Austin

AstroChallenge contributor

Points: 5562

Observations: 74

Kudos: 48

NameAustin Riba
LocationSanta Barbara, California
TimezoneAmerica/Los_Angeles
Latitude34.4058592738
Longitude-119.696321208
Altitude10m

Beginner astronomer, constant neck-ache, Admin of Astrochallenge.com

Clear

Finally up early enough to see Mercury, a shining point in the red glow of the rising sun.

Neptune

LCOGT 1Meter Scope - Sinistro
50 points

Went up to Sedegwick to do a dry run on the big scope in preparation for an upcoming star party. I had never actually seen Neptune before. Clearly a disk instead of a point source, very nice to finally lay eyes on our most distant (main class) planet.

Sedgewick was lovely as usual!

Uranus

LCOGT 1Meter Scope - Sinistro
50 points

Saw Uranus for the first time, a dim disk in the dusk light.

C/2013 US10 (Catalina)

LCOGT 1Meter Scope - Sinistro
1 points

Used a 1m scope in Texas from the LCGOT network. Image consisted of 3x20sec exposures with RGB filters. Used Stiff to compose the color image and gimp to adjust levels.

Crab Nebula

LCOGT 1Meter Scope - Sinistro
10 points

I Used the LCOGT Network to take an image of the Crab Nebula. This particular scope is located in Cerro Tololo in Chile. Scope is 1 Meter, with several instruments attached. The main science camera (used here) is one of the new Sinistros we've been working on.

This is my first attempt at any real astrophotography using the LCOGT network. While I feel the result is OK, I think I could have done better with some better software and some know-how.

InstrumentObservations
Naked eye 7
Orion 10'' SkyQuest dobsonian 53
Orion Scenix 10x50 Binoculars 2
Mead LX200 (Cabrillo Observatory) 4
LCOGT 1Meter Scope - Sinistro 8