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Field Notes

Personal stories from behind the eyepiece. Observatory visits, dark site expeditions, imaging session narratives, gear evolution journals, and the experiences that make this hobby worth the sleep deprivation. These are the posts where the telescope is a character in the story — from visiting the George Observatory south of Houston to chasing dark skies in New Mexico.

New Reflection Nebula Discovery: The Blue Ghost Nebula (Burwell 1)
Field Notes

New Reflection Nebula Discovery: The Blue Ghost Nebula (Burwell 1)

In October 2023, I set out to photograph vdB 1. There are almost no wide field (990mm) images of vdB1 due to the fact that

Oct 12, 2023 2 min read
Remote hosted telescope imaging
Field Notes

Remote hosted telescope imaging

About three years ago, I started on a journey to get out of my back yard and image from dark skies with a permanent setup.

Oct 2, 2023 11 min read
Remote astrophotography with a portable setup: traveling to a dark site
Field Notes

Remote astrophotography with a portable setup: traveling to a dark site

For some time now, I had been planning on taking myportable astrophotography rigto a dark site. During the Thanksgiving holiday, my family and I thought

Dec 15, 2020 5 min read
A modern, portable, astrophotography setup with the Rainbow Astro RST-135
Field Notes

A modern, portable, astrophotography setup with the Rainbow Astro RST-135

I’ve had in my possession aCelestron Advanced VX(my first astrophotography mount), aniOptron Cube Proas a visual grab and goto mount, and aSky-Watcher Star

Jul 3, 2020 3 min read
A new year, new mount, new camera, new scope.
Field Notes

A new year, new mount, new camera, new scope.

Late last year as galaxy season began to start, I got out my EdgeHD 11 scope to start shooting those small targets. I had been

Jan 20, 2020 5 min read
Imaging with the William Optics RedCat 51, achieving great images with beginner equipment
Field Notes

Imaging with the William Optics RedCat 51, achieving great images with beginner equipment

I recently picked up a10Micron GM1000 HPS mount. It’s a serious piece of equipment, but not responsible for these images. A lot of people

Dec 5, 2019 2 min read
Upgraded to the Pegasus Astro Ultimate Powerbox V2
Field Notes

Upgraded to the Pegasus Astro Ultimate Powerbox V2

There’s a few reasons I’ve made some resent upgrades to my equipment. A few weeks ago I had set up for a night

Oct 22, 2019 4 min read
The RedCat 51 has reached its final form
Field Notes

The RedCat 51 has reached its final form

I’ve finally finished getting all the pieces together for this little scope. Pictured here is the William Optics RedCat 51 refractor telescope,Celestron CGXmount,

Aug 1, 2019 2 min read
Getting Started with Astrophotography on the Mac
Field Notes

Getting Started with Astrophotography on the Mac

Recommendations for your start in imaging on the Mac There's a few things that need to be covered here as a starting point.

Aug 2, 2018 3 min read
A Night At The George Observatory
Field Notes

A Night At The George Observatory

A few weeks ago, I was able to attend a 'special event' at the George Observatory in Brazos Bend Park just south of

Jun 20, 2018 3 min read
The observatories on Haleakala
Field Notes

The observatories on Haleakala

My family and I took a trip to Maui this past week. While we were there we made the trek up Haleakala park mountain to

Jun 17, 2018 2 min read