2019 "Now & laters"
Also take a look at past years for interesting images and projects.
I like to call my Images "Now & Laters". Observe Now and Share Later.
Images are made from a live stack of many images usually around 3 seconds for each frame. The stack itself is around 3 Minutes in duration.A dark frame is removed for each frame during the live stack.Minimal processing is performed during the live stack. No post processing is performed on the final image.These images can also be browsed in the object image page.Clicking on an image will open the full size image in another page or a GalleryCheck back often as I work on projects in the observatoryJanuary 2019
Lunar eclipse
This was first light at the observatory and a great night for me!
November 2019
Mercury Solar Transit November 11, 2019
Mercury Solar Transit November 11, 2019
This was a very enjoyable morning event that I broadcast live via the internet so many people that were weathered in could watch. Many areas were under heavy snow. The weather here was not great as well with many periods of clouds moving through. The third and forth contact was just obtained with a rouge cloud attempting to block!I was saying a few choice words and juggling settings with the video camera at the time. One person said it looked like I was playing a piano with the camera keypad. Pretty pictures were not obtained but I believe good data was at contacts. A few captures are presented here.
looking for the black drop effect
Bye Bye Mercury!
May 2019
This video is approx 30 minutes of travel compiled into 25 seconds.You will see an satellite zip through the image which is becoming a big problem for astrophotography.
Asteroid 1999KW4 66931
A near Earth object flyby of Earth May 26 2019Binary asteroid oblate shaped primary rock just under 1 mile wide with a companion moon 1.6 miles away @ .3 miles wide with a 16 day orbit.Aten type earth crossing rock orbit 188 days around the suntraveling at Approximately 48.123 MPH or 13 miles a secondApproximately 3,000,000.000 distance from earth or 13.5 times the earth moon distancemagnitude +12.551.7% illuminated moving through the constellation HydraIt had just passed the galaxy NGC 2935 next closer encounter will be May 25 2036Imaged with a 8" sct at F1.9 and Stellacam II
Asteroid 1999KW4 is a “double asteroid” about 1.3 km wide, and does not pose any risk to Earth. In fact, astronomers know its orbit well, so the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) was able to predict this fly-by, to make sure that astronomers were ready and that telescopes were trained on it. The two components of the asteroid are separated by around 2.6 km.
This object was an Interesting challenge to image. I prepared for the brief opportunity to find and image this fast moving Asteroid and had excellent weather but encountered a mount problem at the worse time. Overcoming the probably self inducted technical issue. I was able to locate the Asteroid just moving past the Galaxy Ngc 2935 in the background which is just outside the image. If you use your mind's Eye and imagine the size, speed orbit as it swings past Earth that moving dot is a very interesting thing.
Supernova 2019ein
Supernova 2019ein
2019/05/21 2.26 UT
Type SNIa red shift 0.007755 in the galaxy NGC 5353 at a distance of 110 million light years in the Hickson Compact Group 68 Constellation Canes Venatici first discovered by ATLAS "Asteroid Terrestrial impact last alert system" in Hawaii 2019-05-01 at mag 18.194My estimated visual mag 14.1 At 2019-05-21 2.26 UT satellite sneaking through the frame at right side. Mind's Eye Observatory.Stellacam II, C8 Hyperstar, 256 frames unprocessed.
