Sunday, November 30, 2014

New Video Camera

Got the C525 the other day and yesterday I mounted the eyepiece barrel onto it.  I initially let the glue cure for 3 hours but that wasn't long enough, so it's been sitting overnight and tonight (11/30/14) will be the first night on the scope.  For testing purposes, I'll be a quick look at the moon with different settings.  I'll also point to a star field and see if anything can be picked up.  I also have the barlow lens which may for once find a purpose in my work.  This is the beginning of my evaluation of this camera to act as a science instrument.



Logitech C525 with 1.25" eyepiece barrel attached

Looking "Down The Barrel"


With the lens cap on


"First Light" hand-held with no other optics.  Jupiter above, ISS passing below

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Camera, Cards, and Jupiter Today

Camera

I just purchased a web camera that's going to be used in my research.  It's a Logitech C525

A Logitech C525 Web Cam


I'll be attaching a 1.25" eyepiece barrel to the front of this camera (wish me luck!) so I can slide it into the focuser of my (or any) telescope.

Sofar, I've identified three projects I can do with this camera:
  1. Jupiter observations
  2. Occultations of stars by asteroids / planets / moons
  3. Detecting lunar impacts
The camera is expected to arrive in a few days.  I'm looking forward to using this new tool to continue my research!

Cards

I've ordered new business cards so I can finally start spreading the word about the work I'm doing.  Here's a picture of the card:

My new business card


Jupiter Today

I've begun a daily podcast that I'm putting up on a YouTube channel.  Not sure exactly where this project is going, but now I'm committed and looking forward to doing this indefinitely.