How To Photograph The Universe

Transcription

1 Experiences at my first Golden State Star Party Bill Lockman SCAC mee0ng July 10, 2014

2 My background and interests Profession: SCIPP experimental elementary par0cle physicist: ü BaBar (SLAC): Mixing and CP viola0on in charm mesons ü ATLAS (LHC): Higgs produc0on and decay proper0es - Standard model or new physics object? Astronomy Interests: Astro- photography: ü Open and globular clusters ü Nebulae ü Galaxies ü Planets ü Double stars Cosmology: ü Composi0on and large scale structure of the universe Astro- photography equipment: Mount: ü Celestron CGEM DX OTAs: ü Celestron 8 SCT (f/10) with field fla\ener (f/10 f/6.3) x Hyperstar adapter (f/10 f/2) x Stellarvue 105 mm triplet refractor (f/7) x Orion short- tube 80 mm guide scope ü Stellarvue 9x50 mm finder scope Cameras: ü Canon APS- C sensor DSLR x Orion Starshoot G3 one- shot color cooled CCD camera x Orion Starshoot autoguider July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 2

3 Mt. Shasta Redding, CA GSSP GSSP 2014 Frosty Acres Ranch site located between CA 299 and CA 139 near Adin, CA Eleva0on: 4300 Dark, full sky view Lassen Peak Palo Alto Santa Cruz Not too far from Bay area Free hot showers, porta- pofes, great dinners Best of all, lots of great company! July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 3

4 GSSP 2014: June 25-29, 2014 Tuesday, June 24, 2014 Early Frosty Acres ranch Night mostly cloudy: some southern sky visibility Wednesday, June 25, 2014 Help set up hospitality tent Orienta0on Night: wind and rain Thursday, June 26, 2014 Dry out from rain storm x Swap meet BBQ dinner 3D Prin0ng of telescope parts: Bill Seiler Night: mostly cloudy Friday, June 27, 2014 Willie Shepherd s Tractor show BBQ dinner x Solar Eclipse Chasing: Bob Minor Public night: par0al y cloudy Saturday, June 28, 2014 Pancake breakfast Scope walkabout Big Valley fund raising BBQ in Bieber x Real 0me Spectroscopy: Tom Field Night: Clear dark skies!!! Sunday, June 29, 2014 Pre- dawn: clear dark skies!!! Early dawn twilight: Pleiades star cluster visible Break camp, noon July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 4

5 Arrival, June 24 th July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 5

6 June 24 th night sky First dark sky views of the heavens Got some nice binocular views of the Lagoon Nebula and other structures in Sagi\arius Most other constella0ons / asterisms par0ally or completely obscured by clouds Sheltered all telescope equipment before re0ring July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 6

7 foul weather, June 25/26 Tent- tarp configura0on failed to keep me completely dry Thanks to Jeff, Lynn and Walter for their help in re- op0mizing my tent setup July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 7

8 3D PrinNng, June 26 th : Bill Seiler 3D prin0ng is addi0ve, versus subtrac0ve machining 3- rail up- down mo0on x- y- z posi0on of print head deposi0ng heated plas0c on platen July 10, 2014 BahInov focusing mask Bill Lockman Fabricated items 8

9 Vendors: June 27 th July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 9

10 Willie Shepherd s tractor show July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 10

11 Willie Shepherd s tractor show July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 11

12 Scope walk- about: June 28 th July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 12

13 Early morning, June 29 th, 2014 Piggy- backed DSLR astro- photography at GSSP Celestron CGEM DX polarscope- aligned, unguided mount Stock Canon SL1 DSLR and 50 mm f/1.4 lens piggy- backed on Celestron 8SE OTA Focus using 10x live view 30 sec, f/2.0, ISO 3200, single raw light- frame, dark frame subtracted in camera ( long exposure noise reduc0on mode) Light Photoshop CS6 post- processing of raw images July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 13

14 Early morning, June 29 th, 2014 Early dawn Big Dipper star field Aquila / Scutum star field near Wild Duck cluster Focus star July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 14

15 AUer disassembling scope around 4 am Had a view of the Pleiades, early dawn, June 29 th, 2014 actual posi0on was closer to the horizon than in this facimile view July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 15

16 ConNnuing Astro- photography CMOS Canon DSLR: Master Backyard EOS control Sooware Employ different op0cs configura0ons Piggy- back camera (50 mm f/1.4, mm f/4): wide star fields, constella0ons, asterisms 105 mm triplet refractor (f/7): nebulae, clusters, galaxies C8 with focal reducer/fla\ener (f/6.3): nebulae, clusters, galaxies C8 at prime focus (f/10): galaxies, double stars, planets Upgrade: Hutech sensor enhancement Cooled CCD camera: Upgrade: From one- shot low- resolu0on color camera to higher- resolu0on monochrome camera for use with C8 Hyperstar: nebulae, clusters, galaxies Photography with narrow- band H- α, O- III filters: nebulae, clusters, galaxies July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 16

17 Thanks to Walter Nilsson for encouraging me to a\end His companionship was wonderful Jeff and Lynn Gose For their camping know- how and hospitality John Pierce For sharing his astronomy exper0se Ron Yelton and Fred Miles For their astro- photography guidance Bill Seiler For his intriguing 3D printer demonstra0on the GSSP commi\ee, most of all! For providing the organiza0on, ameni0es, access to the Frosty Acres site and connec0on with 350 other astronomers July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 17

18 I had a great Nme! Looking forward to next year s GSSP! July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 18

19 Bill Lockman s GSSP 2014 photo archive: h\ps:// July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 19

20 Backup Slides July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 20

21 Wild Duck Cluster (Messier 11) The Wild Duck Cluster (Messier 11) is found in the constella0on Scutum the Shield, just south of the Eagle s Tail in the constella0on Aquila. Star0ng from the star Altair, star- hop to M11ʹ s general loca0on. EsImated camera field M11 target in telescope Many stars like our sun, were formed in open Clusters. M11, contains thousands of stars and is just over five thousand light years distant. The stars in the Wild Duck cluster all formed together about 250 million years ago. The bright young stars in M11 appear blue. Open clusters, also called galacic clusters, contain fewer and younger stars than globular clusters. Also, unlike globular clusters, open clusters are generally confined to the plane of our Galaxy. M11 is visible with binoculars towards the constellaion of Scutum. APOD 2003 Jan 22, Copyright: Jean- Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight, CFHT July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 21

22 Aquila/Scutum RAW image Final Image July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 22

23 Solar scope on Advanced VX mount VX Mount features (from Celestron website): Integer gear ra0os and permanently programmable Periodic Error Correc0on eliminates recurring track errors from the worm gear. New motors offer improved tracking performance & provide more power to overcome load imbalances New design allows viewing or imaging across the meridian without interference from the motors housings Improved la0tude range. Can be used between 7 77 degrees la0tude. Improved electronics with increased memory for future expansion (Adequate as a grab- n- go mount for visual work) July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 23

24 Faces July 10, 2014 Bill Lockman 24