Lunar Eclipse December 10, 2011 Orange County
[caption id="attachment_1072" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Eclipse phases at Top of The World Laguna Beach, CA 12-12-11"][/caption] It's been a while since I've done some astronomy. But I finally got out again last weekend. I almost did not go, because the lunar eclipse was going to be in totality until it was light. I ended up going because when I started to look it up, I found out that the next total lunar eclipse visible in the states would not be until 2014. I did not want to wait that long, and I wanted to take the opportunity to see a lunar eclipse ...
I Got A New Telescope, How Do I Find Galaxies?
[caption id="attachment_988" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Leo Trio: M65, M66, NGC3628"][/caption] "I am using the stock eyepiece of this scope. I haven't been able to observe galaxies, nebula and star clusters like I would love to. Perhaps I am doing something wrong?" This is a comment somebody posted under my YouTube video "Omni XLT 150 Setup" It seems this is a common theme with many people that purchase a new telescope. The problem here is that if these people don't find help fast that shiny new telescope will be doomed to the garage and dust for many years before somebody else gives ...
Delta II Rocket Spotted from Orange County
[caption id="attachment_920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Self portrait minutes after I saw the Delta II launch"][/caption] I've always wanted to see the shuttle lift off in Florida, but that will probably never happen. So this year I've been trying to spot a rocket launch here in California. As you may know Vandenberg AFB is home to NASA's west coast launch pad. And according to Brian Webb's website www.spacearchive.info we should be able to see the rocket launches during the twilight and nighttime hours here in Southern California. Well today I saw it and it was very cool! This was my third attempt at trying to ...
Julian Starfest 2009
August 20-23, 2009 was the 2nd annual Julian Starfest at the Menghini Winery in the small mountain town of Julian, CA - and the MBS Astronomy Club set up to camp all four days. The Julian Starfest is a major Southern California astronomy event, featuring a free public star party on Saturday, tours of the Palomar Observatory, astronomy supplies and vendors, astronomy guest speakers and presentations, a giant raffle with $7,000 worth of give-aways and four days of camping and astronomy. [caption id="attachment_808" align="aligncenter" width="538" caption="Camping area at the Menghini Winerty, Julian Starfest"][/caption] With plenty of room at the winery to spread out ...
Afton Canyon Campground
Camping at Afton Canyon Campground was great (April 26, 2009). It's about 30 miles northeast of Barstow right off the 15 freeway. It was super easy to find and get to. You pretty much take one turn off of the 15 and drive about 15 minutes and run right into the campground. Afton has been called California's Grand Canyon. That's a pretty bold statement, but it was interesting and nice too see so much variety in a Southern Californian landscape. Unique to this area is the Mojave river that flows above ground right next to the campground. You can see the river's power as ...
Finderscope turned Guidescope
Last weekend I went out to do some imaging and was having problems with my guidescope. I used a super long 60mm Tasco with a webcam mounted to it. It worked okay, but it wasn't working so great with the clouds, and it did not help that I was imaging near the zenith. That meant that the webcam was near the ground. I spent so much time laying in the dirt that night that I had to come up better solution.
Starting Out
I Got A New Telescope, How Do I Find Galaxies?The Leo Trio: M65, M66, NGC3628 “I am using the stock eyepiece of this scope....
Astrophography with a 1 1/4″ focuser
If you are like me, you are amazed by all the wonderful photos people are getting...
Read More Posts From Starting Out
How To's
I Got A New Telescope, How Do I Find Galaxies?The Leo Trio: M65, M66, NGC3628 “I am using the stock eyepiece of this scope....
Finderscope turned Guidescope
Last weekend I went out to do some imaging and was having problems with my guidescope. I...
Read More Posts From How To's
News
Lunar Eclipse December 10, 2011 Orange County
Eclipse phases at Top of The World Laguna Beach, CA 12-12-11 It’s been a while since I’ve done some astronomy. But I finally got out again last weekend. I almost did not go, because the lunar eclipse was going to be in totality until it was light. I ended up going because when I started to look it up, I found out that the next total lunar... [Read more of this review]
Delta II Rocket Spotted from Orange County
Self portrait minutes after I saw the Delta II launch I’ve always wanted to see the shuttle lift off in Florida, but that will probably never happen. So this year I’ve been trying to spot a rocket launch here in California. As you may know Vandenberg AFB is home to NASA’s west coast launch pad. And according to Brian Webb’s... [Read more of this review]
Julian Starfest 2009
August 20-23, 2009 was the 2nd annual Julian Starfest at the Menghini Winery in the small mountain town of Julian, CA – and the MBS Astronomy Club set up to camp all four days. The Julian Starfest is a major Southern California astronomy event, featuring a free public star party on Saturday, tours of the Palomar Observatory, astronomy supplies... [Read more of this review]
Read More Posts From News
NASA Image of the Day
Cloud streets off of the Aleutian Islands
Strong winds polished the snow of southwestern Alaska and stretched marine stratocumulus clouds into long, parallel streets in early January, 2012. After crossing Bristol Bay, the winds scraped the clouds across the tall volcanic peaks of the Aleutian Islands. As the wind impacted the immobile mountains, the airflow became turbulent, swirling in symmetric eddies and carving intricate patterns into the clouds on the leeward side of the islands. At the top of this image, the bright white color indicates a thick layer of snow overlying the land of southwestern Alaska. The pristine white is broken by the rugged Ahklun Mountain Range in the east, which is partially covered by a bank of clouds. Off the coast of Alaska, sea ice floats in Bristol Bay, cracked and chipped by the flow of the waters which lie underneath. A few cloud streets – parallel lines of clouds – can be seen in the far northwest over land. The clouds increase over the sea ice and become thick over open water, where row upon row of clouds lie close in perfectly parallel formation. The Aleutian Islands stretch from northeast to southwest across the image. Sea ice, which is bright white here, lies on the windward side of the islands. A few of the tallest volcanic peaks can be seen rising from the icy islands. The character of the cloud streets change as they impact the Aleutians, especially near the center of the image, where two rows of beautifully symmetric swirls of eddies in the clouds stretch across the sky. These swirling formations are known as von Karman vortex streets. This true-color image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite on January 11, 2012. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team
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