Astrophotography at Bortle 5

  Welcome to my blog about all things astronomy and astrophotography! I will feature my latest pictures of the night sky, insights, stories, and more. Subscribe for the latest updates!  Clear skies!   -Erik

  The Moon is perhaps the easiest object in the sky to set your telescope upon and view in wonder.    The Moon can be viewed in both the day and night skies.   It has different phases.   The shadows give depth to the craters.   You can see the impact striations from meteor impacts.    View the valleys and the mara (seas).  Gaze at the lunar mountains and cracks (rilles).  And no - we can never see the flag left from the Apollo missions.   We need a telescope the size of planet Earth to be able to see that flag. Ha!  The above picture was taken on my Canon Rebel DSLR camera in 2008.   A few months ago, I used my ZWO ASI 183MC astrophotography camera by using the video mode.    I took a video of about a minute long.   Then by using some stacking software, it would stack the good photos to come up with a clear picture of the moon.      Why do all this?    Our atmosphere is full of turbulent air, water vapor, and pollutants at times (think smoke, ash, and pollen).    Taking a video will ca

  I recently purchased a new telescope for my expanding astrophotography hobby - the William Optics RedCat 71.   There are so many decisions and factors to consider when buying a new telescope, whether it is for your child, yourself, or the amateur astronomer.   The vast majority purchase a telescope in order to make direct observations of the moon, planets, and stars.    You are looking for something easy to setup, point it to heavenly body you want to explore for a night, and then take your telescope back inside for another night. My first two telescopes that I purchased (William Optics Zenithstar 66mm Doublet Refractor and the Meade 80mm Series Triplet Refractor) has provided countless nights of great observations of the night skies.   These are great when paired on a good mount and with quality eyepiece lens. I also used both my telescopes for astrophotography.   This is where you place a camera at the observation end of the telescope and take pictures.   I started out the hobby by

Do you remember your first telescope?    I got my first telescope for Christmas in 1977 when I was 8 years old.   To me, it was the latest in advancements of Astronomy to enable citizen scientists to view and add to the body of knowledge of the cosmos.   In reality, it was a  white cardboard tube with some basic glass lens on a rickety tripod purchased from a local department store.   My First Telescope on the Chair (A refractor) Was it frustrating to use?   Yep.   Did I get to see the moon for a brief fleeting moment?  Sure.    Was it worth it?  Absolutely.   My appetite for the night sky was born.   What was out there?   How far are those stars?   Why are they different colors?   I wanted to know more about the planets that shared our solar system. On a stary night, I would setup my precision instrument at the driveway.  After swatting away a number of mosquitos while I got my telescope focused on the moon,  I would run into the house and share my excitement with my Mom and Dad.  &qu