Astronomy Report
Barak Stoltz, Crew 159
12/24/2015
· Sky Conditions: Clear skies.
· Wind Conditions: Calm winds, FINALLY!
· Observation Start Time: 1) 7:15 2) 9:30
· Observation End Time: 1) 9:00 2) 11:30
· Summary: The first half of my night was spent playing with the CCD camera and running into self-imposed issues. I realized that the telescope was beginning to misalign and was stubbornly trying to take pictures thinking that this was good enough. After coming back in to warm up for 30 minutes I went back outside and started from scratch. Using 4 stars in my alignment process the telescope was as accurate as a world class sniper. I synced the CCD camera with the appropriate software and took pictures of both ‘Polaris’ as well as the Blue Snowball Nebula! Some exposure and focus tweaks are necessary but this was an extremely successful night. Tonight I will be aiming for M42, Jupiter as well as the Christmas Tree Cluster (it is Christmas Eve after all). The pictures from last night are included below :D
· Objects Viewed: Polaris, Moon, Blue Snowball.