Author Archives: james

Examples of DSLR Exposure Times for Lunar Imaging

Posted on February 21, 2013 by james

I was struggling a few days ago with some images I’d taken of the Moon because they looked really poor after stacking and sharpening. I’d been experimenting, trying to get a better histogram fill for the images by increasing the … Continue reading →

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Mounting a DSLR on a Telescope Mount

Posted on February 21, 2013 by james

Someone was asking how they could mount their DSLR on a telescope mount such as an EQ3-2 or EQ5. I do this for my wide field images. Here’s how. I have a short dovetail (about 15cm) to which I have … Continue reading →

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New Kid on the Block: The ASI120MC

Posted on February 21, 2013 by james

I’ve been pondering on a dedicated planetary imaging camera for a while. The SPC900 is exceptionally good for what it is, especially as I paid only £5 for mine, but being USB1 the frame rate is limited to 10 fps … Continue reading →

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Red Dot Rifle Sight as a Finder

Posted on February 21, 2013 by james

One of my RDFs died recently. It seems to be something they do. Anyhow, I had a red dot rifle sight sitting around doing nothing, so I removed the mount from the RDF and cut a plate from a bit … Continue reading →

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A Short “Great Red Spot” Animation

Posted on February 21, 2013 by james

From the same night (just a little later) as my previous Io transit images, watch the GRS as Jupiter rotates:

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Io’s Transit of Jupiter, 11 December 2012

Posted on February 21, 2013 by james

Ganymede and Europa are “in the bag”. Catching Io here means there’s only Callisto left. Of course I didn’t catch the whole transit for the first two so I shall be revisiting that next apparition. And an animation of the … Continue reading →

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Europa’s Transit of Jupiter, 29 November 2012

Posted on February 21, 2013 by james

Having managed to catch some of Ganymede’s transit the previous day, it was then Europa’s moment of fame, though again I didn’t manage the entire transit: And an animation of the end of the transit:

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Ganymede’s Transit of Jupiter, 28 November 2012

Posted on February 21, 2013 by james

On the 28th November I (pretty much accidentally) caught the transit of Jupiter by Ganymede. Here’s one of the better stills from that night: And an animated sequence of first half of the transit:

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It’s Raining Again…

Posted on December 29, 2012 by james

It seems to have rained here for almost all of December and the Met Office says that it’s already been the wettest year in England since records began in 1910 and stands a good chance of being the wettest year … Continue reading →

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SPC900 vs. PS2 Eye camera

Posted on December 7, 2012 by james

When I posted images from the Xbox, Lifecam and SPC900 for comparison, someone asked about the PS2 Eye camera (not the Eye Toy). Last night whilst I was imaging Jupiter and Europa I had a go with it. Control is … Continue reading →

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