Please click on each image for
a full-size version, and be sure to check out our
Sun
Our Sun. This image of the closest star to Earth was taken with a Meade ETX using the
prime focus photography slot on the back. It's a 1/125th second exposure
using Kodak Royal Gold 1000 and a Thousand Oaks Class A/Type
2 Solar Filter. Taken on 11/16/98 at approximately 2:15 pm EST. Location:
Chris's backyard. How many sunspots can you see? Compare it with my sketch,
drawn 15 minutes before this exposure.
Planets
Three views of
Jupiter. Two of these images were taken with the Meade 8-inch, using a Meade Tele-Extender
and a 10mm Celestron eyepiece (200x). We used Kodak Royal Gold 100 film for the first image, and KRG 400 for the second.
Both images are 1 1/2 second exposures; the first was taken on October 30th, 1998, and the second was taken on November 14th, 1998.
The third was taken with a CCD camera. More image notes inside. Location: OCO.
Two views of Saturn. These images were taken with the same setup as Jupiter, above. The first was taken in September
1998, and the second in November 1998. South is up. If you look closely you can see the Cassini division
in Saturn's rings, a cloud belt in the Southern Hemisphere, and the shadow
of the planet on the rings, at right. Location: OCO.
Comets
Comet
Hyukatake: The Great Comet of 1996. This trio of images was taken on the night of
March 23rd, 1996. The setup consisted of a 50mm lens, with the camera mounted on a
homemade adapter between the fork arms of the C-11. Note the helmet shaped
coma and the beautiful, wispy structure of the tail. Location: OCO.
Comet
Hale-Bopp: The Great Comet of 1997. Comet Hale-Bopp was probably the most
photographed (and the most observed) comet in history. Our exposure was
taken in March 1997 using a 50mm lens. Look for a meteor to the lower right
on the full size image. Location: OCO.
Another
view of Comet Hale-Bopp. .This image was taken using the same setup as above. This expsoure
brings out more detail in the dust tail and the fainter, dark blue ion
tail.
2 views of Comet Giacobini-Zinner. This diminutive comet is the source of the Giacobinid
Meteor shower in early October. These photos were taken with the 8-inch
using Kodak Royal Gold 1000. Location: OCO.
Meteors
A Leonid Meteor streaks through the Sickle. A shooting star
captured on film- this bright meteor was part of the Leonid meteor shower,
which peaked in 1998 on the night of November 16th. This image was taken
with a 50mm lens using Fujicolor 200 film. As you can see it seems to come
almost exactly from the radiant of the meteor shower in Leo. Leo's Sickle
was close to the horizon at the time, so there is some skyglow.
Visit the moon
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