App recommendation: Sky Safari AR
Looking for a free star gazing app? Want augmented reality, too? This is the app that I use to control my telescope and to get a fix on what is up in the night sky you simply point your phone or iPad at the sky and the app shows you exactly what objects are visible Planets, stars, deep sky objects like galaxies, clusters, and nebulae. I have the paid version and I am not sure if the free version has any annoying features, but so far I have found none in my trial. Give it a download tonight
Astrophoto Setup at Green Bank Observatory
Pretty nice weather was had at the 2018 Green Bank Star Quest. Nearly every night had excellent moments of clarity. This is the setup I used for the week. The Astro-Physics 130EDFGT riding on the Astro-Physics Mach1GTO mount with the modified Canon T5i camera and new Rokinon 85mm f1.4 lens. I used both instruments in imaging for the 4 nights. More images are in the processing cue. In this image you can see the Green Bank Telescope in the lower left quadrant. The GBT was very active during our stay at Green Bank.
Northern Cygnus from Green Bank Star Quest 2018
A new image was added today from the recent Green Bank Star Quest.
The bright star in the field is Deneb, one of the stars of the summer triangle. The uncanny likeness of the two closest nebulae to Deneb to the North America continent and a Pelican are remarkable. The Butterfly Nebula is located off of the second brightest star in the image, Sadr. The North American Nebula is a great visual target with binoculars from a dark sky site. It is larger and more diffuse than most observers realize. The highest contrast area is in the vicinity of the Gulf of Mexico. For a detailed notation of the area, please see this link.
Image acquisition: Taken at the Green Bank Star Quest 2018. A test of new Rokinon 85mm f1.4 shot at f4. No guiding for the 20 five minute exposures. All processing in Pixinsight.
NASA Gamma Ray Bursts
A fantastic article on the origin of Gamma Ray Bursts and the multi-device detection system that is now in place.
Three Planets and a Milky Way from Green Bank Star Quest 2018
In the early morning hours of July 14, the astronomers at the Green Bank Star Quest, who were still awake, had a great view of three planets distributed across the sky in nearly equal segments with the Milky Way blazing vertically toward the zenith. A great non-telescopic vision to be sure. I hope you can get out under a dark sky this summer to enjoy the beautiful heavens.
Image acquisition is with a modified Canon T1i and Tokina 11-16mm zoom at 11mm and f2.8 for 30 seconds on a tripod.
Jeff's Blog
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