The Art of Random

[kharvilak]

Just a few photos of M3 before bed. Doro, Tommy Bolan , Johnny Dee, and two of Lizzy Borden . More to come later. #doropesch #tommybolan #johnnydee #lizzyborden https://www.instagram.com/p/CdPvVQGsYyc/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[kharvilak]

Camaro Restoration: Got most of the parts in for the new fuel line and fuel pressure regulator. Just waiting on a couple of connectors to finish it off. Transmission kickdown cable and filter installed. Putting together some custom length braided stainless steel hoses. Been a long road so far on the engine rebuild, but very much worth it. Can't wait to get this thing fired up and rumbling. Then it's time to start tackling the interior. (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXaYt6drSAt/?utm_medium=tumblr

[kharvilak]

33 mile overcast Autumn afternoon cycling. Though rather moody conditions, the temperature was just right and it didn't end up raining. I absolutely love how much cycling I've been getting in recently, thanks to my charity fundraising rides through September and now October. It's the one thing I will really miss when Winter gets here. #bcrf250 #gcc2021 #cyclingforacause #cycling #rackingupthemiles #cancersucks #greatcyclingchallenge #breastcancerresearchfoundation (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUtumHELwNs/?utm_medium=tumblr

[kharvilak]

Getting some high speed track time in at Autobahn Speedway in White Marsh, MD. #AutobahnWM (at Autobahn Indoor Speedway & Events) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTfFhLqLjfM/?utm_medium=tumblr

[kharvilak]

Finished the whole ride today without a flat tire ;) . It was a fasted ride as well, and I weighed in at 181.4 lbs before the ride. Now to map a longer ride for the next one. 40 miles? 45 miles? 50 MILES?? #trek #cycling #shimano #trekbikes #greatcyclingchallenge (at Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQFlvnWHmHP/?utm_medium=tumblr

[kharvilak]

Really hot out there this afternoon (93°F, 68% humidity), but a nice ride none the less. #cycling #roadcycling #ilovemybike #greatcyclingchallenge #trekbikes #rideshimano (at Carroll County) https://www.instagram.com/p/CP2CI_anjDL/?utm_medium=tumblr

[kharvilak]

Full "Pink" "Super" Moon. 100% illumination. 4/26/2021, 9:50pm, Westminster, MD. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9), Celestron Luminos 2.5x Barlow (total combined focal length: 1200 mm @ f/14.75), Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount, Nikon D5100. Multiple exposures (20 x 1/40 second, 20 x 1/60 second, 20 x 1/80 second, 20 x 1/100 second, 20 x 1/125 second, 20 x 1/250 second) @ ISO 100. Stacked in SiriL, post-processed in GIMP. Original scale. #astroimaging #astrophotography #astronomy #skywatcher #skyandtelescope #nightskyphotography #themoon #moonphotography #moon #williamoptics #williamopticsgt81 #celestronluminos #nikon #pinksupermoon #fullmoon (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/COKCGP2nCZ4/?igshid=defdp85u3iiw

[kharvilak]

M3 (NGC 5272) is a globular cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. It was discovered on May 3, 1764, and was the first Messier object to be discovered by Charles Messier himself. 4//2/2021, 9:49 pm. Westminster, MD. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9), Celestron Luminos 2.5x Barlow (total combined focal length: 1200 mm @ f/14.75), Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount, Nikon D5100. 77 x 120 sec light subs, 32 darks, 31 bias, no flats. ISO 1600, 2 hours and 34 minutes total integration. Stacked and post-processed in Astro Pixel Processor and GIMP. Cropped for composition. Some star elongation from not using a flattener, and the barlow compounds the issue. #astrophotography #astroimaging #astronomy #nightskyphotography #globularcluster #M3 #skyandtelescope #williamoptics #williamopticsgt81 #celestronluminos #skywatcher (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNO0QGNnLoo/?igshid=1t6izb8ih7qam

[kharvilak]

The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101). "The giant spiral disk of stars, dust and gas is 170,000 light-years across — nearly twice the diameter of our galaxy, the Milky Way. M101 is estimated to contain at least one trillion stars. The galaxy’s spiral arms are sprinkled with large regions of star-forming nebulae. These nebulae are areas of intense star formation within giant molecular hydrogen clouds. Brilliant, young clusters of hot, blue, newborn stars trace out the spiral arms. Pierre Méchain, one of Charles Messier’s colleagues, discovered the Pinwheel galaxy in 1781. Located 25 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major, M101 has an apparent magnitude of 7.9". 3/20/2021, 8:45pm, Westminster, MD. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9) w/6AIII x0.8 flattener (total effective focal length with flattener is 384mm, F/4.72), Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount, Nikon D5100. 101 x 120 sec light subs, 17 darks, 30 bias, no flats. ISO 200, 3 hours and 22 minutes total integration. Stacked and post-processed in Astro Pixel Processor and GIMP. Cropped and zoomed from original. #astrophotography #astronomy #astroimaging #pinwheelgalaxy #m101 #skyandtelescope #nightskyphotography #williamoptics #williamopticsgt81 #skywatcher #nikon #galaxy (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMtbgUOH6_y/?igshid=3geaaeyhtkke

[kharvilak]

Last nights attempt at M51. M33 was too close to the horizon by the time I got polar aligned to make shooting it worth while. Ran out 3.5 hours on the Whirlpool Galaxy instead. Results were pretty good, but not as good as I would like. This galaxy is pretty small, so I had to use the 2.5x Barlow to magnify it enough to see any features. Unfortunately, having the field flattener AND the Barlow in the image train makes for a lack-luster image. There is some star elongation, and the clarity of the image is not the best due to the reduction in the f-stop (a result of using the Barlow). All in all though, I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Some decent detail and color in this one, even though it is a tough target for the telescope I have. I think the Barlow will be reserved for Moon photos, as it does not do well for small, faint targets due to the reduction in light gathering. The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51). 3/19/2021, 8:45pm, Westminster, MD. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9) w/6AIII x0.8 flattener and Celestron Luminos 2.5x Barlow (total effective focal length with flattener and Barlow is 960mm, F/11.8), Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount, Nikon D5100. 72 x 180 sec light subs, 11 darks, 20 bias, no flats. ISO 1600, 3 hours and 36 minutes total integration. Stacked and post-processed in Astro Pixel Processor and GIMP. #astrophotography #astroimaging #skyandtelescope #nightskyphotography #m51 #galaxy #williamoptics #williamopticsgt81 #skywatcher #nikon #celestronluminos (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMpfNAWnTHO/?igshid=1uoabh96731gg

[kharvilak]

Pleiades (M45). 3/5/2021, 9:40pm, Westminster, MD. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9) w/6AIII x0.8 flattener (total effective focal length with flattener is 384mm, F/4.7), Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount, Nikon D5100. 48 x 180 sec light subs, 23 darks, 40 bias, 40 flats. ISO 635, 2 hours and 24 minutes total integration. Stacked and post-processed in Astro Pixel Processor. #astrophotography #astronomy #astroimaging #nebula #pleiades #skyandtelescope #nightskyphotography #williamoptics #williamopticsgt81 #nikon #skywatcher #naturephotography (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CManHYznLz7/?igshid=197677xbvltce

[kharvilak]

Blue Sky Crescent. Once again, the clouds broke up just enough before sunset for me to get this shot of the Moon while the sun was still shining. Something about this lighting condition really brought out the detail on the Moon's surface. Waxing Crescent Moon, 28% illumination. 1/18/2021, 4:45pm. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9), Celestron Luminos 2.5x Barlow, Nikon D5100. ISO 200, 1/80 second exposure. Post processed in Gimp. #lunarphotography #astroimaging #astrophotography #astronomy #themoon #nikon #nikonphotography #williamoptics #williamopticsgt81 #celestronluminos #skyandtelescope #nightskyphotography (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKNt157HOep/?igshid=1pd3afugr3iqd

[kharvilak]

Going to try and process what I captured of Bode's Galaxy, but it clouded up an hour into the set. Not really enough data to worry about until I can gather more. Completely lost out on the Christmas Tree Cluster and the Rosette Nebula. Will revisit on another night. Captured tonight's Moon and a test run for the Great Conjunction on the 21st. Moon - Waxing Cresent, 10% illumination. 12/17/2020, 6:00pm. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9) w/6AIII x0.8 flattener (total effective focal length with flattener is 384mm, F/4.7), Nikon D5100. ISO 200, 1/80 second exposure. Post processed in Gimp. Jupiter/Saturn - 12/17/2020, 6:15pm. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9) w/6AIII x0.8 flattener (total effective focal length with flattener is 384mm, F/4.7), Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount, Nikon D5100. ISO 100, 5 second exposure. Post processed in Gimp. #astrophotography #nightskyphotography #skyandtelescope #themoon #greatconjunction #lunarphotography #nikon #williamoptics #skywatcher (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CI7a49JnxRW/?igshid=1f1tv3eervwt7

[kharvilak]

Going to try and process what I captured of Bode's Galaxy, but it clouded up an hour into the set. Not really enough data to worry about until I can gather more. Completely lost out on the Christmas Tree Cluster and the Rosette Nebula. Will revisit on another night. Captured tonight's Moon and a test run for the Great Conjunction on the 21st. Moon - Waxing Cresent, 10% illumination. 12/17/2020, 6:00pm. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9) w/6AIII x0.8 flattener (total effective focal length with flattener is 384mm, F/4.7), Nikon D5100. ISO 200, 1/80 second exposure. Post processed in Gimp. Jupiter/Saturn - 12/17/2020, 6:15pm. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9) w/6AIII x0.8 flattener (total effective focal length with flattener is 384mm, F/4.7), Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount, Nikon D5100. ISO 100, 5 second exposure. Post processed in Gimp. #astrophotography #nightskyphotography #skyandtelescope #themoon #greatconjunction #lunarphotography #nikon #williamoptics #skywatcher (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CI7apaPnfNa/?igshid=1xblgzd47mi4t

[kharvilak]

First set from last night's imaging. Quite a bit of improvement from my first attempt at this galaxy. 12/11/2020, 6:00pm. Triangulum Galaxy (M33, NGC 598), in the Triangulum constellation. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9) w/6AIII x0.8 flattener (total effective focal length with flattener is 384mm, F/4.7), Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount, Nikon D5100. Optolong L-Pro light pollution filter. 120 x 90 sec light subs (3 hours total integration), 20 darks, 40 bias. ISO 800. Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker, post processed in Gimp. #astroimaging #astrophotography #astronomy #photography #skyandtelescope #skywatcher #nikon #nightskyphotography #galaxy #triangulumgalaxy #williamoptics (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CItve94H7ie/?igshid=1qus1r2ctjebz

[kharvilak]

Patience is a virtue. Finally got the full Moon I've been wanting after missing October's due to overcast conditions. Waxing Gibbous (Full) Moon, 100% illumination. 11/29/2020, 9:00am. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9), Nikon D5100. ISO 100, 1/320 second exposure. Post processed in Gimp. #astroimaging #astrophotography #astronomy #themoon #lunarphotography #skyandtelescope #williamoptics #nikon (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIM74cjn2rD/?igshid=17dq30mqca4zb

[kharvilak]

The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) and the Horsehead Nebula (appears within the southern region of the dense dust cloud known as Lynds 1630, along the edge of the much larger, active star-forming H II region called IC 434). I'll have to revisit this at another time for a new image set, as clouds moved in to limit my integration time, and neighbors whose house this rises over had a back porch spotlight on, causing a lot of ghosting in the lower right corner. William Optics Gran Turismo 81 IV (480mm focal length, F/5.9) w/6AIII x0.8 flattener (total effective focal length with flattener is 384mm, F/4.7), Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount, Nikon D5100. 29 x 180 second lights (1 hour 27 minutes total integration), 10 darks, 10 bias. ISO 1600. Stacked in Astro Pixel Processor, post processed in Abobe Photoshop Express and Paintshop Pro X7. 11/16/2020. #astroimaging #astrophotography #skyandtelescope #nightskyphotography #nebulae #nikon #williamoptics #flamenebula #horseheadnebula (at Westminster, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIIDDn6Hmce/?igshid=1b2bu27aipyzs