DaltonSkygazerObservatory

Amateur Astrophotography

Admin — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 08:55:28 +0000

What classifies one as an “Amateur” astrophotographer? Perhaps, one must have 101 pristine images published in some internationally recognized journal to be classified as something besides “Amateur.” An amateur astrophotographer is one who accomplishes astrophotography with the gear at their disposal. Some of the “best” images have been captured by amateurs with only a minimal investment in gear. An amateur …

Celestron Edge 800 HD Focal Reducers Released

Admin — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 04:26:31 +0000

Celestron posted the new Edge 800 HD Focal Reducers up for preorder at their website today. Initial pricing to be $299, $300 less than the Edge HD 1100 and Edge HD 1400 focal reducers. The design is based on a 4 element design manufactured from “rare earth” Lanthanum glass, designed to provide clear high contrast …

A Few Images

Admin — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 21:45:41 +0000

Just posting quick update. I was able to get out to test the Astronomik CLS clip in filter on M42 the other night, while testing some mount settings at same time. I have been experimenting fine tuning mount and phd guiding settings a bit more which is easy to do having the permanent pier mount. The m42 …

Reworked My M27 Data from the other Night

Admin — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 01:13:44 +0000

I spent little bit of time reworking the M27 image data from the other night. Thanks Gordon for some tutorial links you sent! Applied some of the lessons learned from these tutorials. See Image Below M27. Click Here for Larger Version. I will be investing in a coma corrector for the Meade 5000 80 MM …

M27 June 13th and 14th 2012

Admin — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:08:21 +0000

Here is first process of M27 taken last night from DaltonSkyGazer Observatory. Skies were fair, high moisture content, about 3.75 on scale of 1 to 10. The Milky Way looked more like a soft fog bank, individual stars were not discernible. This image is stack of 1 hr 45 minutes of lights and 45 minutes of darks …

Review of Dropbox

Admin — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 02:29:27 +0000

Have you ever had the need to share large files but were limited by your email space? In my search for a great program I stumbled upon a program called Dropbox. The program is free with 2 gigs of online storage and can even be updated to 16 Gigs of free online storage by following …

New Update and Website

Admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:18:03 +0000

The weather in the New England area is quickly changing, mildest winter I can recall. Today temperatures hit 73F. In coming weeks, I will be adding a new website which is an extension of DaltonSkyGazer. The addition of the second website will allow me better format control of images produced from the observatory. My main site …

Celestron Releases Long Awaited Focal Reducers for Edge HD Optics

Admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:01:40 +0000

I just learned this morning that Celestron has finally released the long awaited for focal reducers for the Edge HD optics. The focal reducers for the 11 inch HD and 14 inch HD OTA’s have been released. I know many people have been waiting a long time for these reducers. These new focal reducers are bit pricey …

Happy New Year 2012 From DaltonSkyGazer Observatory

Admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:58:37 +0000

A Happy New Year 2012 to all who follow the DaltonSkyGazer astro blog! The holidays are winding down, thought I would post an update on activites and such at the DaltonSkyGazer observatory. I have been doing some visual observing along with a little astrophotography with my DSI III C camera. I am happy to say that …

Demonstration Video of Noiseware Removal Software

Admin — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:49:53 +0000

Demonstration of Community Noiseware Free Edition Image Noise Removal Software

Using a Bahtinov Mask to Achieve Focus for Astrophotography

Admin — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 11:15:31 +0000

The use of a Bahtinov Mask is my preferred method for achieving critcal focus while set up for astrophotography. A Bahtinov Mask can be bought for only a few dollars through any astronomy retailer or you can easily make your own mask via an online Bahtinov Mask generator. The task of focusing with …

DIY Projects Coming Soon.

Admin — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 23:30:01 +0000

A Do it Yourself section will be coming soon to DaltonSkyGazer . Future posts in the DIY section will contain overviews and general guides to follow for constructing your own astronomy related project. The content in this section may come from several people from within the astronomy community or myself. If you have a project you would like to share, feel free to contact me. Check back …