My Old 35-mm Film Camera

Jim R 17 Comments

Until 1999 I used this 35-mm film camera the Fujica ST801. It was a reliable good friend. I experimented with digital up until then, but was hesitant about making the switch. We took a trip to Europe in July 1999. It was then I committed to giving a digital camera a lengthy tryout. My digital results were rewarding enough to continue using it. The trusty 801 was put away.

In early August 2022, I brought the 801 out of the cabinet where it was stored and wondered if it still worked. Focusing was a little stiff. The LEDs in the display were weak. Plus, there was film in it on frame #6. I decided to finish exposing the roll and have it developed. By mid-August, I took the exposed roll to Walgreens near us. The sales person said they don’t do film any more. It would be sent away. I would get the prints and a CD back in about 6 weeks.

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Jupiter Oscillations

Jim R 6 Comments

A typical procedure in astrophotography involves mounting a camera on a stable platform like a tripod so it doesn’t move during exposures. Some people have motorized platforms that allow the camera to move and track the subject for long exposures of several minutes. I was curious how an image would look for a camera mounted on strings that allowed it to swing forward-backward and left-right at the same time during an exposure. Years ago, this image appeared in a magazine. I kept it and thought of trying it someday.

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Jupiter Rising | 8 Sep 2022

Jim R 8 Comments

Jupiter rose over the tree across the street a few minutes after 9 pm. With camera on a tripod and on full zoom, the intervalometer was set for 1 minute intervals of 10 exposures. The camera was set to ISO 800 and ¼ second. I hoped for just enough exposure to barely reveal the moons and not overexpose Jupiter too much. Europa was barely visible left of Jupiter. Ganymede and Callisto farther to the right. Smoke haze from western state forest fires dimmed the sky. After the exposures, Pixelmator Pro was used to layer them in this image.

Star Trails | Ursa Major and Minor

Jim R 18 Comments

I was inspired by a recent post in the blog Cosmic Focus by fellow amateur astronomy Ggreybeard in Australia. He put his DSLR camera on a tripod facing north and attached an intervalometer. The result was a series of 100 images each 45 sec long stitched together showing the star trails across the northern sky. I encourage you to go visit his blog to see the beautiful image.

I noticed Ursa Major and Minor, the Big and Little Dippers to most people, in the northwest sky in recent summer evenings when I was out with my telescope or binoculars. That post by Ggreybeard made me want to try the same thing. I decided to try to get the star trails using two different camera setups.

NightCap Camera

My iPad has the app NightCap Camera on it. It can capture many varied low-light scenes including one called Light Trails. I set the iPad on a stable base and started the exposure. It lasted for 1 h 7 m 46 s. Some scattered clouds glided in that were lit up by ground lighting. Airplanes flew over in various directions with blinking lights. The resulting image showed it all. I added some yellow lines highlighting Ursa Major and Ursa Minor as well as Polaris the North Star. It was a messy yet interesting image.

25 Aug 2022 | NightCap | Light Trails mode | ISO 3072 | 4066.23 sec | 0.5 sec per exposure
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JWST | Cartwheel Galaxy

Jim R 11 Comments

The James Webb Space Telescope provided the most detailed look to date of the Cartwheel Galaxy with the image release on 2 Aug 2022. The galaxy was first observed by the U.K. Schmidt telescope and then by the Anglo-Australian Telescope. It lies about 500 mega lt-yrs from us in the constellation of Sculptor. A much larger and high resolution image is available for you at this link. When there, scroll down and look for Download Options. I will use the detailed image to point out some highlights farther down in this post.

JWST | August 2022
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