Seven Veiled Sisters

Submitted by: Matt BenDaniel at Mon Nov 25 23:27:01 2002 UTC

• Object: Pleiades Star Cluster (M45) with faint reflection nebulosity (IC 353 and IC 1995)
• Distance: 380 light years
• Size: 11 light years
• Exposure: 78 minutes @ f/6.7
• Telescope: Astro-Physics 130 EDF
• Mount: Astro-Physics 600E QMD, pier
• Guiding: SBIG ST-4 @ 700mm
• Camera: Pentax 67
• Film: Kodak PPF 400 (unhypered)
• Location: Pearce, AZ
• Date: 13-Oct-01 02:00 PDT
• Conditions: transparency 8, seeing 4, LVM 7.0, 42° F, RH 40%
• Processing: UMAX PowerLook 3000, Photoshop 6.0.1, SGBNR 1.0.9.58

Orion, The Hunter

Submitted by: Matt BenDaniel at Sat Nov 23 14:20:02 2002 UTC

• Object: The Constellation Orion
• Exposure: 90 minutes @ f/5.6
• Mount: Astro-Physics 600E QMD
• Guiding: SBIG ST-4 @ 700mm
• Camera: Pentax 67
• Lens: Pentax 105mm f/2.4
• Film: Kodak E200
• Location: Pearce, AZ
• Date: 16-Oct-01 03:38 PDT
• Conditions: transparency 4/10, seeing 5/10, LVM 6.3, temp 44° F, humidity 43%
• Processing: UMAX PowerLook 3000, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1, SGBNR 1.0.9.58

Forty Seven Tucanae

Submitted by: Matt BenDaniel at Sat Nov 23 00:20:01 2002 UTC

• Object: Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae
• Exposure: 40 minutes @ f/6.7
• Telescope: Astro-Physics 130 EDF
• Mount: Astro-Physics 600E QMD
• Guiding: SBIG ST-4 @ 700mm
• Camera: Pentax 67
• Film: Kodak PPF 400
• Location: Vicuña, Chile
• Date: 17-Apr-02 05:14 CST
• Conditions: transparency 8/10, seeing 7/10, LVM 7, temp 55° F, RH 73%
• Processing: UMAX PowerLook 3000, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1

Andromeda Reposes

Submitted by: Matt BenDaniel at Fri Nov 22 23:35:01 2002 UTC

• Object: Great Galaxy in Andromeda
• Exposures: (90m + 120m + 110m + 120m) @ f/6.7
• Telescope: Astro-Physics 130 EDF
• Mount: Astro-Physics 600E QMD
• Guiding: SBIG ST-4 @ 700mm
• Camera: Pentax 67
• Film: Kodak PPF 400 (unhypered)
• Locations: Loudon, NH; Groton, NH; Pearce, AZ
• Dates: 27-Jul-01 01:35 EDT, 15-Sep, 14-Oct, 15-Oct
• Conditions: transparency 6/10, seeing 6/10, LVM 6.5+, temp 50° F, RH 75%
• Processing: UMAX PowerLook 3000, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1, Auriga Imaging RegiStar 1.0.3

Moonbow Over Salt Pond Bay

Submitted by: Matt BenDaniel at Sat Nov 23 00:00:01 2002 UTC

This picture was taken at night, well after the end of twilight. There had just been a brief rain shower at our location that moved off to the Southwest. The full moon, in the Northeast, reflected off the raindrops and created a moonbow. To my eye the moonbow appeared faintly in color. If you look very carefully, you can see a second extremely faint moonbow to the outside; it shows up better in a print.

Why does this shot look like it was exposed during the day? The moon is a neutral color and reflects the same spectrum as the sun. This exposure was 400,000 times longer than would be used during the day, and the sun is 400,000 times as bright as the full moon. Human eyes do not see color well at low light levels, but the camera does.

• Subject: Moonbow over Salt Pond Bay
• Exposure: 30 seconds @ f/2
• Lens: Zuiko 28mm f/2
• Camera: Olympus OM-4T
• Film: Kodak E200
• Location: Concordia, St. John, USVI (65W, 18°N)
• Date: 08 Feb 01 20:00 AST
• Processing: Polaroid SprintScan 4000, Adobe Photoshop 5.5

Eta Carinae

Submitted by: Matt BenDaniel at Fri Nov 22 23:27:02 2002 UTC

• Object: Eta Carinae
• Exposure: 82 minutes @ f/6.7
• Telescope: Astro-Physics 130 EDF
• Mount: Astro-Physics 600E QMD
• Guiding: SBIG ST-4 @ 700mm
• Camera: Pentax 67
• Film: Kodak PPF 400
• Location: Vicuña, Chile
• Date: 09-Apr-02 03:33 CST
• Conditions: transparency 7/10, seeing 7/10, LVM 6.77, temp 55° F, RH 73%
• Processing: UMAX PowerLook 3000, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1

Arizona Trails

Submitted by: Matt BenDaniel at Fri Nov 22 23:17:01 2002 UTC

• Title: Arizona Trails
• Exposure: 8 hours @ f/5.6
• Camera: Olympus OM-4T
• Lens: Sigma 16mm f/2.8
• Film: Fuji Velvia 50
• Location: Pearce, AZ
• Date: 12-Oct-01 19:20 PDT
• Conditions: transparency 8, seeing 4, LVM 7.0, temp 42° F, humidity 40%
• Processing: UMAX PowerLook 3000, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1

Earthshine Arizona

Submitted by: Matt BenDaniel at Fri Nov 22 22:36:01 2002 UTC

The dark side of the moon is lit up by sunlight reflected by Earth.

• Title: Earthshine Arizona
• Exposure: 4 seconds @ f/6.7
• Telescope: Astro-Physics 130 EDF
• Mount: Astro-Physics 600E QMD
• Camera: Pentax 67
• Film: Kodak E200
• Location: Pearce, AZ
• Date: 15-Oct-01 05:38 MST
• Conditions: transparency 6, seeing 6, 43F, RH 50%
• Processing: UMAX PowerLook 3000, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1

2002 Leonid Meteor and Smoke Trail Animation

Submitted by: Matt BenDaniel at Fri Nov 22 22:42:01 2002 UTC

Click on this image to see an animation of a bright 2002 Leonid and its smoke trail, which persisted for about 15 minutes. The GIF file is 1800KB in size, so if you use a dial-up connection, it will take a while to load.

• Object: Leonid and Train
• Exposures: 13 x 1 minute @ f/2
• Lens: Zuiko 28mm f/2
• Mount: Losmandy GM-8
• Camera: Olympus OM-1
• Film: Fuji Press 400
• Location: Wellfleet, MA
• Date: 19-Nov-02 0:00 - 5:30 AM UTC-5
• Conditions: transparency 4, LVM 5.0, 38° F, RH 80%, 10 MPH
• Processing: UMAX PowerLook 3000, Photoshop 6.0.1, ImageReady 3.0

2002 Leonid Meteors Radiant Composite

Submitted by: Matt BenDaniel at Fri Nov 22 23:55:01 2002 UTC

There are 23 Leonids shown here. The Leonid to the lower left was brighter than Jupiter, so perhaps it was minus 3rd or minus 4th magnitude. Jupiter is to the right of center. To the right and above of Jupiter is the Beehive open cluster (M44).

• Object: Leonid Meteor Shower
• Exposures: 22 x 1 minute @ f/2
• Lens: Zuiko 28mm f/2
• Mount: Losmandy GM-8
• Camera: Olympus OM-1
• Film: Fuji Press 400
• Location: Wellfleet, MA
• Date: 19-Nov-02 0:00 - 5:30 AM UTC-5
• Conditions: transparency 4, LVM 5.0, 38° F, RH 80%, 10 MPH
• Processing: UMAX PowerLook 3000, Photoshop 6.0.1, RegiStar 1.0.6