read more

It is that wonderful time of year here where as the sun sets, the ground fog starts to appear. When people say it is clear out that just means the fog has thinned out so you can see 100 metres. Oh well, gives me time to do baking for the holidays I guess ..read more

I never tried very hard to image Uranus except when it was in conjunction with a much brighter planet using my DSLR. This particular night I decided to try my luck with the ASI 224mc/Orion 180mm Mak combo. Getting the tiny disc of light on the sensor (and with a Barlow, no less) was a bit of a challenge but doable. I wasn't expecting to get any detail but hopefully a well-resolved bluish-green disc. I think I succeeded: View attachment 8273 ..read more