First light (imaged) through my Meade 12" with my new DSI-III astro-imager

[mckitterick]

Can you guess what this is?


No, it's not an astro image.

It's part of the house across the alley, siding and window trim. The Deep Sky Imager is a royal PITA to focus, so it's best to set up the focus during the day on motionless subjects using an eyepiece and locking ring (making them "parfocal") and then finding the camera's focus. My first attempt with the Moon led to frustration, as the camera's focus is about 15mm different than the eyepiece that the manufacturer recommends using to focus an object.

In case you haven't seen it yet, here's the telescope:


And here's the astro-camera (a replacement for the broken one the retailer sent last winter):


Now I'll be able to image astro-things much more simply... hopefully starting tonight! Then you'll get fresh amateur astro-images on a regular basis. Hoo-boy, amateur photos! I bet you're thinking ;-)

Best,
Chris

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_starlady_/]

I often wondered why you aren't teaching astronomy. Have you ever looked into it?

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

The very first class I ever taught - in high school! - was astronomy. In college, I was the telescope operator for the University of Minnesota astronomy outreach program and assistant director at the observatory and planetarium at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (where I also wrote a weekly astronomy newsletter and graded papers).

But I only formally studied astronomy, astrophysics, and optics for a few years. No degree, not even a completed study program. This is a field where at the very minimum, I'm sure I'd need both an advanced degree (in something) and a completed astronomy program. Don't you think?

Chris