Experiencing [L|N]ight

Search This Blog

Acros from Calstar 2013

October 19, 2013

Get link
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

I shot a mess of Acros 100 at Calstar this year. Many pictures of people.

Get link
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

Comments

Losmandy G11 Gears and Stiction

I've been peeling onions in the backyard these past nights. Based on some questions from Marek and Carl, they were experiencing strange DEC behavior when guiding near Sadr during August. I felt that much of the problem was due to tracking through the Zenith where scope balance is most ineffective at keeping DEC meshed. Since I'd moved onto the problem after handling some of the earlier questions about Gemini systems and getting the camera cooling nailed down, my current target is the same region as the problem area. I quickly saw similar DEC jumping as bad as what Marek was experiencing.

Calibration tips for the Pentax K10D

Interesting things that I've learned over the years for calibrating astro-images with my Pentax K10D camera. The Pentax K10D camera is an older design, released back in 2006 when Pentax was an independent company. Since then, it has passed through the hands of Hoya and now is a part of Hitachi. I'm not sure of what will happen with the Pentax name, but for now, it remains an independent brand. As some context for why I'm using Pentax for my astrophotos, the short answer is "use what you have." The long answer is that I already had an investment in old glass and wanted to continue to use it.

Orion ST80 Collimation

I've been following some tips online regarding tuning up the Orion ST80 budget telescope. Here are the links I've been following: http://www.acchapman.com/astro/80mmfun/pieces.htm http://www.billsastro.com/Astronomy/Equipment/Telescope%20Folder/ST80/orion_short_tube_80.htm Major steps taken: Blackened the edges of the lenses. Pretty easy, just remove the retaining ring and drop out the lenses. Darken the edges with a Sharpie. Cleaned the lenses with microfiber rag with Methanol. This is my preferred method for lens cleaning. Does a nice job of removing fingerprints and pollen. When inserting the lenses, I made sure that they were seated squarely by rapping the scope body while holding it upright. Gravity ensured that the lenses rested solidly against the cell. Collimated using airy ring test with my 7mm Nagler. Even with two extension tubes, it didn't have enough travel to bring it to focus, so I had to let the extensions out a bit more. I found that th

Powered by Blogger

Acros from Calstar 2013

Comments

Post a Comment