Welcome to OakRidge Observatory (25.655°N, 80.350°W,Observatory Code H76, assigned February 17, 2005). My interest is in astrophotography from a suburban location in Miami, Florida. I image with a Starlight Xpress HX916 camera (recently upgraded to an SXV-H9) or a Philips ToUcam 740K (recently upgraded to a PCVC 840K and most recently upgraded to an SVBONY SV305). My telescopes are a MEADE 10" LX200 f/10 Classic and a Stellarvue SV 78-S (Nighthawk) f/6 achromat. My equipment is permanently housed in a fiberglass HomeDome observatory, which can be controlled remotely from my house using RealVNC software (most recently changed to MS TeamViewer). Various filters are used to combat light pollution (Lumicon DSF), assemble color images with a monochrome camera (Astronomik Type II LRGB, all IR blocked), and capture photons in different spectra (H-alpha, O-III). Image processing is accomplished with dedicated software, Astroart 3.0 and AIP4WIN (recently changed to GIMP). I use TheSky Version 5 Level 4 to control the telescope using a computer-generated virtual sky (as well as Cartes du Ciel having upgraded to a WIn 10 PC in the observatory), and have an SBIG STV camera for guiding extended integrations (recently upgraded to a Starlight Xpress LodeStar X monochrome camera).
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When I Heard the Learned Astronomer
Walt Whitman

When I heard the learned astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wandered off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Looked up in perfect silence at the stars.
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My first Astrophotography book, published by Springer!

CCD Astrophotography: High-Quality Imaging from the Suburbs
Available May 1st, 2006

Click-on the following hyperlinks.

Amazon.com-- http://tinyurl.com/393e6v
Springer Website-- http://tinyurl.com/3bexpd
Springer Review-- http://tinyurl.com/2ktlbv




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"Astronomy...is most impressive where it transcends explanation"-- Garrett Serviss, Curiosities of the Sky, 1909.