Build Your Own Astro Cameras!

For the monetarily-challenged astrophotographers (such as myself), there is a simple alternative. Single-use, disposable cameras can make excellent astronomical cameras; with some modifications of course.
The idea behind the whole concept is simple: even though the camera is handicapped with a focal plane of around f/10, the removal of the shutter mechanism allows for long-exposure photography. [...]

Deadly Dance of Two Galaxies

Yesterday, the Hubble telescope spotted two intertwining galaxies and produced this stunning image:

The pair of galaxies are gliding past each other, and literally through each other, and the effects of gravity are evident. Even in the spiral arms, which appear as “fuzz”, there are many millions of stars and even though they pass through the [...]

Our First Award: Break Out Blogger Award

DrowseyMonkey has awarded this site with the Break Out Blogger award. Look for it (and any other) awards we receive at the very bottom of this webpage. Thanks!

More Astrophotography From Last Night

Here’s a few of my photos from last night’s photo session. I mostly did some stuff with the comet, but took a few more snaps. Check em out!

A Night with the Comet (17P/Holmes)

Our solar system post for Wednesday is an update on an object about 99.9% of all telescopes pointed upward are looking at: Comet 17P/Holmes.

It looks like the comet is still maintaining its current magnitude, and a “fuzziness”, often described as nebulous, dust cloud surrounds the yellowish-greenish object. It is east of Mirfak, and nearly as [...]

Deep Sky Objects Viewable with Binoculars

For today’s deep space object post we’ll be checking out a few deep sky objects that are visible this time of year to the amateur using binoculars! That’s right, there are a number of deep sky targets that can be seen, albeit not in the vibrant, colorful flare that the best astrophotos exhibit. Below is [...]

The Last Survivor of a Cosmic Clash

Hubble telescope’s most recent addition to its list of already impressive cosmic phenomena is disocvery of a quasar, MC2 1635+11.9, surrounded by the “shells” of stars. It resides in the MC2 1635+119, the host galaxy.

Researchers are suggesting that these star remnants are the casualties of a cosmic collision between two galaxies. This supports current views [...]

Harmony Node Installed

The Harmony node is officially installed in the International Space Station.
Wearing protective gear in case any equipment or hardware was jarred loose during the rocket flight, astronauts opened the door and went inside Harmony for the first time. Equipment was secured using more than 700 bolts; each of which will have to be removed by [...]

Supernova Remnant: G292.0+1.8

The Chandra X-Ray telescope has created a new, beautifully colorful composite image from the G292.0+1.8 nebula in Centaurus. This is considered a “textbook example” of the image, but the different colors, which represent different elements such as hydrogen or neon, teach us many things about the nature of supernovae.

More information available at Chandra’s Official [...]

Planetary Astrophotography: The Web Cam Trick

Of all the expensive CCD and DSLR cameras available for astrophotography, a surprisingly cheap alternative exists for planetary photography that many video bloggers actually might already have: the web cam.
The premise is simple: a web cam essentially takes many camera shots, stitches them together, and then creates a video. Anyone interested in astrophotography knows that [...]