Beginners Astrophotography

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 ...

 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.