01/15/2026 – M81 and M82
January 16, 2026Very cool, fairly clear… a few thin clouds here and there early in the night, over all a very nice night to look up. Before dark I cooled the camera to -10 C and shot some new bin1 3 minute darks. Once…
Category: Deep Sky
Been a bit… 01/12/2026 M42 The Orion Nebula
January 13, 2026It has been a good while since the last time I was able to capture any far off photons with the SV503. I broke the scope down and stored it away in the Astro Shed just before we went down to Ocracoke…
SeeStar EQ Mode, M33 on 11/01/2025
November 2, 2025Pretty nice night. Clear, cool, bit of a bright Moon but that’s fine. I decided to set out the SeeStar S50 to give EQ Mode a try. After dark I switched the SeeStar into EQ Mode and preformed the polar alignment. Picked…
09/20/2025 – SeeStar EAA… Just Having Fun Looking Up.
September 20, 2025Finally a mostly clear sky! It has been a few months since the Southeastern VA sky has been without clouds or a bright Moon. Since I have been traveling a bit the main scope is still packed up, so I put the…
04/27/2025 – Hickson 44 Galaxy Group
April 28, 2025Wow! I did not realize it had been so long. I have not gathered any light through the scope in nearly 2 months. Glad we got a nice clear night to change that. I decided to try for Hickson 44 which is…
03/03/2025 – The Leo Triplet
March 4, 2025Little warmer than last night, but still cool in the mid-to-upper 30s. Bit more of the waxing Crescent Moon, but not enough to be a bother. Earlier in the day I swapped out scopes on the mount, putting the SVBONY 102ED back…
03/02/2025 – The Boogeyman Nebula
March 3, 2025Clear, cold (upper 20s F), night. Just a little sliver of the 15% waxing Crescent Moon in the SW sky. I uncovered the AT66ED to capture the March Sky-Watcher USA TOTM, LDN 1622 or the Boogeyman Nebula. The dark nebula LDN 1622…
02/25/2025 – Some SeeStar EAA – Capturing a Few Messiers
February 26, 2025Set the SeeStar up just before dark. Updated the app and the firmware, then adjusted the level. Nice clear night in the low 50s, dropping into the mid-40s as the Sun went down. I started capturing Messier objects just after 7 PM….
02/01/2025 – LBN 777 – The Baby Eagle Nebula TOTM
February 2, 2025The forecast was calling for a clear sky for most of the night so I set things up to capture the SkywatcherUSA TOTM for February 2025, LBN 777 the Baby Eagle Nebula or Vulture Head Nebula. The night started off clear, cool,…
01/28/2025 – SeeStar Mosaic – M 45, The Pleiades
January 29, 2025A lot of high thin clouds moving across the sky but it has been a bit since I have been able to look up so I decided to get the SeeStar out. It was a lot warmer than it has been (well…