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The Horsehead Nebula
I first saw a photograph of the horsehead on a poster my father bought for us of the solar system. I was captivated by it and when I got my first telescope (a 60mm refractor) I tried to find it. i soon realized it was too dim. A couple decades later, when I started taking some astrophotos, I was able to catch a faint hint of it. Now, five decades after getting that first refractor, I finally have taken a photo that rivals that first one I saw on the poster. This is my most recent image.
This is a stack of 147, mostly 60 second images through an Astro Tech 80 EDT refractor with a mix of exposures. Some at 30 second exposures and ISO 2500, and some at 60 seconds and ISO 2500. Camera is an astro-modified Canon 60D with an Astronomik CLS light pollution filter. I combined images from this year with images from last year..
A word on Light Pollution
I was thinking about light pollution and I have a new name for it. Since light pollution is actually wasted light and wasted electricity, by default would be wasted money (see example of runaway light pollution below). People put in security lighting because they are afraid people will break into their house to steak their stuff so they blind us all with their yard lights. I think we should give poor lighting a new moniker: “Social insecurity tax.”
Every point of light you see here is wasted light, wasted electricity and wasted money.
Pleiades
This is a stack of 145, 60 second exposures at ISO 2500. Taken through the Astro-Tech 80 EDT with the focal reducer and CLS filter. Canon 90D (not astro-modified). 384mm at f4.
M31
I have been trying to get a large stack of the Andromeda Galaxy for ages. This year, I was limited by my dome. When the weather cleared, it was positioned high in the sky and would drift into my blind spot (it is a Sky Shed Dome which has a half dome and the area nearly straight up is inaccessible). This has the same set up with the 60Da, but a stack of 41, 60 second exposures at ISO 2500.
Vectors
Math, anyone? I had to re-learn some recently.
I have been updating my article on the Coriolis Effect in Space. It is adapted from a talk I gave to the Western Colorado Astronomy Club in June, 2022. I was not going for Hollywood quality special effects but more for fun and be informative. I am not trying to produce a thesis for a college degree, just having fun applying the Coriolis Effect to spaceships. The resulting theory I have drawn from my investigations I would love to have prepared a thesis on, but those are so boring. Here I try to have fun in learning the issues involved while trying to create artificial gravity in space. The issue of jumping and running in a rotating field where the jump’s velocity is less than that of the rotation have been hard to test. I have even learned some new math (to me) and had my equations checked by others. My new corrections should be accurate and hopefully interesting. Also check out my article on Calculating Vectors. Feel free to point out any mistakes. My last math class was a long time ago in a school far, far… well, the school is a pile of debris now. They tore it down this year (luckily they built a new one many years ago). Check out this new slow motion video of one of my tests. It launched early but went where I wanted anyway. Watch the orange missile on the black tank.
I was able to get the telescope out and take a few images of some things I have never even looked for before. They are on the “Home” page.
May 12, 2022.
David Copley
I was born a long time ago in a hospital far, far away. I won’t say where as that is sometimes a security question. I am an independent so don’t expect political dogma here. I may make comments but generally I like to avoid politics. I love to write but have had no formal education in writing since high school about 47 years ago. I am a photographer of moderate skill. I like to take “technical” photographs. Photos that are technically difficult like astrophotography, stereo images and underwater videos are examples. Be ready for jokes or puns…
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Geeking Out with Dave 