Messages

136

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: August 04, 2017, 06:04:57 PM »

Hi Bill !
The quote attributed to Blake got my attention.  As a Door's fan I was familiar with the quote and that it was attributed to Jim Morrison.   This link http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/11/17/rock-doors-between/ suggests it should be attributed to Ray Manzarek an erudite member of the Doors!

137

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: August 02, 2017, 03:33:42 PM »

NEW SUNSPOT GROUP!
The sun has been quite quiet these days.  But today I noticed a small sunspot group rotating into view as shown below.  The SOHO imaging link https://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html is a nice way to check on the daily changes on the sun.
Edit: Photo file reduced in size to better  view.

138

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: July 23, 2017, 02:14:15 PM »

Seeing wasn't too bad at 8:50 pm or so last night and Jupiter looked OK.  When I got back indoors I noticed we were in the midst of a power outage!  The local (S.E. Rochester) light pollution was noticeably less ... but maybe we have to be a little careful of what we wish and pray for!!!

139

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: July 22, 2017, 08:56:01 PM »

Looks like skies will be OK in an hour or so (now 8:48 pm) in Rochester.  Not much wind but the humidity is high and the temp is forecast to be dropping and so might not be the best seeing conditions.  I'll take a look at Jupiter and Saturn in 30 minutes or so to get an idea.  If you do go to the Pine Island site let me know; otherwise I'll be staying at my home observing site (which is not quite a dark sky site) but you are welcome to come over. (3441 Arlington Lane SE, Rochester MN)
Bob

140

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: July 17, 2017, 11:40:49 AM »

Hoping the skies are clear and steady next weekend as I'd like to go to EB again.
Seeing wasn't great this am and Venus is a tougher target to image without some filtering.  It's gibbous phase does show up well but any atmospheric detail (at least in my images) are artifacts of processing.
Bob

141

General Discussion / Re: Walden Observatory ROR Build Under Way!

« on: July 14, 2017, 12:40:09 PM »

Exciting news and a great photo.  What kind of scope will you be setting up?
Bob

142

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: June 21, 2017, 03:28:54 PM »

Yet another Jupiter shot, this one with the GRS rotating into view.  Flipped vertically so the terminator is on the right.  Believe that's the moon Io on the right.

143

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: June 20, 2017, 12:35:52 AM »

Io, Europa and Europa's shadow on Jupiter are shown in the stacked image below.

144

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: June 15, 2017, 07:09:58 PM »

For those of us wanting a precise polar axis alignment to true north (about 43' away from Polaris) tonight is the night for using Clay's Kochab Clock!  I am posting the link in this forum note.  The alignment should be done around 9 pm tonight June 15th.
Here's the link: http://arksky.org/Kochab.htm
I'll test it first.
Bob
It worked for me but google-it if it doesn't for you.
BTW this link and method is already included on the RAC web page under the 'Resources' tab.

145

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: June 15, 2017, 11:44:52 AM »

Thanks Randy.  Couldn't miss the opposition of Saturn earlier today as the skies were clear (although the seeing was only fair to good).  Just after midnight conditions were good although the humidity was high.  The B ring was especially bright and Cassini division was visible almost all around the globe. A 2 GB video was used for the photo which was again processed with Registax 6.

146

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: June 07, 2017, 08:23:51 AM »

Still learning how to use Registax 6 with the Orion 5MP camera.  Online tutorials on You Tube help a lot.  Jupiter was a good target last evening with the Red Spot in good position.  Seeing conditions at 8:56 pm were pretty good and a 2 GB video was taken and stacked in Registax 6, a free program.

147

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: June 06, 2017, 12:52:01 PM »

Hi John!
Photoshop Elements is a stripped down version of Photoshop.  It's not like Photoshop CS.  It's also a lot less expensive than Photoshop or Photoshop CS.  I have been using Photoshop Elements (PE) for the last 12 years or so and think it's great.  If you are a enthusiast and not a professional in the publishing field than PE is for you.  As with all programs there is a learning curve to negotiate but its easier with PE.  I use version 14.0 and don't have a need to upgrade to the latest version 15.0.  You should be able to find it online for about 60 -90 dollars.
Bob

148

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: June 06, 2017, 11:30:23 AM »

Io and Europa were quite close last night, kinda like a wide double star in appearance.  Over an hour and a half or so moon movement with respect to each other could be noticed.  Seeing conditions were fair.  The image attached was taken around 10:35.  Some image stacking was used for Jupiter and the moons were recorded on a single image with Jupiter overexposed. All was put together in Photoshop Elements.

149

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: June 05, 2017, 04:07:01 PM »

Thanks Jim!   With the moon approaching full but the skies being clear Jupiter, Saturn and Venus (and possibly nearby Uranus) remain good targets!
Bob

150

General Discussion / Re: Observing tonight?

« on: June 02, 2017, 10:29:08 AM »

Two clear nights in a row!  A June 1st observation of Jupiter appears below.  Jupiter was from a video with 47 images stacked in RegiStax6 to reduce noise.  A single, overexposed tif image was used for the moons.  I couldn't get my Starry Night program to show the moons and the planet like they appeared in the eyepiece and camera; the moons were shown on the other side of Jupiter but the red spot was as shown below??? in Starry Night.