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The Mars Encounter: In August 2003 Mars was closer than it has been for 60,000 years. I used my Nikon Coolpix 950 and my 18" f/4.5 Newtonian to photograph the Red Planet using a method called stacking. I would photograph up to 300 images over a ten minute period and stack the best of these in a program called Registax. |
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Moon
Venus and Jupiter: I took this
photograph from a spot near my house in Cabot, AR on February
17, 1999 just after sunset. The exposure was approximately 15
seconds on print film, unguided. |
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Sun
Column: This was taken near
Rogers, AR on a winter day at sunset. A sun column is caused
by flat ice crystals in the clouds above which reflect the setting
sun's light. |
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Orion at
Blanchard Springs: I took this
time exposure from the old bridge in the campground. It is a
20 minute exposure at f/4 on 400 speed print film. The black
sky background is a testimony to the dark skies of north central
Arkansas. |
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Zodiacal
Light: This ghostly glow is
light which is scattered off tiny dust particles that orbit in
the plane of the solar system. This light comes from the sun
which is located just below the horizon. This was taken in March
when the light is almost straight up in the northern hemisphere.
I used a 28mm wide angle lens. The exposure is approximately
10 minutes long. |
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Star
Reflections in Water: This is
a tricky one! I have often wondered if star reflections can be
photographed. I set up my tripod on the bridge with the camera
pointing down! |
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Barnard's
Loop: This large slightly red
loop of hydrogen nebula is almost as large as Orion itself. The
smaller, bright, burnt-out nebula is M42, the Orion Nebula. The
fainter L-shaped nebula with the tiny bite taken out is the famous
Horsehead Nebula. This is a 15 minute exposure on 400 speed Kodak
print film using a 135mm telephoto lens. Of course the camera
drive was required. |
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Halley's
Comet and the Milky way: In
the spring of 1986 I set up in the cold, damp pre-dawn woods
east of Rogers, AR to get this shot. It was the best conditions
under which I ever observed the famous comet. This is a 28mm
wide angle lens. By the way Halley's didn't hold a candle to
Hyakutake years later. |
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Haley's
Comet Closeup: The same morning
as noted above I made an exposure using a 135mm telephoto . |
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The Moon: This was one of the few times I have ever photographed
through the telescope. The moon is so bright that it can be taken
as a snap shot. If memory serves this is a 1/60 second exposure.
The telescope was a 10" f/6 Newtonian. |
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The
Andromeda Galaxy: A 135mm telephoto
shot on 400 speed print film, 15 minutes long, guided. I always
enjoy trying to see the galaxy with the unaided eye. It is the
only galaxy which can be seen without at least using binoculars. |
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The Aurora: This was one of the most intense observing
experiences of my life. Aurora only appear about once per year
so far south and I'm sure most of those times are in daylight
or hidden behind clouds. When I first saw the red glow in the
north above my house, I thought that there was a fire on the
other side of the hill that lies in that direction! Fortunately
I had my camera out and grabbed these shots before it faded.
I don't think that the whole show lasted more than about 20 minutes.
The exposures vary in length from 1 minute to about 10 minutes.
The amazing thing was that photographically the glow showed up
even in the corner of a shot looking southeast! |
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Comet
Bradfield: Back in 1987 this
small yet bright comet whizzed by. I remember thinking it was
a bright one (this was before Hale-Bopp). |
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Earth
light: When the moon is a crescent,
the earth as seen from the moon is nearly full. Because of this
the bright "earth light" lights up the dark side. There
is a mercury vapor light behind the mail box. |
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Comet
Hyakutake: A truly beautiful
comet, spanning many degrees of sky (a 50mm lens was used). As
I recall my camera was piggy-backed on the refractor at the Central Arkansas Astronomical
Society. We were so excited that we
took the prints straight to Channel 4, and they used them! This
was a fifteen minute exposure. It was taken in March, 1996. |
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Comet
Hyakutake (close up): The same
night as above, but with the 135mm telephoto. |
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Crescent
Moon and Venus: The planet Venus
shows up looking like a star. This was taken shortly after sunset
with the sky still red with twilight. Note the "earth light". |
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The
North American Nebula: This
cloud of hydrogen is shaped like its namesake. A twenty minute
exposure with a 50mm lens at f/2.8. Guided. |
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Polaris
and the Circumpolar Stars: The
stars around the north star never rise or set, but simply revolve
around the north celestial pole. Polaris is almost at the center
of this, but not quite. Many people think that the "north
star" is also the brightest, but it is only 2nd magnitude,
with many others much brighter. It is, however, the brightest
star in that part of the sky! |
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The Rosette
Nebula: An eight minute exposure,
f/6, 135mm telephoto lens. This vast complex of gas and stars
is hidden in the sparse regions east of Orion. Very difficult
to see in a telescope, but beautiful to photograph. |
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The Moon and Venus: Grabbed this with the Kodak Z740 digicam. 1/4 sec at f3.5. Taken 2-19-07. Beautifully clear after several days of clouds. |