Beginners Astrophotography

Next year on April 8th there is going to be a rare spectacular event: A total eclipse of the Sun. The best part of it will not be visible here in California so me and my family will be taking a road trip to Texas to see it. Maybe your family can take a trip too? Here in California it will be a partial eclipse, which is awesome, but not nearly as spectacular. Partial eclipses can only be seen through special light blocking glass. When there is a total eclipse the entire sun is blocked by the Moon, and you can look directly at it. Around the edges of the sun you can see tongue's of fames called prominences. These flames can be several times larger than the earth, and are quite spectacular. You can also see the white stream of plasma gas called the Corona. Did you know that the Sun has an atmosphere? It's much different than the earths of course, but it is indeed an atmosphere. The solar prominences and Corona are both part of the Sun's atmosphere.  The total eclipse area is a

 Something is missing from our astrophotography club...  What's missing you say? Why, astrophotography is missing!!!  Lets schedule our next outing, and take some pictures!! There will be storms next week, but the forecast does have some clear days showing. Lets schedule on and hope for the best.  As of right now, my weather apps says that Sunday November 19th will be clear. Let's shoot for that.  Sunset  trail above Quail hollow park  https://maps.app. goo.gl/JDXumxZaswgpPjUz9 November 19th 6:00PM?  Let me know if this will work for you, and we can discuss at the next club meeting Monday Oct 13th. 

  Family friendly event:   Humble Sea Brewing Co. 820 Swift St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Thursday November 16, 6:30 pm Speakers: Artem Aguichine & Jonathan Fortney https://astronomyontap.org/event/astronomy-on-tap-santa-cruz-the-united-states-of-water/ Hope to see you there!

Shoot the Moon! This will be our first astrphotography challenge.  The moon will be rising around around dinner time and will be up for most of the night. See if you can take a picture of the moon from your backyard. For the moon shot with your camera, you can try to use an auto setting to start. Go ahead and try different settings to see what works well. Also try to follow the instructions that I made for your camera. Please e-mail me with any questions you have.  What to include?  Make sure to take at least one photograph that has the moon centered, fully visible, and with good proportions so that you can see all of the moon with a good amount of detail. But the creative part of astrophotography is where a lot of fun happens. Do you want to take a picture that looks like your friend is holding the moon? Do you want to see it shining through the trees? Above your house?  Try and take pictures of the moon several times a week for a month or more. We can combine your pictures together s

 Stargazing for Peace Pigeon Point Stargazing Friday, October 13th 7:00pm -- 10:00pm Stargazing for Peace Come celebrate the beauty of dark skies at Pigeon Point! At 7:00pm, join us for a fascinating talk in the Pigeon Point Hostel on"The Importance and Wonder of Dark Skies." Following the talk, the Santa Cruz Astronomy Club will set up telescopes and help visitors stargaze off the Pacific Coast and the Fog Signal Building will be open to see the Fresnel lens light up the room. Stargazing may be canceled in case of heavy of fog and rain. The Dark Skies talk and Fog Signal Building will be open regardless. Please remember to dress warmly and in layers. It can be chilly at night. No flash photography or flashlights. Red-beamed flashlights are fine. Feel free to bring folding chairs, blankets, and hot beverages to stay warm while stargazing. Wheelchair and stroller accessible. Free event. For more information, call (669) 758-1155. Event made possible by Coastside State Parks Ass

Oct 14th ~8:30AM to ~9:30AM Highlands Park near the playground.  https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/california-2023-eclipse I have a telescope that is special built to observe the sun. Never look at the sun through any telescope unless you know that it was designed to do this!!!! You could be seriously injured.  I would like to take out the solar scope and share the view of the eclipse, the morning of Oct 14th. It will start sometime around 8:30AM, and go for about an hour. Unlike a total eclipse of the Sun, a partial eclipse will not be so spectacular, and will require solar glasses to view. So it's not so critical to be exactly on time, as long as you do look at it when it is active. I will have some extra solar glasses to view the eclipse.