Optics: Canon 14mm F/2.8, Canon 24mm F/1.4
Mount: Milky Way tracked on a barn door tracker.
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III (Milky Way) & Canon T3i (Foreground)
Location: Racetrack Playa - Death Valley, CA April 2013
Racetrack Playa - Death Valley, CA
Optics: Canon 14mm F/2.8, Canon 24mm F/1.4
Mount: Milky Way tracked on a barn door tracker.
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III (Milky Way) & Canon T3i (Foreground)
Location: Racetrack Playa - Death Valley, CA April 2013
M42 - The Orion Nebula
Optics: Celestron 8" Newtonian 1000mm F/4.9
Mount: Celestron CG-5 computerized German equatorial mount. Not guided.
Camera: Canon 500D modified w/ Astrodon UV/IR block filter.
Calibration: ISO 1600, 10 light, 15 dark, both @ 60s
Location: Mahogany Flats, Death Valley - Dark Sky Tour August 2012
Notes: This more recent image of the Orion Nebula captures the colors and depth of the surrounding clouds better than we've been able to before. This nebula is actually visible to the naked eye as the brightest 'star' in the sword of Orion the constellation.
Earthshine at Zzyzx Road, California
Optics: Tamron 300mm
Mount: Ordinary Tripod.
Camera: Canon 500D modified w/ Astrodon UV/IR block filter.
Calibration: ISO 1600, F/5.6, 0.8sec.
Location: Zyzzx Road, Arizona - Dark Sky Tour August 2012
Notes: This thumbnail moon was captured en route to the deserts of the southwest. Zzyzx Rd. has been a good place to stretch the legs and check out the dark skies upon entering Arizona. Here, the moon is shown partially lit by light which is reflected from other places on Earth.
M8 - The Lagoon Nebula
Optics: Celestron 8" Newtonian 1000mm F/4.9
Mount: Celestron CG-5 computerized German equatorial mount. Not guided.
Camera: Canon 500D modified w/ Astrodon UV/IR block filter.
Calibration: ISO 1600, 10 light, 15 dark, both @ 60s
Location: Mahogany Flats, Death Valley - Dark Sky Tour August 2012
Notes: This is a more recent image captured of the Lagoon Nebula. Particularly dark skies this night played an essential role in capturing the nebula's red and blue colors.
M45 - The Pleiades Star Cluster
Optics: Celestron 8" Newtonian 1000mm F/4.9
Mount: Celestron CG-5 computerized German equatorial mount. Not guided.
Camera: Canon 500D modified w/ Astrodon UV/IR block filter.
Calibration: ISO 1600, 10 light, 15 dark, both @ 60s
Location: Mahogany Flats, Death Valley - Dark Sky Tour August 2012
Notes: The Pleiades is an open star cluster that is visible to the naked eye in the constellation Taurus. The surrounding blue relection nebula appears streaky due to its particles being aligned by the magnetic fields between stars.
The Veil Nebula
Optics: Celestron 8" Newtonian 1000mm F/4.9
Mount: Celestron CG-5 computerized German equatorial mount. Not guided.
Camera: Canon 500D modified w/ Astrodon UV/IR block filter.
Calibration: ISO 1600, 10 light, 15 dark, both @ 60s
Location: Mahogany Flats, Death Valley - Dark Sky Tour August 2012
Notes: The Veil Nebula is the remnants of a supernova which exploded some 5000 to 8000 years ago. It is one of the largest sources of x-rays in our sky.
M20 - Trifid Nebula
Optics: Celestron 8" Newtonian 1000mm F/4.9
Mount: Celestron CG-5 computerized German equatorial mount. Not guided.
Camera: Canon 500D modified w/ Astrodon UV/IR block filter.
Calibration: ISO 1600, 10 light, 15 dark, both @ 60s
Location: Mahogany Flats, Death Valley - Dark Sky Tour August 2012
Notes: The Trifid Nebula is a unique combination of an emission nebula (red), reflection nebula (blue), and a dark nebula (black). It lies in the constellation Sagittarius about 8 light years away.
M33 - Triangulum Galaxy
Optics: Celestron 8" Newtonian 1000mm F/4.9
Mount: Celestron CG-5 computerized German equatorial mount. Not guided.
Camera: Canon 500D modified w/ Astrodon UV/IR block filter.
Calibration: ISO 12800, 10 light, 15 dark, both @ 60s
Location: Mahogany Flats, Death Valley - Dark Sky Tour August 2012
Notes: The Triangulum Galaxy lies about 3 million light years away in the constellation Triangulum. It is the 3rd largest galaxy of our local cluster, trailling behind the Milky Way and the largest - Andromeda.
Arizona Landscape - Black Rock Road
Optics: 10mm Tamron Di-II
Mount: Ordinary tripod
Camera: Canon 500D.
Calibration: ISO 3200, 1 @ 45s
Location: Black Rock Raod, Arizona - Dark Sky Tour August 2012
Notes: This single shot features the Milky Way and Arizona southern sky at the Southern Utah border. Direct white light from the CertainTeed Gypsum mine is seen in the landscape background, with the Las Vegas light dome to the right.
The Double Cluster
Optics: Celestron 8" Newtonian 1000mm F/4.9
Mount: Celestron CG-5 computerized German equatorial mount. Not guided.
Camera: Canon 500D modified w/ Astrodon UV/IR block filter.
Calibration: ISO 1600, 18 light @75s, 15 dark, both @ 60s
Location: Mahogany Flats, Death Valley - Dark Sky Tour August 2012
Notes: In the constellation Perseus, the Double Cluster (NGC 884 and 869)are two blue-shifted star clusters. The slowest of the two is approaching Earth at a speed of at least 13 miles/second.
