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.
How to Get Started In Astronomy
What can you really see when you look through a telescope? We've all seen the amazing Hubble photos showing the Pillars of Creation and all their magnificent colors. There are also photos of galaxies and their amazing spiral arm structure. Can you see colors in the night sky? Not really. There are a couple of things that may show a slight hint of green like the Orion Nebula, but that is the exception. The planets and the moon are always amazing to look at. Yes Mars be a little red speck but you can see the rings of Saturn and some ...
Starting Out
Astrophography with a 1 1/4″ focuser
If you are like me, you are amazed by all the wonderful photos people are getting...
How to Get Started In Astronomy
What can you really see when you look through a telescope? We’ve all seen the...
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How To's
Finderscope turned Guidescope
Last weekend I went out to do some imaging and was having problems with my guidescope. I...
Pictures longer than 30 seconds
Someone just asked, “can I take exposures longer than 30 sec. using my Nikon...
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News
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]
Will Mars Appear as Big as The Full Moon?!!!
“Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.” That direct quote is from an email forwarded to me today. The sender was asking me if it was true. I noticed in the email that it was also sent to about two dozen other people. These were all mostly business associates, so these are edjucated people, but the fact is that most... [Read more of this review]
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NASA Image of the Day
Hurricane Celia
Perfectly circular, powerful Hurricane Celia spaned hundreds of miles over the Pacific Ocean in this image from June 24, 2010. Rough-textured clouds surround the storm’s distinct eye. Farther from the center of the storm, spiral arms appear thinner and smoother. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Hurricane Celia at 1:55 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on June 24, 2010. Just five minutes later, the U.S. National Hurricane Center classified Celia as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 135 miles per hour. Image Credit: NASA
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