About me
My first introduction to astronomy came at age of 11 when my brother, Bob and I bought a small 60mm refractor. It was simple, had RA and DEC setting circles, but we didn't know how to use them and didn't care. We only wanted to see objects visible to the naked eye, the planets, stars and the sun by projecting it on a screen provided.
Fast forward to 1996 when I purchsed my first large scale telecope, the Celestron Celestar 8 with a clock drive. It didn't have goto capability, but I was able to study planets for long periods of time. I was able to go to dark skys for the first time and actually see the Milky Way and view nebula and star clusters. I wanted to begin photographing what I saw. I owned the Olympus OM2 and so I purchased T-rings and was prepared for prime focus photography. Things seemed too complicated with film photography so I became content in visual astronomy. Life goes on and astrophotography became an unfulfilled dream.
Inspired by my nephew, Gabe, I pulled out my C8 and we both began viewing, him with his Nexstar 8 and me with my 15 year old telescope. I was surprised how clear the viewing remained after so many years of being stored inside my home. In 2011 we began experimenting with webcam photography. Being naturally unafraid to take things apart (tv's, radio), I read how to convert a standard webcam into a device for taking videos of the planets. We learned how to process the video with free software and get relatively good results.
I converted a Microsoft Lifecam HD for astrophotography. Using my laptop together with the C8, we made some good initial attempts at photographing Saturn, Jupiter, and the Moon. The next challenge was to use the scope to take photos of nebula and galaxies. This required a DSLR. I knew that common practice was to either purchase the Canon or Nikon for prime focus photography. I was always concerned with weight so the Canons and Nikons were not a choice althought they had software features for tethering. I liked the 4/3rds format and live-view of the Sony and Olympus. Sony became my choice.
News and
Current Events
Ventura County Astronomical Society
October 19, 2012
The Mars Curiosity Rover - and Update
Guest Speaker: Kirk Breitenbach, JPL Engineer
....more information here
October 20, 2012
VCAS Star Pary
Mt. Pinos
....more information here