ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
I recently added astrophotography to my list of hobbies.  My first DSLR camera has allowed me to dabble with taking images through the telescope.  I still have much to learn but here are some of my recent successes.  Click on any of the images for a larger version.
This is the telescope set-up that I use.  The telescope is a Meade 8-inch LX200 GPS with an equatorial wedge.  Recently I built a permanent cement pier in my backyard (see the images on the right).  In the picture there is a Celestron C5 riding piggyback on the LX200.  I use the C5 for manual guiding when taking astroimages.   (click on the image for a larger version)			Ready for the concrete pour	After the pour...	Almost done framing	Deck is done!
			This is the observing platform I built in my backyard.  The pier is made of concrete with an underground footer.  The deck is 10'x8' and is independent of the pier. (click on the image for a larger version)
My current camera is a Canon EOS Rebel T3i (un-modified).  It is an excellent entry-level DSLR camera and I must say that I love it.  I take images both directly through the telescope and piggyback on the telescope (depending on the subject).  I use a remote shutter release cable to take images longer than 30 seconds.     (click on the image for a larger version) This is my friend Brian's observatory (me on the left and Brian on the right).  It is located at the observing site for the San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA) located near the town of Boulevard, California (50 miles east of San Diego.)  This is where I take many of my images when I am not doing photography from home.  Brian is a genius at building telescopes and mounts and is kind enough to allow me to use them from time to time.  The 14-inch Newtonian is on the right in this picture and the 5-inch Wright Newtonian astrograph is shown piggybacked on C-14 behind me.

 

THE MOON
3-Day Old Moon	Moon with Earthshine	5-Day Old Moon	6-Day Old Moon	Moon with Halo
Daytime Moon	Total Lunar Eclipse 12.10.11
THE PLANETS
Gibbous Venus	Crescent Venus	Venus & 3-Day Old Moon	Crescent Moon, Crescent Venus
Saturn with Edge-on Rings	Saturn with Edge-on Rings	Jupiter with 3 moons
Jupiter and Mercury	Jupiter, Mercury, & 1-Day Old Moon	Jupiter, Mercury, & 2-Day Old Moon	Venus, 2-Day Old Moon, Jupiter, & Mercury	Moon with Venus, Saturn, Mars, & Mercury 2010
NEBULAE
M1 - The Crab Nebula	M42 - The Orion Nebula Widefield	M42 & NGC1977	M42 - The Orion Nebula	M57 - The Ring Nebula
M46 with NGC 2438	M16 - The Eagle Nebula	NGC 3242 - The Ghost of Jupiter Nebula	M17 - The Swan Nebula
STELLAR
Omega Centauri Globular Cluster	M3 Globular Cluster	M13 Globular Cluster	M45 - The Pleiades	Sirius
GALAXIES
M81 & M82	M81	M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy	M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy	M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy
NGC 4565	Leo Triplet	M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy (central region)	M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy	M100
M104 - The Sombrero Galaxy	M66
COMETS
C/2007 N3 - Lulin
MISCELLANEOUS
Minotaur IV Launch
01.05.09 © 2012 Mark Lane