All Blog Posts (157)

I've been working around the clock these days, quite literally. For nearly 3 years I've not had a chance to go to a dark sky outing, or take any pictures. The gear is getting dusty and my knowledge of how to run it getting rusty.

My friend Scott is moving to Nashville in a few weeks and wanted to go to Indian Trail Spring one last time before he goes. I needed a break bad. Get some rest, get some viewing in, and get some killer bro time. The timing for going to ITS couldn't have been…

What happened to AstroGab over the last 3 weeks or so. It just vanished from the web.

It's been a really long time since I last posted. I was falling out of astronomy for a long time and recently got back into it. This reignition is especially thanks to getting a channel on NightSkiesNetwork.

The plastic observatory shed is gone, had to throw it out since the apartment complex started re-decorating the exterior. The new mantra is to not be lazy with the astronomy. I re-arranged the interior of my apartment, shifting computer and TV into the bedroom. The main area is…

SkyView Acres September 2015



It's a real treat to go out in September. Would be even more of a treat to go out in January! But having the fall objects nice and high and the winter objects rising a bit it real nice.



I don't think I'll go back to SkyView Acres in July, August or September as the wasps out there are so bad it really takes the relaxation out of the daytime. I was cooped up in the RV again. Booo!



Even still, I had some wonderful…

Yours Sincerely from Science Chemical Engineer

and Computer Science Graduate and ASTRONOMY Magazine December 1982 Astro--Imager Photographer "Mr. Jules M. Vieira or Jules Vieira, of Oakville, Ontario, Canada:

Astronomy Magazine December 1982 Schmidt Cassegrain Astro Imager Signed on August 28th, 2015: Astronomy December 1982 BackIssues Schmidt Cassegrain Astro-- Imager Photographer:: Jules Vieira the 496th Member of Astro Gab…

Five wonderful nights at Indian Trail Spring. Bortle 1 goodness!



Although the first two nights were spotted with clouds and haze that made imaging pretty pointless, so I left them covered. Poor guys sat for 2 nights not even polar aligned. Friends and neighbors tried their hand at imaging, but I'm not sure if anyone got anything decent. It did make me wish I brought my lenses though as some haze can be a friend for wide-field imaging as it makes what can be appealing diffused…

Under a Bortle 2 sky with friends. 3 nights, but one was a bust with haze or likely smoke from a local fire. I wanted to be at the other location we frequent, but unfortunately it was closed due to large fires in the area. So, the fact that I got 2 decent nights was far better then getting nothing at all.

SkyView Acres is a good spot because it's closer in (only 2.5 hour drive) and nice paved roads all the way to the location. The downside is that there are many distant lights…

It was great to see Neal Heacock "back in the saddle" - and for 4 straight nights! Watching him at work it seemed like he hadn't been away at all.

The skies were not great on any of the 4 nights, but most of us were shooting things barely above the southern horizon because around here this is the only chance we get to shoot them. Well, this year July should be good also.

There were 7 people (all imagers) and most stayed all 4 nights. Skill levels ranged from "master" (Neal) to…

So I've been at this dark sky outing for the last few days. Greg Marshall invited a handful of imagers from the Rose City Astronomers and we have a good turnout here. It's so odd to me being at a star party and everyone is imaging. I have my 16" Dob with me an I've been taking in some wonderful views while the camera is shooting away... one other imager was using his Edge HD 11 for visual as well as imaging, so I wasn't completely alone absorbing photons into my eyeballs!

I…

It's hard to believe it's been 3 years since my last entry.



I've been to a few star parties since my last journal entry in June of 2012. OSP 2012, OSP 2013, and a lonely 4 night outing to SkyView Acres on Memorial Day Weekend in 2014. None of those did I take any imaging equipment to. Just the 16" dob to keep it simple and enjoy soaking in the views.



OSP 2013 was such a bummer. It was cloudy almost the whole time. I went 2 days early to get a little more viewing in. I'm…

I got an 8" EdgeHD scope a while ago and have just finished development of a focus motor for it. I am now offering the "PerfectStar SCT" along with the PerfectStar Focus Controller. The PS SCT motor was developed specifically for the EdgeHD series and will be available more or less off-the-shelf for 8", 11", and 14" scopes from that family. Most SCTs use the same kind of mechanism, so the design is easily customized to other models, but specific dimensions vary, so I am concentrating on the…

As in previous years, I have produced a calendar of my best recent astro-photos. This year the calendar is a little bigger (12 x 9 inches) and has more information about each object, including a sky chart on the back cover that shows where each object is located. That makes it an even better gift for people who are not familiar with astronomy. And the price is still just $15! To order, send me an e-mail through my web site:…

This was taken on July 31 2013 for 3 min exposure with SBIG 2000XCM(self-guiding), 10inch Orion F3.9 Newt, CGE Pro and CCDSoft

The location is my balcony in Bow, Washington, which is 10 miles from the famous bridge collapsed 2 months ago.

By the way I had crossed the bridge more than 100 times.

I had tried to take series of 8 pictures for stacking.

But the cloud moved in and self guider lost the guiding star resulting in elongated images from No 2.

I had a…

On August 1, 2013 at 02:21:55.7 UT, a small meteoroid has impacted the Moons surface. The kinetic energy transformed by the impact into thermal energy also caused a short and intense flash of light that was detected by telescopes of R. Lena, A. Manna and S. Sposetti.

The simultaneity of the flash and the same position on the lunar surface indicates it is an impact. The event described above has been observed by Raffaello Lena (GLR group, Rome Italy) with a refractor 130 mm and with a…

I got the go ahead from the boss to purchase a CCD camera. I'm looking at the SBIG ST 402 from OPT for $1695. I like it because it has an internal filter wheel for LRGB work . Anybody hear of any reviews about it? I want to be sure about it before I purchase.

http://www.astronomy-leelanau.blogspot.com/

NGC 2264 the Cone and Fox Fur nebula is a diffuse, dark and emission nebula ~2,700 light years from Earth, located in the constellation Monoceros.

Imaged January 14 and January 16, 2013 from Ocala, Florida.

RGB data: 6 minute exposure (each channel) stacked in DSS for a total of 3 hours

Ha data: 15minute exposure stacked in DSS for a total of 4 hours.

Click here…

M106 with accompanying galaxies NGC 4217, NGC 4248, NGC 4232, NGC 4231 and NGC 4220.

Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici

~23.7 million light years distant

March 14 and 15, 2013

Ocala, FL

Combination of 6 min and 10 min exposures stacked in DSS for a total of 6 hours 40 min

1 hours each RGB

3 hours and 40 min Luminance

PS CS5

Orion 80mm…

I've just released an all new version of the PerfectStar Focus Controller firmware and driver. The new version adds several new functions and enhancements, including greater robustness. At the same time, I am announcing a new PerfectStar Focus Motor that fully encloses both the motor and the focuser coupling. I am now using Hurst motors, the premier manufacturer of stepper motors. For details, see http://wa-chur-ed.com/.…

April 16 at 1PM (Central Time) Minnesota Public Radio will be hosting an online discussion on Night Sky Photography. I and 2 other photographers will be answering questions from the public. Since I only do "deep space" imaging I don't know how many questions will come my way, but the other 2 people are experienced in (and good at) night sky photography. There's a link to the event on my web site: www.wa-chur-ed.com.