In this report, I tried my had in astrophotography with my Canon EOS Rebel T3i also known as the Canon EOS 600D. I used the Canon EF-S 18-55 mm STI lens kit, the one with the very quick and quiet focus motor.
Seeing conditions were excellent. It was moonless, cloudless, dry with a very light breeze. The temperature was on the chilly side that I needed to wear a head sock and a jacket. However, I shot the photos from my backyard which was subject to a lot of light pollution.
I should have done more research in astrophotography before attempting it for the first time because I had no idea how to use any of the “manual” modes. I ended up using the “No Flash” setting on the dial. Out of the two dozen meteors that I saw that night, I only captured 3 to 4 on film and all of them were grainy. Enjoy the video.
Similar to regular sketching, astrosketching is a relaxing and rewarding activity where the subject is the beauty of the night sky.
In this video, i’ll cover the basics of amateur astronomy sketching including:
– Why Astronomy Sketching is Fun
– What tools you need
– Sketching techniques
– Logging your observation
– Digitizing your sketches
– and some common Challenges
I used M45 as my subject which is perfect for beginners like me. You are drawing a portrait of the universe. Take your time and enjoy it.
Messier 92 is one of the oldest and brightest globular clusters in the Milky Way galaxy. Due to its close proximity to the more spectacular M13, it is often overlooked. Tonight, M92 was one of my primary targets.
This was my 6th straight night of observation during what has been an amazing week for stargazing. I was back at the DRAACO dark sky site and it looked even darker than last night except there was a little bit of a breeze. I even brought my binoculars for use between breaks.
Last night, my finder scope’s objective did not dew but its eyepiece did. This time, I made it a habit to keep the eyepiece cap on between use and it helped delay dew formation.
Object #12: M92
Location: DRAACO, Orono, ON
Date/Time: Sep. 28, 2013 9:20 PM
Constellation: Hercules
Seeing: Excellent
Telescope: D=305 mm F=1500 mm
Magnification: 83.3 x @ 82° AFOV
Notes: Faint but dense globular cluster with many individual stars resolvable.
Messier 92
On September 17, 2013, I officially started the pursuit of my Messier 30 certificate. It is an exciting awards program for astronomy club members and a way for amateur astronomers to keep track of their observations. The Messier 30 is the first milestone in AstronomyForum.net‘s certificate program. The Durham Region Astronomy Association also has one.
Charles Messier’s first globular cluster in his catalog, M2 was a challenge for me because I was not familiar with the Aquarius Constellation. I had to borrow Arnold Brody’s large sky atlas because it showed more faint stars that I could hop than The Evening Sky Map was showing. This has made me even more comfortable with my finder scope and now have a better understanding of its footprint in the sky.
This was my 6th straight night of observation during what has been an amazing week for stargazing. I was back at the DRAACO dark sky site and it looked even darker than last night except there was a little bit of a breeze. I even brought my binoculars for use between breaks. Tonight’s primary targets were M2 and M92.
Last night, my finder scope’s objective did not dew but its eyepiece did. This time, I made it a habit to keep the eyepiece cap on between use and it helped delay dew formation.
Object #11: M2
Location: DRAACO, Orono, ON
Date/Time: Sep. 28, 2013 8:55 PM
Constellation: Aquarius
Seeing: Excellent
Telescope: D=305 mm F=1500 mm
Magnification: 83.3 x @ 82° AFOV
Notes: Globular cluster with a bright center and faint arms radiating from the center.
Messier 2
On September 17, 2013, I officially started the pursuit of my Messier 30 certificate. It is an exciting awards program for astronomy club members and a way for amateur astronomers to keep track of their observations. The Messier 30 is the first milestone in AstronomyForum.net‘s certificate program. The Durham Region Astronomy Association also has one.
This was my 3rd time at the DRAACO site and for the first time, there were other DRA members there. The seeing conditions were excellent and was the best I’ve had yet. It was great to be among other astronomers for a change.
Object #10: M15
Location: DRAACO, Orono, ON
Date/Time: Sep. 27, 2013 9:30 PM
Constellation: Pegasus
Seeing: Excellent
Telescope: D=305 mm F=1500 mm
Magnification: 62 x @ 82° AFOV
Notes: Grey cluster of tightly packed stars. I was able to resolve many individual stars. The center was bright with well defined “arms”.
Messier 15
On September 17, 2013, I officially started the pursuit of my Messier 30 certificate. It is an exciting awards program for astronomy club members and a way for amateur astronomers to keep track of their observations. The Messier 30 is the first milestone in AstronomyForum.net‘s certificate program. The Durham Region Astronomy Association also has one.
When I first started observing with my telescopes, I had an idea what light pollution meant, but did not realize its impact on visual observation especially on Deep Sky Objects (DSO’s). I thought I could observe anywhere I wanted as long as it was a cloudless sky. I live in the Durham Region after all. Not so fast.
I spent an entire week hunting for the M13 and the Andromeda Galaxy to no avail. Why? Because my sky was brighter than these faint objects. I eliminated most of the local light pollution from my backyard by turning my kitchen lights off, my cell phone, light shields for my telescopes, and used a blanket over my head to block out my neighbour’s lights. After 15 mins of dark adaptation, I still see nothing of these objects.
It turns out that there is a ‘light dome’ high above my sky. The light pollution map above represents the intensity of this light dome super imposed over a map of Durham Region and eastern Greater Toronto Area (GTA). In the order of brightness level:
White – Entire sky is grayish or brighter.
Red – Milkyway at best very faint at zenith.
Orange – Milkyway washed out at zenith and invisible at horizon.
Green – Some dark lanes in milkyway but no bulge into Ophiuchus.
Yellow – Zodiacal light seen on best nights.
Blue – Low light domes on horizon.
Grey – Faint shadows cast by milkyway visible on white objects.
Black – Gegenschein visible. Zodiacal light annoyingly bright.
I live a suburb of Oshawa in a red zone and within a few minutes of a white zone in the core of the city. By driving to an orange zone 20 minutes away, I was able to see some of the Milky Way’s ‘spilled milk’ look across the sky whereas it was not at all visible from my backyard. I finally found M13 and it didn’t take long for it to ‘pop’ out of my eyepiece. If you want to know the light pollution map in your area, check out Dark Sky Finder by Jonathan Tomshine: http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/ and you will find some dark sky sites around the GTA area within an hour’s drive.
In the Durham Region, I do most of my DSO observations from Long Sault Conservation Area which is just outside the grasp of the red zone. Sometimes I use my local club’s DRAACO observatory which is well within the orange zone. It is well worth the drive for a great night of visual observation and sketching.
The evening started out mostly clear at around 7 PM. By the time I reached the DRAACO observation site, wispy clouds have taken over almost half of the sky. Visibility was on and off from clear, hazy, to cloudy. I used the September SkyMaps again but my intended targets were covered by clouds so I found these alternate targets instead. Sky conditions continued to deteriorate throughout the night. My finder scope did not dew up, thanks to my new dew shield.
Object #9: M33
Location: DRAACO, Orono, ON
Date/Time: Sep. 26, 2013 9:40 PM
Constellation: Andromeda
Seeing: Poor with 50% cloud cover
Telescope: D=305 mm F=1500 mm
Magnification: 62 x @ 82° AFOV
Notes: Difficult to resolve the structure. Star field was rich. It was a dark grey dim blob.
Messier 33: Triangulum Galaxy
On September 17, 2013, I officially started the pursuit of my Messier 30 certificate. It is an exciting awards program for astronomy club members and a way for amateur astronomers to keep track of their observations. The Messier 30 is the first milestone in AstronomyForum.net‘s certificate program. The Durham Region Astronomy Association also has one.
The evening started out mostly clear at around 7 PM. By the time I reached the DRAACO observation site, wispy clouds have taken over almost half of the sky. Visibility was on and off from clear, hazy, to cloudy. I used the September SkyMaps again but my intended targets were covered by clouds so I found these alternate targets instead. Sky conditions continued to deteriorate throughout the night. My finder scope did not dew up, thanks to my new dew shield.
Object #8: M51
Location: DRAACO, Orono, ON
Date/Time: Sep. 26, 2013 9:00 PM
Constellation: Ursa Major
Seeing: Poor with 50% cloud cover
Telescope: D=305 mm F=1500 mm
Magnification: 83.3 x @ 82° AFOV
Notes: Two distinct objects both faint and dark grey with brighter cores. One is larger. They appear to be connected.
Messier 51: Whirlpool Galaxy
On September 17, 2013, I officially started the pursuit of my Messier 30 certificate. It is an exciting awards program for astronomy club members and a way for amateur astronomers to keep track of their observations. The Messier 30 is the first milestone in AstronomyForum.net‘s certificate program. The Durham Region Astronomy Association also has one.
When I arrived at Long Sault Conservation Area, there were parts of the sky where it was very clear. The eastern part of the Milky Way was easily viewable but from zenith westward, it was washed out with clouds and light pollution. I printed off “The Evening Sky Map” ahead of time and planned on taking M2, M39, and M92 by highlighting them with pink highlighter before driving. But I could not tell which ones I highlighted through the red flashlight! Also, I installed my new dew shield on my finder scope but I threw it out of alignment. I was too lazy to line it up and instead picked M81 and M82 from the Sky Map by rough aligning and panning… and I found it within 2 minutes without the finder scope! I was at awe to see 2 distant galaxies in 1 eyepiece! They appeared very similar length wise, but one is flatter. By the time I finished with the sketch, the clouds have taken over 30% of the sky. I was so satisfied with tonight’s short but sweet session, so I packed it in.
Objects #6, #7: M81, M82
Location: Clarington, ON
Date/Time: Sep. 25, 2013 10:00 PM
Constellation: Ursa Major
Seeing: Below average with cloud patches
Telescope: D=305 mm F=1500 mm
Magnification: 62 x @ 82° AFOV
Notes: Two patches of very dim smudges. One looks like a galaxy that is flat and edge on. The other more oval. Found it difficult to reach focus. Very low in the horizon.
Messier 81: Bodes Galaxy & Messier 82: Cigar Galaxy
On September 17, 2013, I officially started the pursuit of my Messier 30 certificate. It is an exciting awards program for astronomy club members and a way for amateur astronomers to keep track of their observations. The Messier 30 is the first milestone in AstronomyForum.net‘s certificate program. The Durham Region Astronomy Association also has one.
Objects #3, #4, #5: M31, M32, M110
Location: Clarington, ON
Date/Time: Sep. 23, 2013 9:35 PM
Constellation: Andromeda
Seeing: Above average with gibbous moon starting to rise
Telescope: D=305 mm F=1500 mm
Magnification: 62 x @ 82° AFOV
Notes: I should have sketched this before M13. Seeing above average but waning gibbous moon had started to rise while obseving these. M31 was a faint dark grey smudge. Dark lanes were not noticeable. M31 appeared close by looking like a faint star. M110 was a small faint smudge visible with averted vision.
Messier 31, 32, 110: Andromeda Galaxy and Companion Galaxies
On September 17, 2013, I officially started the pursuit of my Messier 30 certificate. It is an exciting awards program for astronomy club members and a way for amateur astronomers to keep track of their observations. The Messier 30 is the first milestone in AstronomyForum.net‘s certificate program. The Durham Region Astronomy Association also has one.
