CAS - Coconino Astronomical Society


	Activities for September, 2017 Monthly Meeting at Lowell Observatory Saturday, September 9, 2017 Dr. Joe Llama, Lowell Observatory Title: “Detecting and Characterizing Other Worlds” The first exoplanet was discovered twenty years ago, and since then we have confirmed over two thousand other worlds, some of which are completely unlike anything we’ve ever found in our own Solar System. The most extreme examples of these are “Hot Jupiters”, planets even more massive than Jupiter, but orbiting their star closer than Mercury. In this presentation, Dr. Llama will review the state-of- the-art techniques astronomers are using to detect other worlds. He will discuss how these worlds have completely changed our understanding of how planets and solar systems, including our own, form and evolve, and also touch on the best prospects for finding habitable, Earth-sized planets within our galaxy. CAS Monthly Meetings and Astronomical Programs are held the Saturday closest to the Full Moon at the Mars Hill Campus of Lowell Observatory, Hendricks Center for Planetary Studies Auditorium (6:45 pm - 8:00 pm., unless otherwise noted) followed by refreshments, and informal discussion. Meetings are open free to the public. Board Meeting Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017 Club Observing ( at Sunset ) Friday, Sept. 16, 2017 ( 6:34 pm ) Williams Public Viewing ( at Sunset ) Friday, Sept. 29, 2017 ( 6:15 pm ) Directions for Williams Location: Glassburn Park - in the natural area west of Rod’s Steakhouse parking lot. Take I40 west. Exit 165 into Williams. The park is about 2-3 blocks after the hill, just past the edge of town on the right.

What's New in September, 2017

2017 : Jan || Feb || Mar || Apr || May || June || July || Aug || Sept || Oct || Nov || Dec

All submitted eclipse photos may all be viewed by clicking HERE.

Messier 31

I finally had a chance to do some imaging last week with both my trusty AP-155 and my new 12.5 inch CDK. Seeing was fairly good for several nights in the row with excellent transparency. The result was the attached image of M31, M32 and M110. I took several full frames of the entire complex with the AP-155 at f/5.4 and close ups of selected regions of M31 only with the CDK at f/8, all through an IDAS LPS-V4 filter and shooting at ISO 3200-6400 with the modified Canon 6D. The final image is a mosaic of those efforts. Cumulative exposure is about 40 minutes.

. . . Klaus Brasch

Fish Head Nebula

This image is of the Fish head nebula in the Cassiopeia constellation. The photo is a combination of images taken through Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur filters with an 8" RC telescope.

. . . Eric Marlatt

San Francisco Peaks Sunset

After an afternoon of heavy monsoon rain, a golden moment at sunset.

. . . Klaus Brasch

Messier 8 The Lagoon Nebula

Messier 20 The Trifid Nebula

Messier 57 The Ring Nebula

Bahtinov focusing mask at work

Messier 16 The Eagle Nebula

Messier 27 The Dumbbell Nebula

NGC 6888 The Crescent Nebula

These images taken were with my new Hutech modified Canon T5i.

Seeing was pretty good but the stars bloated in long exposures. I understand some image processing routines have the ability to reduce this effect but I have yet to learn it. Mostly I wanted to see how much more color sensitive a Hutech modified Canon T5i is over my older Canon 60 Da. I think the results speak for themselves. Imaging was faster and easier because the T5i can use higher ISOs with better in-camera noise reduction than the 60Da. Both cameras have Live-View with the articulated visual back to save your neck in focusing and image review. The images are stacks of three to six frames shot at ISO 800 to 3200 all shot with a Hutech V4 nebular filter.

M8 5Ti 0109 Stk6 PS - Aug 18, 2017
Meade 10", f/6.3 prime focus

M20 Triffid T5i 0115 Stk4 PS - Aug 18, 2017
Meade 10", f/6.3 prime focus

M57 T5i 0123 Stk3 PS - Aug 18, 2017
Meade 10", f/6.3 prime focus, 2X barlow

I also could not resist capturing a single frame image of my Bahtinov focusing mask at work. It eliminates any guessing on whether you are in focus or not. The spectral effect is apparent because the V4 nebula filter was still in the camera. I usually focus on a bright star near the intended target, synch the mount on this star, and then perform a Go-To for the object I intend to image.

Vega - at prime focus (10" f/6.3 with a 2X barlow). Image in the viewfinder was electronically enlarged to approximately this scale to perform the focus operation. Correct focus is achieved when the horizontal bar bisect the flatter "X".

. . . Richard Edmonds