dianne, Author at Universe Today

November 4, 2011January 22, 2021 by dianne

Jupiter at Opposition by Efrain Morales

[/caption]
This image of Jupiter at opposition was taken by Efrain Morales on October 30, 2011 in Victoria, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. As seen on the image, “Oval Ba is becoming pale and the barges and festons on the belt regions.”

Opposition is an astronomical event wherein two celestial bodies are in the opposite sides of the sky when viewed from a certain location, in this case, the Earth. During an opposition, the object can be observed almost all night and will be completely illuminated just like a full Moon.

Efrain used the following equipments and specs in taking the image:
LX200ACF 12 in. OTA, F30, CGE mount, PGR Flea3 Ccd, TeleVue 3x barlows, Astronomik RGB filter set.

For more amazing astrophotos, here’s the link to Efrain’s Flickr page.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group, post in our Forum or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

November 3, 2011January 22, 2021 by dianne

The Moon by Logan Mancuso

[/caption]
Logan Mancuso captured this photo of the Moon on August 16th, 2011 at Cherry Springs State Park, Coudersport, PA. The Moon was at illuminated Fraction 0.883 – 3.5 days after full moon when imaged.

Logan also provided us with the camera and specs he used in taking the photo:

Telescope: LX200GPS
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel 1000D at prime focus, F/0.0, ISO 800, 1/30 sec.
Conditions: near perfect seeing and transparency, and no clouds

November 3, 2011January 22, 2021 by dianne

Solar Eclipse by Orvill Aakra

[/caption]
Orvill Aakra captured this picture of the solar eclipse over the forest line back in 2003. It was when, according to him, he had no usable equipment so he had to improvise a lot.

Orvill used a 3mp compact camera, and taped a 8×50 marine binocular to the front along with a welding glass. No tripod. Now that’s being creative!

November 2, 2011January 22, 2021 by dianne

ISS and Cassiopeia by Adrian New

[/caption]
On the morning of September 21, 2011, the International Space Station made a beautiful pass over San Antonio, Texas through the constellation of Cassiopeia. The pass was caught by Adrian New using his Nikon D200 camera and 18-70mm lens. The camera was set at ISO 200 and 30 second exposure.

November 2, 2011January 22, 2021 by dianne

Astrophoto: Pleiades over Lightning by Jerry Littke

[/caption]
This photo of the Pleiades over lightning was taken by Jerry Littke in Hillsboro, North Dakota.

“A thunderstorm had just passed through and I went out to try to get some pictures of the impressive lightning. I did not notice the Pleiades until looking at the pictures later.”

Pleiades is an open star cluster located in the constellation of Taurus. This 100 million year-old star cluster is composed of hot blue and extremely luminous stars. Pleiades is also known by the names, Messier 45 and Seven Sisters.

Jerry used a Nikon D300 effective 48 mm with camera specs: 10 second exposure, f3.5, ISO 1000.

November 1, 2011January 22, 2021 by dianne

Astrophoto: Jupiter by Ray Gilchrist

[/caption]
Ray Gilchrist captured this photo of planet Jupiter from Barrow in Furness, Cumbria on October 27, 2011. The photo also shows the two of Jupiter’s largest moons, Io and Ganymede.

Ray used a Skywatcher 200p, EQ5 and a Canon350D camera. He also provided us with a few technical specs: 1/125 sec exposure, ISO 1600.

For more interesting astrophotos, check out Ray’s website at http://www.raygilchrist.co.uk/

November 1, 2011January 22, 2021 by dianne

Astrophoto: A Different Look at North American Nebula by Carl Larson

Astrophoto: North American Nebula in Ha by Carl Larson — North American Nebula in Ha. Credit: Carl Larson

[/caption]
Carl Larson captured this image of the North American Nebula on Fremont Peak State Park, California on April 30, 2011. But unlike the images of the North American nebula submitted to us by other astrophotographers, this one’s presented in a different perspective.

“I decided to present the image rotated sideways from convention. I think it highlights those wonderful dark nebula clouds. At least they seem more obvious to me when I’m not so focused on making those ionized hydrogen clouds into a continent.

The dark complex separating the North American and Pelican nebulas (where the Gulf of Mexico should be) looks to me like a frog jumping into a pond. The obscuring dust really seems to stand out in front of the nebula.”

Carl also provided us with the specs he used:
QSI583 CCD, Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L @ f/4
Astrodon Ha (3A) filter
19 x 300sec exposures (95min total)
AP900 Mount
calibration, registration and post-processed in PixInsight

Check out Carl’s astrophotography blog for more photos.

October 31, 2011January 22, 2021 by dianne

Astrophoto: Moon, Pleiades and Mercury by Willian Souza

Astrophotos: Moon, Pleidades and Mercury by Willian Souza — Moon, Pleidades and Mercury. Credit: Willian Souza

[/caption]
Willian Souza has caught not just two, but three birds with one stone with this photo he took from Sao Paolo, Brazil. Willian captured this photo of the Crescent Moon, Pleiades and Mercury on April 26, 2009.

Willian used his Canon 350D camera set at ISO 1600 + 135mm F/2.8 lens with exposure time of 1 sec.

Check out Willian’s Flickr page for more astrophotos.

October 31, 2011January 22, 2021 by dianne

Astrophoto: Colorado Milky Way by Michael Underwood

[/caption]
Michael Underwood captured this amazing image of the Milky Way outside of Lake City, Colorado on July 2, 2011. This is certainly a stunning view while driving!

Michael used a Nikon D7000 camera with Nikon 14-24mm lens. He also provided us with a few technical details of the image.
Exposure- 30 seconds
Aperture- f/2.8
Focal Length- 15 mm
ISO Speed- 2500

Check out Michael’s website at http://www.michaelunderwoodphotography.com/

October 30, 2011January 22, 2021 by dianne

Astrophoto: Iridium 12 Flare by Riad Hamamieh

[/caption]
This photo of the Iridium 12 flare was captured by Riad Hamamieh on October 15, 2011 at at 7:42 PM in Beirut, Lebanon.

Iridium 12 is one of the 66 active Iridium communication satellites orbiting the Earth. It was launched on June 18, 1997.

Riad used a Canon Powershot SX210 IS camera with CHDK. Camera is set at 32 sec exposure, f3.5 and ISO 400. It was cropped and adjusted using Photoshop CS3.

For more photos from Riad, here’s a link to his Flickr page.