UVA, Norfolk State & Me [Fan Mountain Observatory]
Fresh off seeing my UVA Cavaliers win the NCAA Mens Basketball Championship, I couldn’t wait to visit grounds. In fact I packed all my UVA gear
Astrophotography [Blog Posts]
Orion Astroview 6: Equipment Spotlight [Moving Prime Focus]
I moved prime focus without cutting the OTA (Optical Tube Assembly) on my Orion Astroview 6 telescope. Huh? How? No way? The first thing I did when the Canon EOS XTi DSLR camera arrived…put it on my 6 inch reflector telescope. I
Bahtinov Mask: Equipment Spotlight [Focus]
I 3D printed a Bahtinov Mask, so I can clearly see the sky. There are numerous objects in the night sky. Using a telescope brings them into view but how do you bring them into focus. The simple answer is turn the
Canon EOS XTi: Equipment Spotlight [DSLR Camera]
The Canon EOs XTi joins my astrophotography family. I started using my Google Pixel Really Blue to photograph night sky objects. I’ve captured the Orion Nebula, Sun, stars, planets, star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy with my smartphone. The smartphone can capture,
2019 Total Lunar Eclipse [Astrophotography]
Total Lunar Eclipse The total lunar eclipse was beautiful! I took more than 500 pictures of this event to create this photo. The 2019 total lunar eclipse wowed and amazed. My social media feeds were inundated with photos from the amateur photographer
Smartphone Astrophotography Challenges [Obstacles]
What Smartphone Astrophotography Obstacles? I’ve been “Missing In Action” with my smartphone astrophgraphy for many months now. Let me tell you why. First was the Android P or Android Pie update to my Google Pixel. Then the almost constant rainy or cloudy
Dark Sky Astrophotography [Smokey Mountain Getaway]
August is a busy month for my family, and we took a weekend to visit the Smokey Mountains in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Wow what a great opportunity to do dark sky astrophotography with my Google Pixel. I was so excited I didn’t know
Telescope Buying Guide [5 Step Infographic]
Telescope Buying Guide Buying a telescope is much like buying a car. Asking a car owner “What car should I buy?” will lead to a multitude of answers. This can be confusing and even deter you from making the purchase. My first
Smartphone Astrophotography: In 6 Steps [Infographic]
Interested in creating photos like this using smartphone astrophotography? This list has six of my overall steps. Including those I’ve used to create this photo of Saturn and are easy for you to adopt. Try this and let me know your results. Clear
Astronomy and Politics Disagree – Opinion [Science]
It’s a typical Saturday afternoon at the Abbitt Observatory. The patrons and amateur astronomers are enthusiastic and the discussion is fun bordering on intense. A joyful moment in the life of all involved, including the amateur astronomers. At the same time, the