Astro Seoul

I couldn’t catch the “smiley face” but I got these from my balcony, taken with my Canon 50D using an EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens.

This was at ISO 640 for 2 seconds

And a little lighter:

This one was at ISO 800 for 4 seconds

The following was taken with a Canon 50D hooked up to my LX90 with a camera adapter. I found camera shake a problem, as well as shimmering air on the night, and these account for the slightest blurring of the shots I took. This one though was reasonable. I’ll have to get a shutter release cable.

Taken 03-11-08

This is a picture of the Rheita Valley region. The flat area you can see top right is Mare Nectaris and the deep crater below it, about mid photo, is the crater Piccolomini.

Wikipedia says it is a prominent lunar impact crater located in the southeastern sector of the Moon. The crater Rothmann lies to the west-southwest, and to the south is Stiborius. The lengthy Rupes Altai begins at the western rim of Piccolomini, curving to the northwest. The crater is named after 17th century Italian Archbishop and astronomer Alessandro Piccolomini. It is 88 kilometers in diameter and 4,500 meters deep. It is from the Upper Imbrian period, 3.8 to 3.2 billion years ago.

A few hundred kilometers north of Mare Nectaris is were the first moon landing took place.

These are my first attempts at photographing the night skies. I took these on two separate nights from my apartment balcony in Seoul. Click for a larger view…

The first bunch turned out surprisingly well considering how I took them. They were taken with a tiny Minolta Dimage Xi digital camera hand held over a 32 mm Tele Vue Plossl eyepiece with a Tele Veu Powermate for some of them. That’s why some of them have parts obscured by the dark edge of the eyepiece rim.

Date: 12-09-2008

=== 07-10-08 ===

=== 11-10-08 ===

I had heard news about a comet that could be seen exceptionally well from Australia, but I was too busy acting as tour guide for my wife’s Korean family on an Australian holiday to look into it. I had no idea you could really see it.

That was until we were heading back to Perth from Sydney on a midnight flight. The captain announced that the McNaught comet could be seen at front left. I opened the shutter and looked out, and I was stunned. I had never imagined such an amazing sight. It was just riveted, transfixed. Up so high the view was very, very clear, and at an angel that was almost level. My first ever comet.

When I recovered from my amazement I looked around and many passengers were out like a light. There was very little interest from those awake.

Taken from coastal Perth with Rottnest Island on the horizon

I made sure when back in Perth to venture out and see McNaught again. The image here, taken by someone else (I’m sorry but I have lost the source), is basically what I saw from a Cottesloe vantage point.

On the horizon are gathering clouds and the lights you see are of ships. The middle light, I would say, it the lighthouse on Rottnest Island.

Mind blowing. Absolutely magnificent.