Copperbreaks astrophotos posted...

Oct 27, 2003

Jeff Barton and I had a good time at the most recent StarWalk at Copperbreaks State Park on October 18th. We set up a video display using an SBIG STV on my LX200 and showed a crowd of over 200 people images of DSOs and the moon as they integrated in real time on a 19” computer monitor. I controlled the camera and the scope control software (Software Bisque’s “The SKY”) while Jeff talked shared information on what was being imaged. I’ve placed the final pictures on the Astro Showcase page. Not bad for a quicky session!!!

The images below were taken by Fred Koch, the benefactor of the Starwalk.  The first shot is Jeff and I in front of the imaging setup. Jeff is in white and I’m the fat guy in black:

Fred used hit night vision camera to take a picture of me in the dark while doing the imaging. Neat little toy…need to put one of these on my wishlist:

The final shot is of me ready to do some imaging at dusk. The white, covered imaging tent was ingeniusly designed by Jeff from a portable voting booth that he bought off of eBay. His wife, Nancy, sewed the heavy cover.  Light from the monitor was projected toward the road, not the visual observers in the field.

It’s not only a thrill to show off the night sky using great technology such as CCD imagers, GOTO scopes, and green laser pointers, but its even better getting to know so many great people with a PASSION for sharing the hobby. It’s even better when a couple of those people I have known for years, only to meet face-to-face for the first time. Astronomy.com forumites Jeff Barton and David Ryle are a delight to work with, but more than that I’m proud to list them among my friends. I look forward to learning tons of stuff from them at future StarWalks.