Colors of Sirius 2 with Great Video

Sirius seemed to be jumping with much more color than I've ever seen from the star tonight! It was beautiful! I have recorded it and screen-capped some more still video images to make another "color chart"! It sure is much more interesting than my first video and color chart of Sirius!

Aren't the colors so pretty? Sirius is the only star I can see that gives off bright rainbow colors!
Of course, it is the brightest star around here!

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More Improved Photos of Jupiter

Jupiter is a planet that never gets old to look at. It's the biggest, brightest planet in the sky, so of course it's always an interesting target! Every night I have been going out to try improving my photos of Jupiter with just a cheap digital camera, and they are getting much better! I try many different angles and camera settings to try to get the sharpest details. Of course I enhance the photos just a bit to help see the details. I can't wait to get the video usb eyepiece to record and take perfect photos!

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Mercury - the Second Planet I've Found

I was up around 4:00am, the same time when I filmed Sirius, and decided to look at a "small red star" that came up behind the moon. I've never really thought about looking for Mercury since it's so small, but apparently I found it! It's not a bright planet at all, it's kinda faint, but it's still fun knowing you've found a planet!

It's very small, so it's a bit hard to see detail on this planet.

Mercury. [3x barlow, no filter]

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Sirius - The Prettiest Star to Catch on Film

I went outside early around 4:00am and looked up at the sky to see Sirius. I decided to take my telescope out for a nicer view, and ended up with a nice video of it! It's so beautiful! I also took 4 frames from the video to lay out an image of the star's pretty colors!

[Of course the telescope is a bit out of focus. When it's in perfect focus, the star is still a small dot, but color is still visible. When it's a bit out of focus, you can see the colors and movement better!]

[Four frames of Sirius from my video.]

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Improved Photos of Jupiter

Here is my second attempt at snapping photos of Jupiter and the moon, along with a blue star that looked interesting! I can't wait for a full moon and a nice 5x barlow lens and Orion StarShoot video eyepiece!

Jupiter much closer with better detail with great red spot! [3x barlow, no filter, zoomed camera]

Jupiter and Galilean moons. It's interesting to see the moons' positions change. [3x barlow, no filter]

Jupiter with moons. [3x barlow, no filter]

A hot blue star is what I am guessing this is. [3x barlow, no filter, slightly unclear zoom to see luminescence]

Half moon. [no barlow, no filter]

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Jupiter Going Its Orbit Through the Sky

This is my first video of Jupiter and the Galilean moons from my Dobsonian. I had no idea that it would move across the sky so quickly until I got a close-up view of it!

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First Photographs I Took of Space

These are the first good pictures I have taken with my digital camera and XT8 Dobsonian telescope. This telescope produces some very clear images, yet I have only used a cheap digital camera to take these photos. There is no need to have the camera hooked up to the telescope in any way, all you have to do is simple snap the pictures through the lens! Of course, a nice USB hookup will improve the images dramatically, especially of the planets since the camera distorts the image of far away objects.

Click the image for a larger view.

The moon and clouds. [No moon filter, no barlow]

The moon. [No moon filter, no barlow]

The moon. [Moon filter, 3x barlow]

The moon. [No moon filter, no barlow]

Jupiter and Galilean moons. [No moon filter, 3x barlow]

Jupiter in better detail. [No moon filter, 3x barlow]

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My Orion XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope

I recently bought an Orion XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope. This telescope has some pretty good features, and I give it a 5-star rating! I absolutely love this telescope and am still figuring it out. It is a very highly recommended telescope for beginners who are serious about space viewing. This telescope costs $350.


-Best for viewing planets and the moon.
-Intermediate leveled telescope
-Reflector telescope
-Optical diameter is 203mm
-Focal length of 1200mm
-Focal ratio of f/5.9
-Magnification of 48x, maximum magnification to 300x
-EZ Finder II finder scope
-Secondary mirror obstruction of 47mm
-Size: 46.5"
-Fully assembled weight: 4l lbs
-2" focuser, 1.25" eyepiece

My beautiful XT8 Dobsonian

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