M 42 - The Great Orion Nebula - HDR technique used

24*F last night and the seeing wasn't great but here is an HDR image
of the Great Orion Nebula M 42. 
HDR (high dynamic range) imaging is becoming more and more popular with photography, from cell phones to professional scenic photography.
I used this technique, though poorly at the present, to hold the core of the brightest part of the nebula and still retain the faint outer "ring" of nebulosity.
This is only a combination of two images, one lasting about 2 minutes and the other less than 20 seconds.

Taken with the 480mm Daystar scope (80mm doublet refractor) and a Canon t3i camera (unmodded)

Here is the original longer exposure:

Here is the original short exposure:

I used a freeware program called "HDRtist" to do the combination. Interestingly enough, when I imported the brighter image first into that program before the shorted the combination didn't look as good as importing the images in reverse!

January 20, 2019 Total Lunar Eclipse

Sometimes it is just good to prepare for a celestial event even when the weather report and satellite images are discouraging. Such was the case last night.
Despite poor weather conditions, here are my captures of the total lunar eclipse last night (Jan.20, 2019) taken with the CATE Project telescope (80mm f/5.6) and my Canon T3i.  I had cloud cover that started to break up just before totality and then filled back in at totality. Enjoy! I didn't think I was going to get anything, so I am happy with this!

At first it was difficult to get focus because the cloud cover was so thick...

I started taking images because it was obvious that the eclipse had begun (darkening was apparent on the lower right hand side of the Moon)

Then as the shadow of the Earth was darkening nearly half the Moon I took this shot because it looked like the Moon was caught in the center of a nebula!  Yes, totally clear skies are great for detail but even partly cloudy skies create beautiful effects...

Well, it became mostly clear just a few minutes later...

I increased the exposure time to reveal the dark orange color of what would be totality. The color is caused by the light of the Sun passing through Earth's atmosphere, like a thousand sunsets bending their light upon the Moon.

Then totality came, well at least as much as I was going to see...

This was the last image I was able to take before thick clouds came in and my imaging session came to an end.

Here's what it looked like in my obs "warm room"... happy, happy, happy!

January 20, 2019 Total Lunar Eclipse Info

Source: https://www.skyandtelescope.com/

This Sunday evening is not just the first full moon of the new year but it is also going to be a total lunar eclipse. That simply means that the Moon will pass through the shadow of the Earth. The result will be a deep orange-red colored Moon. Totality will last for just over an hour. So if your location has cloudy/partly cloudy skies, don't give up on seeing it! Perhaps a gap may come in the clouds during that hour and give you an opportunity to see it and photograph it. That will be the case here at the La Pine Observatory in La Pine, Oregon, where the predicted cloud cover (as of Friday, January 18, 2019) will be from 80 to 100%.

The first illustration above will give you an idea as to the relationship of the Moon as it passes through Earth's shadow (cast by the Sun).

NOTE: The times show are "Universal Time" NOT local time.

This chart will show you when you can expect the various aspects of this lunar eclipse in your time zone (click on the chart for, hopefully, a larger view of it):

Source: https://www.skyandtelescope.com/

So for my location (Pacific Standard Time - PST) the beginning of eclipse (not totality) will begin about 7:10pm PST. As the Moon progresses through Earth's shadow it will seem like one side of the Moon is just getting darker, no color change initially but gradually becoming more obvious the closer to 8:41pm PST. When the Moon begins enters the full shadow of the Earth, about 8:41pm PST, the reddish-orange color will be very obvious! To the unaided eye (no binoculars or telescope) the Moon will appear to be caught in smoke from a forest fire, but the color comes from the light of the Sun bending around the Earth's atmosphere and it will take on the same color as a sunset just before the Sun drops below the horizon.

Source: https://www.skyandtelescope.com/

Totality will last for just over an hour. You will be able to easily see (weather-permitting) the stars in the night sky. If you have binoculars or a telescope you will see a patch of fuzzy stars to the left of the Moon and slightly down. That is a cluster of stars known as the "Beehive".

If you have a telescope that is capable of following the rotation of the Earth and can mount a camera on it and if you can set it up to take in the area shown in the diagram above, you should easily be able to image the Moon and the Beehive!

Here's hoping we all get some clear skies or a few holes in the cloud cover!

Previous Lunar Eclipse Photo in Sisters Newspaper

Thanks to Jim Hammond and the Sisters Astronomy Club for using one of my prior images of a total lunar eclipse for thier article on next Sunday's eclipse.

Here's the link to it:
https://nuggetnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=27872

Forecast not good for this month's lunar eclipse from central Oregon

Well, the present weather forecast for Sunday night's lunar eclipse doesn't look promising for my area:

First Quarter Moon - Prepping for total lunar eclipse in a week

In hopeful preparation for next Sunday's total lunar eclipse.
However the weather report for that night: snow :^(
First Quarter Moon taken with a Celestron 4SE scope, Canon T3i camera.
Post processed with Luminar to adjust to b&w, contrast and sharpness:

Same image of the First Quarter Moon, January 13, 2019: The original photo was taken in color. I pushed the color saturation up considerably to bring out the various elements present on the surface of the Moon. The colors themselves represent the various types of iron and mineral deposits on the Moon. The blue hues reveal titanium rich areas while orange and purple colors show regions relatively poor in titanium and iron.

Cloudy days are here again!

Clouds, rain and snow are here again!

This year I am going to keep track of the weather in the night skies here.

Already only one day in 7 has had enough clear sky to do some astroimaging.

Stay tuned!