http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens by Larry Owens Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:12:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Hello, not the greatest of conditions for this shot of Jupiter, but some detail made it through.  Clicking the image will present the monochrome component images.  Dark skies, Larry - Update 09/05 - actually spent a bit more time in processing this image, sharpening it up a bit and below ... http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens/2011/09/03/jupiter-090211-0840ut Here's another shot of Jupiter from this morning.  The stability started out nicely, but conditions deteriorated rapidly after the first image.  Dark skies, Larry. http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens/2011/08/25/jupiter-082511-0916-ut I was able to image this morning for the first time in nearly a year.  This is a shot of Jupiter with the 16", under average seeing conditions. http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens/2011/08/20/jupiter-082011 Hello everyone, I've been busy finishing the construction of a 16" scope for the CE chapter of the AAC (Atlanta Astronomy Club).  It's probably not what you think.  This one is a 16" Newtonian on a large "Tom Dobbins" German Equatorial mount.  That's pretty unique today when most large aperture Newtonians ... http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens/2010/04/08/testing-a-16-scope Hello everyone, I was able to get a relatively good image of Mars, the morning of Feburary 1st.  It shows some interesting north polar detail, including dust.  I took a total of 4 sets that morning, but haven't had the chance to process them.  The seeing conditions (stability) were rather good ... http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens/2010/02/07/mars-020110-0401ut The opposition is approaching as you can see in this nearly "full" phased Mars image.  The seeing from Alpharetta was relatively good for a change onthe evening of the 13/14th.  This shot was taken with the red planet at about 50 degrees elevation, using the C14. Dark skies, Larry http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens/2010/01/17/mars-jan-14th-0453ut I was able to do some imaging on the 23rd and the result is below.  It isn't a particularly interesting image due to the conditions but at least I was able to get a shot of the red planet.  I also haven't had a chance to check the collimation of ... http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens/2009/12/24/mars-image-dec-23-2009 Hello everyone.  The planet Mars is fast approaching for an opposition this January, so it's time to sharpen your imaging skills.  Although this will not be the best opposition we've had recently, at 14.1" in apparent size on January 27th the planet will be large enough for amateurs to capture ... http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens/2009/11/29/mars-is-approaching Imaging the planets is rewarding and contributes to science. Learn how! http://ceastronomy.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=39 http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens/2009/11/29/imaging-the-planets-is-rewardi This has certainly been a busy year for astronomy.  Earth passed through Saturn's ring plane which presented a rare view of the planet, nearly without its magnificent ring system.  Jupiter received a rather large impact, discovered by fellow amateur astronomer Anthony Westly which inspired all of us to renew our ... http://ceastronomy.org/ltowens/2009/10/11/a-busy-year