Imaging Satellites: A Low-Tech Method.

 

Portable Satellite Tracking “Station”. (All Photos by Author).

  

    We here at Astroguyz have been working for some time on an interesting technique for capturing photographs of satellites, and by popular demand, we wanted to give a brief rundown at how we were ultimately successful. Go out star-gazing on any clear night, and it’s only a [...]

11.05.10: Ancient Galaxy Mergers.

 
   Astronomers may have found a cosmological missing link in the realm of galactic evolution. The early universe was a crowded place; galaxy mergers must have been much more common in the primeval universe than they are today. But studying those early collisions has been problematic; the immense distances involved over time and space mean [...]

04.03.10- The Edgar Wilson Award: A Look at Last Year’s Winners.

 
   In this age of astronomical automation and ever increasingly deeper sky surveys, many believe the era of the amateur comet discoveries to be over. A look at last year’s Edgar Wilson Award winners, however, tells a different tale. Established in 1998, this award has historically split a $20,000 purse among 2 to 6 individuals [...]

Astro-Event: Mars at Opposition.

Contrary to the once-every-August viral emails soon to be clogging your inbox, Mars will not appear as “large as a Full Moon” on this or any other year… but Mars will reach opposition this week on Friday, January 29th. Unfortunately, this apparition isn’t a particularly favorable one; Mars will only reach 14.1” arc seconds in [...]

Harvest Moon; an Update.

Night heron and Harvest Moon. All photos by Author.
   This morning in Seminole Florida dawned mostly clear, and I decided to have a go at some early morning Astrophotography. 

Planetary Imaging with an Off-the-Shelf Web Cam.

Jupiter via the Webcam Method. Photo by Author.
A few years ago, I came across an article in Sky & Telescope about an emerging technology. Apparently, some intrepid sky enthusiasts (I hate the word amateur… to me it denotes bottlecap collecting or trainspotting and other space filling activities) were creating their own planetary webcams.