Spruce Knob, West Virginia
Spruce Knob for a spectacular 3 nights. Well…2.5 nights. Some cloud cover on the third night. Spruce Knob is the highest point in West Virginia at over 4,800’. It is one of the darkest skies in the east. I had never imaged from the summit, which is known for steady winds. But, the forecast was great and I decided to head up 2 nights before the Almost Heaven Star Party began at the Experience Learning Center about 800’ below the summit. I was so fortunate to meet another astronomer on these two nights. Alone at the summit could be quite eerie. So, Ivan from Buffalo brought his beautiful 20” scope to observe from Spruce. That’s right, serious astronomers drive all day to observe from the highest point in WV. There are challenging visual objects that require the best dark conditions possible. Here are two images of my setup. The first at the summit and the second from Experience Learning. I am so happy with the images to come. Stay tuned. It will take me a while to process.
First light on Spruce Knob.
M8 and M21 Two Panel Mosaic from Green Bank Star Quest
2019 Green Bank Star Quest had some exceptional weather, especially nice transparency in the southern sky which doesn’t always happen. The nice weather afforded the opportunity to put together two mosaics from the event. The Pipe Rho Ophiuchus was taken early in the week and this M8/M21 vertical mosaic was taken last.
This was my first dark sky outing with the Astro-Physics 92mm Stowaway/ZWO ASI 294MC combination. And I am extremely happy with the imaging setup. The GBSQ also afforded great imaging time experience with the latest ASI Air app. It proved to be very helpful in constructing mosaics on the spot. The plate solving function is absolutely amazing.
The mosaic is two panels of 4 hours each with sub-frames of 15 minutes. Processing in Pixinsight, Photoshop, and quite a bit with Light Room. Hope you enjoy this great part of the Milky Way. More images and mosaics are in the oven. Stay tuned.
Pipe to Rho Ophiuchus with Jupiter
Finally….had a chance to work up the first composition from the Green Bank Star Quest in June. It was my first panoramic panel in quite a while, so the re-learning curve was a little steep. We don’t often get conditions that permit us to image at the declination of Rho, but in June we had two nights of great southern transparency. This is a 2 panel panoramic with 2 hours of data for each panel. I just love imaging Rho area every year. I can’t wait to get to the southern hemisphere and see this area arching straight overhead! I hope you enjoy this composition. I went with the composition in spite of Jupiter invading our delicate Milky Way field. I think Jupiter adds a little umph to the image. The image is archived in the CCD/CMOS section of the website and also on astrobin at this link. Have a great day!
Richard Tatti Nightscape Photography on YouTube
I just have to share great content when I come across it. It is rare to find enthusiasm, professionalism, craftsmanship, and teaching skills all wrapped up into one special package. Richard Tatti is producing very special content for the photographer. His vision and enthusiasm for night scape photography are infectious. I have learned so much from his YouTube channel already. If you love photography, please check out his YouTube channel and subscribe. You will be glad you did.
Tour of the Green Bank Telescope
Tour of the Green Bank Telescope
Attendees at the Green Bank Star Quest have an opportunity to tour the GBT. It is am amazing experience and I highly recommend it. Be aware that it does involve heights above 300 feet on open metal flooring. But the views are spectacular. The engineering and science embodied by the GBT and the entire facility are impressive. For more information on the scope and the facility, please see this link.
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