Backyard Astronomy with the Moon, M15, Mizar/Alcor and Some Plain Old Observing

This weekend I packed up all my gear and headed over to my friend John's house north of the city. It's not exactly dark skies, but there is a lot less light pollution from direct glare (but still can't escape the sky glow on the horizon). My goal was to photograph the moon, try to spot Andromeda through my scope, and then maybe check out some objects on the September list or just show John some double stars that I'm already familiar with.

232 images stacked in StarStaX, taken with Canon Powershot at ISO 800, 15 sec each

DSLR at prime focus on Meade 285, 1/50 sec, ISO 200, stack of 20 images

DSLR on fixed tripod, 196 subs, 44 darks, 42 bias, ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1.3 sec, 300mm

I started by showing John how I set up my point and shoot to take star trail photos. We got this camera up and running first so that it could go the whole night while we were looking at other objects. Next, I went to the moon because it's such an easy target. We observed the moon, and then I tried to find the Andromeda Galaxy by star hopping. I still couldn't locate it with my scope! It must be too faint, and I must be too inexperienced.

After getting frustrated about Andromeda, I tried an easier target - I was able to find Albireo and showed John the color contrast between the two stars. Next, I tried to observe Beta Cephei, but I still couldn't resolve it into two different stars. I either had the wrong star, or my magnification (or resolution) just isn't high enough to split them.

I was, however, able to split Mizar and Alcor very easily. I put my camera back on the scope to take a few shots. I didn't notice it until I got the images onto my computer, but it looks like I actually got Mizar to split into its two subsequent stars (each of which are actually double stars themselves!). Tons of fun and quite the prolific night of observing!

ISO 1600, 1/3 sec, Canon Rebel XT at prime focus on Meade 285
Mizar A/B have a separation of 14.4" (arcseconds) which I guess is about the limit of my setup

My first image of Sidus Ludoviciana alongside Mizar and Alcor

The famous double-star in the handle of the Big Dipper asterism, Mizar and Alcor, is one of my favorite targets in the sky because it lets me test my focus and the limits of my equipment.

2sec exposure at 300mm zoom with Canon Rebel XT

Previously, I was able to image the double star as a blurry streak, followed by my best point-and-shoot image that shows distinct round objects. Sidus Ludoviciana is only a magnitude 8 star which is pretty exciting to see for the first time!

A better shot of Mizar and Alcor

My last image of the double (triple) star in the handle of the Big Dipper, Mizar and Alcor, was a little stretched because it was toward the outside of my frame. This time, under a 15 sec exposure, there is minimal trailing. I adjusted brightness and contrast in Photoshop.

I think the differences in star colors I get in my photos is fascinating, but after reading an article on Point and Shoot Astronomy, I'm doubting whether the colors I'm picking up are true colors or an artifact of something called an RGBG Bayered sensor.

Once again, I'm realizing how little I know about cameras, astronomy, and light detection. Either way, that's part of the blogging process. If I wasn't writing a blog, I would never have bothered to look up what a Bayer filter is, and how it might impact apparent star color. 

Double star in the Big Dipper handle with labels

It's supposed to rain for the next 5 days here in Bowling Green, but I feel the need to blog! Blogging is a great way to learn, because to make sure I don't just talk out my ass I have to actually look things up to write about them. I bet to real amateur astronomers this is just silly, but I'm a noob and having a blast teaching myself what I can!

Tonight I decided to pull up a 15 sec exposure of the northern sky from Sunday night when I made my star circle image. I remember Dale Smith from the BGSU Planetarium asking if we could spot the double star in the handle of the Big Dipper (apparently a Native American test of good eyesight). I was able to just barely make out the double star with the naked eye, but I'm pleased that they are visible even with this quick snapshot. 

For some reason, the stars near the edge seem to smear more during a 15 sec exposure than the ones in the middle. 

The stars are called Mizar (the larger one) and Alcor (the smaller one). Mizar is actually a double star itself, making this "star" in the handle of the Big Dipper an interesting combination of three. For much better images and explanations, head over to AstroPix.com. But wait! The images by Jerry Lodriguss show that this small point in the sky actually has 4 stars with the addition of the very faint Sidus Ludoviciana. It's as if somebody bejeweled rhinestones to the handle of our celestial saucepan! 

Finally, you'll notice that Polaris is easy to locate by drawing an imaginary line through Merak and Dubhe at the large end of the dipper bowl. They don't exactly line up, but in the open sky it's a very hard to miss the obvious Polaris (48th brightest star in the sky).