At 20:40:45 March 26, 3009, the space shuttle Discovery blazed across the evening sky, followed closely by the brilliant International Space Station. It's always a breathtaking sight, and the first time I'd seen the shuttle in such close proximity to the space station.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Pacific Science Center is hosting an exhibit at the Kitsap Mall in Silverdale, Washington this weekend, March 21 and 22 from 11 a.m to 5 p.m. Details are on the home page of my website (www.thenakedastronomer.com)

When talking to the mall, I found out that the Olympic Astronomical Society is holding an event there this coming May. I've been an astronomer my whole life and had only vaguely heard of this association ... but I joined immediately.

Dues are only $15 a year. Come on - support local astronomy. Get a family membership for $18 a year and make your kids card-carrying members.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a composite photo. The moon was photographed through a Meade LX200 in Port Orchard front yard; the star field was shot with a piggybacked Canon EOS 20D in a corn field in Rigby, Idaho.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here, you can quickly and easily spot the motion of Uranus against the backdrop of space. Taken five days apart, these pictures make identification of the planet a snap.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this time sequence shot over a period of five days, you can clearly see the planet Neptune move across the field of background stars.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was able to positively identify Pluto in several of my images by carefully watching its movement over the period of a week. Unfortunately, the planet is so tiny and so far away that in our light-polluted skies, the photo is grainy. I will try to get some better images soon! It literally was like searching for a needle in a haystack - taking the photos was the easy part.

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Ring Nebula (Messier Object 57 or NGC 6720) is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Lyra, south of its brightest star, Vega. This time of year, both lie near the zenith, directly overhead. M57 is best seen through at least an 8-inch telescope - a 12 inch telescope was used here. This was my first time to image this particular nebula, and it was the highlight of the night.
(Canon EOS20D, f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Field Flattener, Meade 12" LX90 GPS, Jim W. Coleman, Port Orchard, Washington)

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 8:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Wild Duck Cluster (Messier Object 11 or NGC 6705) is an open cluster in the constellation Scutum. It contains thousands of stars and is just over 5,000 light years distant. I haven't imaged this in a year - it was a lot of fun to return to it.
(Canon EOS20D, f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Field Flattener, Meade 12" LX90 GPS, Jim W. Coleman, Port Orchard, Washington)

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 8:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Omega Nebula (Messier Object 17 or NGC 6618) is also called the Swan Nebula, the Horseshoe Nebula or (particularly south of the equator) the Lobster Nebula. It is a region of star formation and shines by excited emission casued by the higher radiation of young stars. Star formation is either still active in this nebula, or very recently ceased. A small cluster of about 35 bright but obscured stars seems embedded in the nebulosity.
(Canon EOS20D, f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Field Flattener, Meade 12" LX90 GPS, Jim W. Coleman, Port Orchard, Washington)

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Eagle Nebula (Messier Object 15 or NGC 6611) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens. The brightest star in the nebula has an apparent magnitude of 8.24, easily visible with good binoculars. The Eagle Nebula is home to the famous "Pillars of Creation," one of the Hubble Space Telescope's finest images.

(Canon EOS20D, f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Field Flattener, Meade 12" LX90 GPS, Jim W. Coleman, Port Orchard, Washington)

Posted by Jim W Coleman at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)