Posts Made By: Chris Hanrahan

Taken late November
~11:00pm
ISO 200
OM-1n, 50mm lens, f2.8 (I think)
~15 seconds

Special thanks to Steve Ruppa for helping me out when my local photo lab sent me home empty-handed.

It's a start. Comments welcome...
Chris Hanrahan
Glenbeulah, WI

As you can see from this shot, I've got a faint red line running through the right 1/3 of the image. I'm no but I also don't want my meager attempts ruined.
Has anyone seen this before? Here are the specs:
*Fuji SuperHQ 200 (1st roll of 4 roll pack; never used this film before)
*~5 minute exposure
*Yes, it's on all the prints from this roll
*developing by my local wal-ma*t (yes this is bad news but my choices are limited out here and they put the images on cd for me so that saves time)
My concerns are: 1) it was a film deal and the remaining rolls may be messed up, and 2) it may be a developing deal and I need to find someplace else to have them developed.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris

Would anyone happen to have any ephemeris for asteroid Toutatis? A friend of mine is looking to either enter the data into Starry Night Pro or The Sky and then use either software to control his G-11 w/ Gemini Go-To. I printed off a bunch of data (minute by minute info) for him from SkyTools 2 and he was unsuccessful in viewing it via CCD images (MX7C coupled to a 12" LX200 OTA w/ focal reducer). If I remember correctly, Toutatis should be about mag 11 by now so it most certainly would have shown up in the 2 and 3 minute images my friend was taking.
Any thoughts or links to additional information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
Chris H

Jeff,
Thursday night around 1am I was near Michigamme, Michigan and saw the display. They were absolutely wonderful. Great picture!
Chris

Just wanted to thank everyone for their input in this matter. I will taking the negatives elsewhere to have them printed again. Now, if I could just get some clear skies to try another roll of this film....
Thanks,
Chris

David,
You have impeccable timing! I was going to ask for suggestions for a large-scale light shield. I also have a neighbor with an affinity for light (Damn those flood lights!). I live in a very, very, small community with great skies (mag. 5+) but I lack trees or fences between any of my neighbors. In any event, I like your idea for blocking the light. Personally, I’d like to find something a little more permanent that would look “aesthetically pleasing.” I really don’t want to convert a shed-kit type structure as I don’t need to permanently cover a ‘scope, I just want something that will allow myself and maybe 1 – 2 others sufficient room for imaging/observing. Tonight I stopped at a local building supply place and had the idea for using bungee cords, 7’ steel posts and large tarps. This is by no means a permanent (or aesthetically pleasing) solution; however, it would get the job done.
For a more permanent solution, I’ve been tossing around the idea of using 1 foot square pavers for a patio-type base with concrete supported wood posts at the corners with some sort of cable or rope supporting a light weight, black or dark colored shield. Are you searching for a permanent, multi-use solution to your neighbor’s love-of-light? Any ideas?
Chris

David,
For what it's worth, I too am going after all the Messiers. To track my progress and assist in my planning I used "The Ultimate Messier Object Log" (TUMOL). I found it fairly comprehensive and a great help in overall tracking, plus it's free.
It can be downloaded from the following location:
www.davidpaulgreen.com/tumol.html
Hope this helps...
Chris

Everyone,

Holy cow! What an awesome display! The worst part of tonight was rushing home for the camera only to find my girlfriend already took the "Shot of the Night." Way to go, Karen! Here is her shot...my substandard work to follow.

I hope everyone had the show we did. One of the best I've ever seen...

Chris Hanrahan
Glenbeulah, WI

Dimitri,
Sounds like you had a nice evening out. Glad to hear it. Clouds have been a central theme here in Wisconsin (USA) for what seems like weeks now.
I was curious about your report, specifically the part about the viewing the Rosette nebula via the naked eye and a UHC filter. I have never heard of this being possible and I'm most certainly intrigued by the prospect. What is the naked eye limiting magnitude at your location? Also, what telescope were you using when you were viewing the Rosette? I recently discovered a very nice observing location only 10 miles from my home. This location has some skyglow; however, most of it hugs the horizon to the south and west. I figured this would be a great spot to try to observe the Rosette with an 80mm f/5 refractor. From dark sky locations I've had great success viewing the North American nebula, Helix nebula and Veil nebula with that little refractor. It's quite fun to enjoy those wide field views.
In any event, I look forward to hearing back from you regarding my questions.
Most Sincerely,
Chris Hanrahan

Anyone else sitting at work watching NASA TV via the internet?
Anxious to see some results....
Chris