Through A Glass, Darkly

Comet 17/P Holmes

As I'd hoped, the SE PA skies were clear, cool, and reasonably still last night, so I bundled up to look at Comet 17P/Holmes and try some piggyback astrophotography.

First things first: The comet was everything folks are saying, and better than I expected. If you've not yet seen it, don't expect the classic image of Haley, with a massive, bright tail shooting sparks to the horizon. This is a traditionally dim comet, and its curious brightening is part of the din of current interest. The comet is also on the opposite side of the sun from Earth, so the tail is actually extending away from us, as if we were looking down the barrel of a baseball bat.

That said, it's easily visible to the naked eye in Perseus (finder map here; at 9 PM or so the comet should be 50 degrees or above the Northeast horizon -- if you were to hold your arm out with your hand in a fist, that's about five fists up), and should be impressive for nearly anyone in binoculars. For Kate and I both the reaction when taking our first look through the eyepiece of the telescope (the 32mm) was "Oh my!" The comet was much larger in the field of view than I expected, taking up about as much space in the telescope as does Moon (although to the naked eye, it looks like a bright, fuzzy star).

Here are two images from a photo I took last night (Digital Rebel XTi, EFS 18-55mm kit lens at 54mm, f/5.6 for 2 minutes). The first is the full photo, the second is a cropped blowup of the comet proper. Click both to embiggen.

Not bad for my first try, I think! Now I have to order the T-ring adapter so I can hook the camera right up to the telescope ...

Adventures in Astrophotography

Stumbled across a new (and new to me) astronomy blog today: Adventures in Astrophotography, by Anthony Arrigo. Several reasons I like the site: Astronomy nut (here, here), starting to play with astrophotography (here, here), and lives in Park City, Utah, just up the road from where I grew up in SLC and just over the hill from our family place in Brighton (here, here!). Check it out, and I look forward to reading more -- especially about how the backyard observatory is coming along ...

Speaking of astrophotography, here's hoping the skies clear so I can go outside tonight and take some shots with the Canon Rebel XTi. I've been reading up on settings and methods most of the afternoon, and hope to take some long-exposure shots as part of my learning curve. If they work, I'll post 'em.

Viewing Report: 11.4.07

My folks were in town and spent the night so they could grab some grandbaby time. With the move back to EST, this meant my Pop woke around 4 AM. I was already up tending the baby (and giving Kate a break), so I took the scope out back and gave the ol' man a quick tour of the morning PA skies. On the menu: A quick view of the Orion neb before it slipped below the trees to the West; Mars (distinct but without noticeable surface features); the Moon (spectacular at waxing crescent); and best of all, Saturn.

Even though the dawn was breaking and the Moon was just next door, the ringed gas giant did not disappoint.  This was the first I'd seen the rings since I was a kid, and my first view of Saturn through my new telescope, and it really was a thrill. The gap between rings and planet was clearly visible in the 25mm lens, and with the 12.5 and the Barlow banding in the clouds and the ring shadow on the planet were clearly visible (as were two Saturn moons, Titan and Rhea). It the lower-power lens it looked a bit like this (from my Equinox software):

All told, it was a great morning.