Ok, nothing whatsoever to do with pools..but we enjoy sharing the results of our "winter hobby". Admittedly, we can do this all year long, but winter often offers the best viewing conditions. 
How my son and I spent a pool-less winter. :)
- Thread starter gboulton
- Start date
Those are some really awesome pics!
Hope you reported those UFO's to the proper authority
Hope you reported those UFO's to the proper authority
Those are beautiful pics. What type/size of telescope did you use for these astrophotos?
When I saw Richard (chemgeek) post to the thread, I thought for sure he was going to name the galaxies in the pics. I was gonna' have to drive to California and poke him with a sharp stick if he did. 
Wow, thanks for all the comments, guys. Glad they're being enjoyed.
They are, in order:
Saturn
Caldwell 49, aka the Rosette Nebula
The Cone Nebula
The Leo Triplet comprised of M65 (Top right), M66 (Bottom Right) and NGC 3628 (aka the Hamburger Galaxy) on the left.
M51, aka the Whirlpool Galaxy
Thanks, guys!!
Thanks, Richard.
Saturn was done with a 6" Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain. The others were done with an Orion 80mm Carbon Fiber Triplet Apochromatic refractor. Both were mounted on a Celestron motorize german equatorial mount, with a 50mm guide-scope and autoguider rig on top.
Glad they're being enjoyed. woodyp said:
They are, in order:
Saturn
Caldwell 49, aka the Rosette Nebula
The Cone Nebula
The Leo Triplet comprised of M65 (Top right), M66 (Bottom Right) and NGC 3628 (aka the Hamburger Galaxy) on the left.
M51, aka the Whirlpool Galaxy
duraleigh said:
Butterfly said:
Thanks, guys!!
chem geek said:
Thanks, Richard.
Saturn was done with a 6" Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain. The others were done with an Orion 80mm Carbon Fiber Triplet Apochromatic refractor. Both were mounted on a Celestron motorize german equatorial mount, with a 50mm guide-scope and autoguider rig on top.
Thanks, Jaff, PAGirl, and Casey!
If you're really interested, you can do stuff like this for a lot less money than you think. I know folks who do some pretty stunning stuff with "just" a camera and nice lense.
You're welcome to swing by reddit and hit /r/astrophotography where I'm a mod. We'll be glad to help out.
PAGirl said:
If you're really interested, you can do stuff like this for a lot less money than you think.
I know folks who do some pretty stunning stuff with "just" a camera and nice lense.You're welcome to swing by reddit and hit /r/astrophotography where I'm a mod. We'll be glad to help out.
JohnN said:
Thanks, John!
If you're ever serious about looking, I highly recommend Orion. They deliver great bang for the buck, imo, and their service is exceptional. I've observed and shot through several brands, and unless you want to get into the truly high-end pro-quality gear, imo they are the best of the bunch.
If you want to go out and gaze at stuff, look into a Dobsonian. You'll get a truckload of aperture and light gathering for not a whole lot of money. They're not very suited for astrophotography for various reasons, but they sure can give you some amazing views of stuff that'll blow your mind.
If you want to take pictures, I can't say enough good things about the Orion 80mm I shoot. The craftsmanship is beyond superb, and it handles so many astrophotography targets with grace and ease. It's simply a stunning piece of equipment.
Very jealous. We have so much light pollution in my city that I can barely make out the big dipper at midnight with the naked eye!
thehowheels said:
Believe it or not, I shot all but 1 of those from just outside of Nashville...and one of our more prolific (and insanely talented) contributors over on Reddit shoots from inside Detroit city limits.
Just takes the right filters and knowing a few tricks.
I love me some good space pics! 
Very cool way to spend some quality time with your son.
Very cool way to spend some quality time with your son.
Thanks, Shane!
I'm pretty lucky. The 14yo daughter and almost 13yo son both have stuff they like doing with their old man...so, I'm blessed to have lots of chances to spend fun times with them.
I'm pretty lucky. The 14yo daughter and almost 13yo son both have stuff they like doing with their old man...so, I'm blessed to have lots of chances to spend fun times with them.
If you have a telescope, then Clear Sky Charts is your friend. It accurately predicts the expected viewing conditions and for those of us who live in metropolitan areas, it makes a big difference when the "Seeing" rating is better. Otherwise, the thermals in the air make viewing pretty fuzzy even with the best of telescopes. Winter skies have better viewing, but of course it's chilly. I've got a 10" Orion refractor and I will say it was a fantastic experience to see the rings of Saturn; the Orion Nebula is also pretty cool. However, you don't see the rich full-color of astrophotography without timed exposure through a camera so don't get your expectations set too high for real-time viewing.
Gboulton. Are we alone? I would like to think we're not.
If they would bring me back I would go for that ride !!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If they would bring me back I would go for that ride !!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Seconded.chem geek said:
In the sense that nobody else is watching us, or cares about us yet...yeah, I think so. I doubt anyone's interested in what Doug Adams rightly called "an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea..." :lol:pwrstrk said:
In the sense of "Are we the only life out there?" I can't even begin to imagine that we are. The odds are just staggeringly infinitesimally small that there's not others out there somewhere.
Ya know...I'd probably go even if they wouldn't.
Ever read Clarke's Childhood's End? I'd have been Jan... 
