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THIS SITE IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
MY MAIN WEBSITE
AUSTRALIAN ASTRONOMY
MY ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY CAN BE SEEN HERE
KEN JAMES ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
OMEGA CENTAURI
Captured from Snake Valley
3rd March 2008
Come along and have a chat with me and many other Amateur Astronomers at South Celestial Pole Astronomy Forum. My username is 'Dragon Man'
Comet McNaught
ANIMATION
and Videos of my Astrophotography
(see near bottom of page)
THIS SITE IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
MY MAIN WEBSITE
AUSTRALIAN ASTRONOMY
MY ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY CAN BE SEEN HERE
KEN JAMES ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
OMEGA CENTAURI
Captured from Snake Valley
3rd March 2008
Come along and have a chat with me and many other Amateur Astronomers at South Celestial Pole Astronomy Forum. My username is 'Dragon Man'
Comet McNaught
ANIMATION
and Videos of my Astrophotography
(see near bottom of page)
Hi, I'm Ken, and I made this site to share my hobby, and it's growth, with you.
Astronomy and Stargazing have been a part of my life as far back as I can remember. I can vividly remember watching a Meteor Shower as a young nipper from the suburbs of Sydney, Australia back when streetlights were nothing more than a dull yellowish light bulb hanging under a tin cover and the skies were truly dark.
My Current Telescopes
8" EQ Reflector f6.7
ED80 on
EQ
12" Dobsonian f5
That
Meteor Shower was only one of the amazing sights I witnessed as a young
fella before the creation of Gazillion Watt floodlights and dazzling
over-lit advertising banners and light-flooded car-yards and blinding
street-lighting etc etc yadda yadda.
Fortunately,
as a 51 year old, I now live in a very dark country town in Victoria
Australia and I drool at my dark sky. Not many people these days
can walk out their back door, look up, and see the Milky Way in all
it's glory. Add to that the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds,
47Tuc, Omega Centauri, Carina Nebula and a host of other
spectacular Southern Sky beauties. I know I am spoilt.
Here is a view of the Crux as I see it from my backyard
At
age 27 I was determined to get a Telescope, but the problem was cost.
Back in 1985 Telescopes and Astronomy equipment were very expensive but
the desire was too strong. But being determined to own my own 'scope'
I called a shop in Melbourne and enquired as to the price of parts
to make my own.
I
managed to get a good price (for 1985) on a 4.25" Primary Mirror
and cell, a secondary mirror in it's spider (the mirror frame), and a .925" rack &
pinion focuser all for the bargain price of $750.
I
purched a 1500mm length of 150mm PVC sewerage pipe for $5 from a
Plumbing supply shop, and spent approximately $30 on plumbing
accessories to construct an EQ mount. I also managed to find 3
eyepieces at Kmart for $4.95 each. My project was under way!
The total cost to build my own basic 4.25" reflector telescope was
$800.
Now
to compare prices: In 2005 I purchased a 12" Dobsonian f5 Deluxe model
with Crayford Focuser, cooling fan, blackened inner tube and 4
eyepieces for $995.
Telescopes must be the only items on Earth that have dropped in price over time. 
As
you can see by the photos near the top of this page, my collection has
certainly grown from my humble home-made 4.25" reflector. Add
to that a Toucam 840k Pro II Astronomical Webcam, Binoculars,
electronic mount tracking on two EQ mounts, and a host of 1.25" and 2"
eyepieces, barlows and focal reducers and you can see that this hobby
is ADDICTIVE!!
Below are more recent photos of my 12" reflector on top of my Giant EQ mount which enables me to track while imaging deep sky objects.
Here are my kids with the 12"
January 2007 I captured images of Comet McNaught from my back paddock. I have made an animation of the Comet as it sets in the SouthWestern sky. Each frame is 15 seconds long and 45 seconds apart.
Below are more recent photos of my 12" reflector on top of my Giant EQ mount which enables me to track while imaging deep sky objects.
12" Reflector on Giant EQ mount
Here are my kids with the 12"
Snake Valley Observatory
Here is a 3D animation of the Observatory that is under construction in my back Paddock
at Snake Valley
Here is a 3D animation of the Observatory that is under construction in my back Paddock
at Snake Valley
January 2007 I captured images of Comet McNaught from my back paddock. I have made an animation of the Comet as it sets in the SouthWestern sky. Each frame is 15 seconds long and 45 seconds apart.
Comet McNaught P1 2006
(animation)
Here are 2 Videos I made showing my Astrophotography
Ken James Astrophotography Part 1
Ken James Astrophotography Part 2
(animation)
Here are 2 Videos I made showing my Astrophotography
Ken James Astrophotography Part 1
Ken James Astrophotography Part 2
Click on Logo to participate with your
'Astronomy Website'
'Astronomy Website'
Equipment Update:
I have recently purchased a Skywatcher EQ6 German Equatorial Mount with computerised Skyscan GoTo, enabling me to track accurately away from home. I have also added a 120mm guidescope with another Toucam imaging camera to guide with.
Even more recent, I have purchased a
Canon 350d (RebelXT) as my main imaging camera.
This camera allows me to take more professional looking images of Deep Space objects.
(see Omega Centauri at the top of this page)
To look at some of my favourite images
look HERE
I have recently purchased a Skywatcher EQ6 German Equatorial Mount with computerised Skyscan GoTo, enabling me to track accurately away from home. I have also added a 120mm guidescope with another Toucam imaging camera to guide with.
Even more recent, I have purchased a
Canon 350d (RebelXT) as my main imaging camera.
This camera allows me to take more professional looking images of Deep Space objects.
(see Omega Centauri at the top of this page)
To look at some of my favourite images
look HERE
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