Astrophotography

My Dad has been into Astrophotography for decades. He's been into photography and astronomy even longer. I've been told that even as a baby my Dad would drive our family hours to get the best viewing for solar and lunar eclipses and other unique astronomical events. From the giant eye to a direct planetary impact on Jupiter the night sky is something my Dad introduced to me. I remember us watching Halley's Comet pass in 1986 for its 75 year visit. My Dad has captured the beauty of the universe over the years: supernovae, galaxies, nebulae, planets and moons, solar and lunar eclipses, and transits of planets across the surface of the sun.

Sagittarius and the Milky Way
photographed with a DSLR using a fog filter to allow better identification of the constellation's stars

So dedicated is he that his retirement home is sited for the best night time viewing in relation to proximity to his family. There's a rating system for the amount of light for optimal viewing, the Bortle scale. His location rates a 3 or 4, which is on the better end of the scale thanks to his rural location. There's very little light pollution except very low on the horizon. He has his own observatory and even a web site dedicated to tracking the night sky, weather, light pollution, etc for optimal viewing times. 

His observatory at left with roll off roof. The observing field has several telescope piers permanently placed and deeply set to reduce vibration. Four black piers are seen here in front of the fence line

He has a large observing field with power. He would like to invite those in the Athens area who might be interested in shooting the night sky with a DSLR or with an astrophotography telescope setup or a simple star tracker. Contact Steve at shbinkley@gmail.com directly or me through Instagram or this blog. An alternate email address for Steve is sbinkley@windstream.net

Galaxy M31

Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn

Veil Nebula

Galaxy M101