Astroprof sets the record straight on Blue Moons. He offers a variety of definitions of what a Blue Moon is, when it occurs, as well as a number of misconceptions on what a Blue Moon is not. Furthermore, he looks at the history of the Blue Moon and its development in folklore.
Other posts on this topic:
Internationally renowned astro-photographer, Paul Haese had been using a competing product for his astro-photographic needs. His images were good, but he knew that he could do much better.
On seeing the spectacular results created by Christopher Go with The Imaging Source DMK 21AF04, Paul decided to tryout the same camera for his own astro-photography work.
On reviewing his DMK 21AF04 based rig, Paul writes:
The results have been staggering [...] I am very happy with its performance [...] It is fast, 30 fps means that in 10 seconds it has produced 300 frames [...] The detail seen during capture is better than anything I had ever seen [...]
Paul continues to talk about the shipped software and expresses his enthusiasm for the camera in the highest tones. He has posted an image of his rig and a sample image that he has captured with the DMK 21AF04.
Read the full text of his review here:
Christopher Go, of Cebu City, Philippines usually observes and captures images of Jupiter and Saturn. He reports to several astronomical organizations throughout the world, including NASA and ALPO.
Christopher became an overnight celebrity in the astronomy community when he discovered Red Spot Jr. (aka Oval BA) on February 27, 2006. He immediately alerted the scientific community and was headlined on NASA’s web site and reported upon worldwide (for example here, here, here, here, here and here).
Below is his famous image:
For his work, he deployed a Celestron C-11 Schmidt Cassegrain telescope, mounted on an AP-900 equatorial mount and The Imaging Source DMK 21BF04 monochrome camera. This trigger camera is normally deployed in industrial applications. Christopher was one of the first to try using The Imaging Source FireWire cameras for astro-photography and is thus a pioneer in the field.
Christopher has set up a web site with the sole purpose of monitoring Red Spot Jr. It contains a number of images that he has personally captured, as well as several from other astro-photographers:
Further to his research on Red Spot Jr. Christopher is again observing Jupiter. He has published several very recent images on his web site. Again, all images were captured with The Imaging Source DMK 21BF04 monochrome camera:
A great thanks goes out to Christopher for his on going work with The Imaging Source cameras and the spectacular images that he publishes at frequent intervals on his web sites.
Following feedback from our customers last week, we are now able to accept credit cards on all orders placed in the astronomy cameras online store.
(previously, credit cards were only accepted for customers, who resided in North and South America; European customers were requested to pay via Cash On Delivery.)
Now, European customers can also pay with Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
Furthermore, we have also been able to substantially reduce our shipping costs in Europe, as previously, our shipping agent levied a fee for their Cash on Delivery service.
The 2007 Riverside Telescope Makers Expo was a good time had by all! Amateur and Professional Astronomers alike blew into Big Bear, California this past weekend to eat, sleep, and drink the wonderful San Bernardino Mountain dessert skies (and dust). Although I must confess, this is the first RTMC I have attended, it will defineatly not be the last.
The Expo included well-planned hands-on activities, superb talks from renound speakers, and countless product raffles from contributing vendors. In the daylight, participants could view the Sun in many different wavelengths with the help of the Coronado folks and their solar telescopes. At night, the Beginners Corner tutored new stargazers to star-hop, to align, and to collimate their own personal telescopes, some of which they had just purchased. Those attendees that were present only by association, had many activities both inside and outside the Camp Oaks location thanks to the conference organizers, the various outlet malls, and the numerous local pubs and eateries.
From the SAS conference preceeding the Expo, to the keynote talk from famed galactic astronomer, Dr. Alex Filippenko of UC Berkeley, the RTMC at Big Bear was an overwhelming success. Though quite dry (and very dusty) for this East Coast Stargazer, I recommend all attend the 40th annual RTMC next Memorial Day weekend! Profjohn and The Imaging Source astronomy cameras will certainly return.
On a personal note: Thanks to all who made my first RTMC an overwhelming pleasant one and cheers to my new Mexican friends who tip the Tequila as they image the night!
