Timelapse Lunar Eclipse Over Downtown Kansas City by Tom Martinez

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkVItkDL4s4?rel=0]

Published by Tom Martinez, Historian of the Astronomical Solemnity of Kansas City, on Apr 7, 2015

The total phase was not seen from KC since totality occurred after moonset. Crystal clear skies allowed for a nice view of the last sliver of moon, however. Music is “Alive” by Jahzzar, http://betterwithmusic.com.

First Attempt at Amateur Astronomical Telescopic Digital Photography

Waxing Moon
Moon Early Evening 13 Oct 2010

My first photographic effort using the Meade ETX90 and the Pentax K100D (on a two second delay shutter in an attempt to prevent blurring and shaking of the telescope) is above.  I chose the moon, because it’s large, bright and easy to focus and doesn’t necessarily need to be tracked.  I did not use the Autostar to track and sync the moon while taking both of these photos.

Waxing Moon (1/4 to 1/3 full)
Early Evening 13 Oct 2010 Moon (better focused)

I like the second moon photo (above) the best of the half dozen or so shots I took.

Jupiter Early Evening 13 October 2010

My efforts attempting to focus and track Jupiter did not bear good fruit.  Of the handful of photos I took, the one above is the best of the bunch.

That’s all the photographic practice I’ll get this evening.  I need to devise a counterweight for the telescope’s tube so the camera doesn’t pull ‘up’ the altitude.