Astronomical Photography by Rusty Fletcher

The heavens declare the glory of God ... Psalm 19 verse 1.

Most of the recent photos were done in my backyard in Kyle, Texas under Bortle 5.9 skies.

Select any photo to see a larger view and details about the object.

 

 

STELLAR SPIKES

Stellar spikes (diffraction spikes) are artifacts caused by light diffracting around the support vanes of the secondary mirror in a reflecting or Newtonian type telescope. These spikes are prominent around bright stars and sometimes can be seen extending from stars outside the photographic field of view. One example is my picture of the Horsehead and Flame Nebula. The artifacts of these spikes cannot be removed without damaging or altering the picture. Since I have owned and used Newtonian Telescopes for many years, I have grown accustomed to them and enjoy the view. I do not want to damage the natural beauty of my pictures by attempting to remove the spikes. Even some of the Hubble Space Telescope’s photos exhibit strong diffraction spikes. Click or touch this text to see an example.

 

BELOW ARE OLDER ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOS I TOOK YEARS AGO.

The telescope I used to make these photos of  Jupiter and Mars was my 17.5-inch, AZ-ALT, 2000 mm fl, with a Barlow to increase the fl to 4000 mm.

The camera I used for planetary photography in 2007 & 2008 was a color Phillips 2 U Cam.

Jupiter on September 4th, 2008 at UT 03:22                          Jupiter on September 5th, 2008 at UT 02:55

 

Jupiter and it's moon Io on August 27th, 2008 at  UT 04:54

 

 

I photographed this full-size Moon shot with my 4.5-inch, 450 mm fl telescope and my SBIG ST-9E camera

Moon on 12-27-2007 at: UT 06:55:31

 

I photographed this close up of the Moon with my 17.5-inch, AZ-ALT, 2000 mm fl telescope and my SBIG ST-7E camera 

The Moon May 21st, 2005 at UT 06:02 

 

In 1999 I built my AZ-ALT, computer-controlled, 17.5-inch go-to telescope. It was designed with Mel Bartels' stepper motor system. In June of 2003 after upgrading the gearing system I started doing astronomical photography. Select or click on this text to see pictures I took from June 2003 to February 2004 with my telescope and my Cookbook 245 CCD camera.

 

I purchased my first astronomical CCD camera in May of 2001. It was a cookbook 245 built by Mike Squicciarini. At that time, I was in the process of upgrading my AZ-ALT, 17.5-inch telescope. Without a working telescope, from May of 2001 until February of 2002, I started taking astronomical pictures using the Houston Astronomical Society's 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Select or click on this text to see pictures I took with the HAS scope and my Cookbook camera. All photos are unguided.

 

 

My upgraded telescope and gearing system in 2005

The original design of my 17.5 inch computer-controlled telescope in 2002 

Old photos of my telescope, friends, and family

 

Links to astronomy friends websites:

Dean Salman

Mel Bartels

 

I live in Kyle, Texas and I am a Member of: The Austin Astronomical Society

When I lived in Seguin, Texas I was a member of: The San Antonio Astronomical Association

When I lived in Columbus, Texas I was a member of: The Houston Astronomical Society

When I lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma I was a member of :  The Astronomy Club of  Tulsa

Contact me at: rusty@astronomy.afountain.org

 

 

 

Current forecast for Bad Wolf Ranch Clear Sky Chart