Still Chasing Mars 10/21/18
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Yes, it's getting smaller, less bright and showing more phase but Mars is still a sight to behold. I took this image with the usual set up of my Big Mak (180mm), 2X barlow and Orion 5MP Solar System Camera, processed in Registax and Photoshop. Syrtis Major, the Hellas Basin and the south polar cap were easily visible in the EP:



To Mars!
Reggie

 

Mars in October​

Hello, all! Here is a composite of a few Mars images I took last month with my Orion 180mm Mak using a Celestron 2x barlow and the Orion 5MP StarShoot camera, processed in Registax and Photoshop. Mars is on the move but it's giving quite a farewell show :



To Mars!
Reggie

 

Thanks, Neb. I'm sure you noticed that this is identical to the Mars post that I made recently. I decided to add it to my Welcome to Galaxy Central thread Mars is slowly climbing in altitude as it moves away from us. From where I am (southeastern U.S.) Mars reaches 42 degrees from the horizon right now. Imaging brings out features that are hard to see visually, at least without a filter. I find it's still challenging sometimes to see detail through the eyepiece, especially if albedo features on Mars have rotated away from us.

 

It's a good filter. I'm glad it's working well for you, too! I'm even more excited about Mars now than I was in July since I can actually see features

 

Yes, it's gaining altitude as it moves away from us. It looks almost white without a filter and, yes, it's getting smaller and showing more of a phase. I plan to image until December, just to show the difference in size and to show features. After that, I'll wait another year for Mars, lol!

 

Hi, all. I'm wrapping up my Mars imaging for this apparition. It's been a wild ride dealing with the global dust storm around opposition, but some good views were to be had once the dust cleared. Here are some of the fruits of my labor from June to December of this year using the Orion StarShoot 5MP Solar System Camera and my Orion 180/127mm Maks:


Seasons Greetings!
Reggie

 

Thanks, Donald. It was a labor of love and a personal challenge to follow Mars from June (when I got my new space camera) until this month to show the dramatic changes on the planet over such a relatively short period of time. I can't wait until 2020!

 

This was posted as a separate thread; I wanted to repost it under Welcome to Galaxy Central thread for consistency:

The evening of December 16, the clouds parted after dominating the sky all day and allowed me to get a few shots of the fabled Christmas Comet Wirtanen 46P at its brightest! It was favorably placed just below the Pleiades as it rose in the East at magnitude Mag 4, not quite visible to the naked eye from my Bortle 6 sky, but readily visible through binoculars. Surprisingly, visually, it appeared brighter the night before, but then the first quarter moon was much farther west and less intrusive. Here is the best of a series of quick and dirty one-off 30 second subs at f/10, ISO 800, and a cropped image:






Name: Comet Wirtanen/46P

Discovered by Carl A. Wirtanen on January 17, 1948 at Lick Observatory

Orbital period: 5.4 yrs.

Radius: @603 m (1980 ft.)

Perihelion date: 12/12/18

Perigee: 12/16/18

Distance at perigee: @11 million km (7 million miles)

Velocity at perigee: 6 miles/sec

Magnitude at perigee: @ magnitude 4


Cheers,

Reggie

 

For the Welcome to Galaxy Central thread, from December 6, the close conjunction of Mars and Neptune. Here they are in a single 6 second exposure at F/29, ISO 800 using my Nikon D3200 and my Orion 127mm Mak-Cass:

 

Christmas Morning Moon

Seasons Greetings, All!
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Mars in November and December​

Here are some of my final images of Mars this apparition. Forecasted clouds and rain will prevent any further imaging attempts this year, so my final image is from Christmas night:


Happy New Year to all!
Reggie

 

Annual M42 Image (2019)​

Hi, all. Here is my annual M42 image, taken at prime focus with my Nikon D3200 and 127mm Mak, single 30 sec sub at ISO 800. I also posted images from previous years. Only the 2018 image was shot at ISO 1600 to bring out more detail. The images prior to 2018 were shot with my Nikon D50; the difference between the two cameras is striking!

2019 image:



2018 image (ISO 1600):



2017 image (D50):



2016 image (D50):



2014 image (D50), first one:





Now is a great time for imaging the Orion Nebula when you have clear skies. It's positioned nicely from mid to late evening, and into the wee hours (if you can brave the cold).

Clear skies!

Reggie

 

Thanks, Gabby. I'm dealing with some cloud now. I'd go mad if I couldn't see the night sky after a few days, lol. I try to take full advantage of every clear night