Hey, all, richlite from central Oregon here!
Last night was my first attempt at two "first's":
1. To image some night sky objects with the Mallincam Micro Ex
2. To broadcast live on NSN Network to friends of NSN Network
First my initial efforts at using the Mallincam Micro Ex. I piggybacked my new Celestron 70mm (short tube) telescope on my old original Celestron C8 and attached the Mallincam Micro Ex (hereafter referred to as MCMEx) to the 80mm scope. The following images are at 50% actual size to reduce the graininess of video snapshots.
Let's start with...
The Moon. (I capitalize "Moon" because that is it's name! It slightly irritates me that people still do not.) It was coming up in the east, bright and beautiful and just past full moon.
Next up:
The Great Orion Nebula (M42). Here is a photo of the Orion constellation and you can make out this bright nebula in the "sword." The settings were set at maximum sensitivity for color...not bad at all! This nebula is a gaseous cloud that is illuminated by the new stars forming within it.
Now we aim for dimmer objects, still maximum sensitivity for color...
The Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2). Terry Lovejoy discovered C/2014 Q2 in August of 2014 from his observatory in Brisbane, Australia. This is a "long period" comet, which means that, unlike Halley's Comet which returns every 76 years or so, Comet Lovejoy will not return for another 8,000 years! But here's the good news: it will get brighter and more northerly in the next couple of weeks and should be easy to spot with binoculars! Here is a photo of the Orion constellation and Comet Lovejoy is in the upper right hand corner of that photo, the bright fuzzy blueish object. Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) will reach perihelion (closest point in its orbit to the Sun) on January 30th, 2015. Here's where you will find the latest info on this comet.
Finally, we go for a VERY dim object indeed...
The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024). This object is located just to the left and up from the (eastern most) left hand-most star in the "belt" of the Orion constellation, the bright star Alnitak (ΞΆ Ori). The nebula's magnitude is about +2 (if condensed into a single point) but being spread out it is really much dimmer, especially compared to Alnitak whose magnitude is also +2 ! Here is a high quality image of the nebula.
Now as to the second point: My first effort to broadcast live on NSN Network with the MCMEx....
...I need to practice more! There are more than a few steps to getting connected and broadcasting images live... but it is worth it, to share one's love for God's creation in the heavens with others!
I need to do the following:
* Create a checklist of the needed computer actions and settings
* Go out with a plan!
In the absence of these two points it can be frustrating for both myself and the viewers.
But overall I think it went well for the first effort with the MCMEx.
See you there!
Last night was my first attempt at two "first's":
1. To image some night sky objects with the Mallincam Micro Ex
2. To broadcast live on NSN Network to friends of NSN Network
First my initial efforts at using the Mallincam Micro Ex. I piggybacked my new Celestron 70mm (short tube) telescope on my old original Celestron C8 and attached the Mallincam Micro Ex (hereafter referred to as MCMEx) to the 80mm scope. The following images are at 50% actual size to reduce the graininess of video snapshots.
Let's start with...
The Moon. (I capitalize "Moon" because that is it's name! It slightly irritates me that people still do not.) It was coming up in the east, bright and beautiful and just past full moon.
Next up:
The Great Orion Nebula (M42). Here is a photo of the Orion constellation and you can make out this bright nebula in the "sword." The settings were set at maximum sensitivity for color...not bad at all! This nebula is a gaseous cloud that is illuminated by the new stars forming within it.
Now we aim for dimmer objects, still maximum sensitivity for color...
The Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2). Terry Lovejoy discovered C/2014 Q2 in August of 2014 from his observatory in Brisbane, Australia. This is a "long period" comet, which means that, unlike Halley's Comet which returns every 76 years or so, Comet Lovejoy will not return for another 8,000 years! But here's the good news: it will get brighter and more northerly in the next couple of weeks and should be easy to spot with binoculars! Here is a photo of the Orion constellation and Comet Lovejoy is in the upper right hand corner of that photo, the bright fuzzy blueish object. Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) will reach perihelion (closest point in its orbit to the Sun) on January 30th, 2015. Here's where you will find the latest info on this comet.
Finally, we go for a VERY dim object indeed...
The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024). This object is located just to the left and up from the (eastern most) left hand-most star in the "belt" of the Orion constellation, the bright star Alnitak (ΞΆ Ori). The nebula's magnitude is about +2 (if condensed into a single point) but being spread out it is really much dimmer, especially compared to Alnitak whose magnitude is also +2 ! Here is a high quality image of the nebula.
Now as to the second point: My first effort to broadcast live on NSN Network with the MCMEx....
...I need to practice more! There are more than a few steps to getting connected and broadcasting images live... but it is worth it, to share one's love for God's creation in the heavens with others!
I need to do the following:
* Create a checklist of the needed computer actions and settings
* Go out with a plan!
In the absence of these two points it can be frustrating for both myself and the viewers.
But overall I think it went well for the first effort with the MCMEx.
See you there!
I love your blogspot. Nice backgrounds and content. Can you post higher-resolution photos, or is that a problem? Now I need to check out the NSN Network and the key to the Weather Prediction chart. Oh- and capitalize Moon!
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