Learning and Playing with New Software

Captured these shots with an Orion Star Shoot Eyepiece II Camera attached to an Orion EQ 8 Reflecting Telescope mounted on a Sirius EQ-G Computerized GoTo Telescope Mount in October 2014.  It has taken me this long before playing with the images.  The Star Shoot Camera actually creates a video which must be processed.  I used the planetary stacking program, RegiStax, to process the images and then Photoshop and Picasa for final tweaking.

Moon Shot 10-6-14, RegiStax, Rotate Crop

Moon Shot 10-6-14, RegiStax and Photoshop, Rotate and Crop

Original Moon Shot 10-6-14, RegisStax

Original Moon Shot 10-6-14, RegiStax and Photoshop

Exploding Mamajuana

On our recent trip to the Dominican Republic for our nephew's wedding, we brought back a bottle of an indigenous concoction, Mamajuana.  It is made by allowing rum, red wine, and honey to soak in a bottle with tree bark and herbs. The product's claim to fame is that it is an aphrodisiac but it also 
claims to be an aid in circulation and digestion.  

It did taste good on a tour that we took so we bought a bottle to take home.  Unfortunately, it spontaneously exploded on our counter before we had any.  It must be powerful!  I'll have to order more.

The only thing I can think of is a secondary fermentation, some of the sugar reacted with bacteria or yeast to produce carbon dioxide similar to what happens when you add sugar when bottling a home brew...

Orion Nebula & Betelgeuse

Bracing the Cold for the First Observation and Photo session of the New Year!

Object: Orion Nebula
Location: Monroe, CT
Date Taken: 01/01/2015
Telescope: Orion SkyView Pro 8 EQ Reflecting Telescope
Other Telescope: none
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G Computerized GoTo Telescope Mount
Camera: Nikon D3000
Other Camera: none
Temp: 28 deg. F
Processing: Adobe Photoshop (subtract noise)
Exposure: 25s
Iso: 1600
Other Equipment Used: Astro-Tech Coma Corrector and Flattener for Newtonian Reflectors

Object: Orion Nebula
Location: Monroe, CT
Date Taken: 01/01/2015
Telescope: Orion SkyView Pro 8 EQ Reflecting Telescope
Other Telescope: none
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G Computerized GoTo Telescope Mount
Camera: Nikon D3000
Other Camera: none
Temp: 28 deg. F
Processing: none
Exposure: 13s
Iso: 1600
Other Equipment Used: Astro-Tech Coma Corrector and Flattener for Newtonian Reflectors

Object: Orion Nebula
Location: Monroe, CT
Date Taken: 01/01/2015
Telescope: Orion SkyView Pro 8 EQ Reflecting Telescope
Other Telescope: none
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G Computerized GoTo Telescope Mount
Camera: Nikon D3000
Other Camera: none
Temp: 28 deg. F
Processing: none
Exposure: 25s
Iso: 1600
Other Equipment Used: Astro-Tech Coma Corrector and Flattener for Newtonian Reflectors

Object: Betelgeuse
Location: Monroe, CT
Date Taken: 01/01/2015
Telescope: Orion SkyView Pro 8 EQ Reflecting Telescope
Other Telescope: none
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G Computerized GoTo Telescope Mount
Camera: Nikon D3000
Other Camera: none
Temp: 28 deg. F
Processing: Adobe Photoshop (subtract noise)
Exposure: 25s
Iso: 1600
Other Equipment Used: Astro-Tech Coma Corrector and Flattener for Newtonian Reflectors

Object: Betelgeuse
Location: Monroe, CT
Date Taken: 01/01/2015
Telescope: Orion SkyView Pro 8 EQ Reflecting Telescope
Other Telescope: none
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G Computerized GoTo Telescope Mount
Camera: Nikon D3000
Other Camera: none
Temp: 28 deg. F
Processing:none
Exposure: 25s
Iso: 1600
Other Equipment Used: Astro-Tech Coma Corrector and Flattener for Newtonian Reflectors

Getting Shot For Science

While on a recent trip to the Fort Worth Science Museum where they had a special Myth Busters Exhibit, I was experimented on.  In the first test, three of us (my wife and another) were used to see if there was a difference in reaction time between light and sound.  Our results indicated that light yielded the slightly quicker response time.  We were told most people have a quicker response to sound.  I had the quickest response overall, thus I was "selected" for the next part of the experiment which involved being shot at with a paint gun.  Yes that is me all dressed up!

Video 1) 0.1 second response, simulates being shot from 25 feet.

Video 2) 0.4 second response, simulates being shot from 100 feet.

Video 3) 0.7 second response, simulates being shot from 17 feet.

Two Crescents

Two Crescents: 5-Days Apart

          

     Waning Crescent (11/19/14)                      Waxing Crescent (11/24/14)

Waning Crescent

The Moon over Seymour High School on Cold Wednesday Morning (6:15, 11/19/14)

Waning Crescent:

Jupiter

Camera: Nikon D3000
Lens: 300 mm (210 mm)
F7.1
ISO: 200

Creating Google Chrome Users

Managing your School/Business Google Chrome and Personal Google Chrome!