Category Archives: Astronomy

Xbox Live Camera on Linux

Posted on April 13, 2012 by james

I’ve been tempted to build a couple of camera projects recently, the first being a camera to capture the images to create an Analemma, which shows the path of the sun through the sky at a fixed time (usually at … Continue reading →

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The Beginning of a New Dobsonian

Posted on April 12, 2012 by james

I recently had the chance to acquire some bits left over from a damaged Skywatcher 250mm Flextube dobsonian telescope for not very many pennies. As a result I’m now the proud owner of a the mirror and cell, spider (with … Continue reading →

Posted in Astro Equipment, Astronomy, Projects | 1 Comment

Focal Ratio and Capture Length for Planetary Imaging

Posted on March 26, 2012 by james

Thus far with my planetary imaging I’ve used capture times and focal ratios just “by the book” without actually understanding how the answers were derived, so I decided it was about time I worked things out for myself. I’ve summarised … Continue reading →

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Notes on Using the SPC900NC for Planetary Imaging

Posted on March 24, 2012 by james

A while back I was looking for information on which codec was best for data capture from the SPC900 cameras and found several web pages suggesting that YUY2 (aka YUYV, I believe) was best on the grounds that it generated … Continue reading →

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Observation Report 23 March 2012

Posted on March 24, 2012 by james

I’ve not written many observation reports recently, mainly because I’ve spent my time concentrating on planetary imaging. I’m still doing that, now starting to turn my attention towards Saturn as well as Mars, but there’s time during the imaging runs … Continue reading →

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Xbox Live All-Sky Camera

Posted on March 19, 2012 by james

I picked up an Xbox Live camera very cheaply in the hope that it might be comparable to the SPC900 for planetary imaging. Very quickly however that turned out not to be the case. When testing the camera I discovered … Continue reading →

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New Images of Mars

Posted on March 19, 2012 by james

Last night I captured what I think are possibly my best images of Mars ever (maybe even of any of my planetary images), and it may well be the best I can do with the kit I’m using at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Astroimaging, Astronomy | Tagged | 2 Comments

Capture codecs for Solar System Imaging

Posted on March 19, 2012 by james

Until the last few days I’ve not been aware that the various codecs offered for capture by my SPC900 webcam (and others) are not equal and some retain more data than others. Once aware of the issue I did a … Continue reading →

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Measuring Naked Eye Limiting Magnitude

Posted on March 19, 2012 by james

I recently came across this posting on measuring Naked Eye Limiting Magnitude and decided to give it a try for my home. We live very close to Exmoor National Park which is now designated a Dark Sky site, so I … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy | 2 Comments

Why Can’t We See The Flag On The Moon?

Posted on March 14, 2012 by james

I answered this question for someone the other day, whose work colleagues wanted to know if he could see the flag left behind on the moon from the first lunar landing using his new 300mm telescope and thought I’d write … Continue reading →

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