TNI Bureau: Ladakh is ready to get the first Dark Sky Reserve of the country months after plans were announced to launch a unique initiative. Radha Krishna Mathur, the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, will virtually inaugurate the facility on October 31.
The initiative by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), the Union Territory administration, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru aims to lower light pollution in the region for better observations and to boost the local economy by harnessing the power of astronomy.
What is dark sky reserve?
The Dark Sky Reserve is located at Hanle, which is about 300 kilometers away from Ladakh and is part of the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary. As part of the initiative, 24 astro ambassadors have been selected from a cluster of five villages in and around the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO).
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Funded by the LAHDC, the astro ambassadors will be provided with 8-inch Dobsonian telescopes that will be used to look out into the universe and provide a new avenue of income. The ambassadors will cater to tourists visiting Hanle in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Milky Way galaxy, which shines through the night in the region due to its cloudless skies and lower atmospheric disturbance.
The Dark Sky Reserve will be centered in a radius of 22 kilometers around the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle.
A total of 24 astro ambassadors have been selected out of over 70 applications received for the opportunity. They have been trained in handling telescopes and identifying objects, stars and different patterns in the sky. The ambassadors have gone through workshops with IAO and astronomers from IIA Bengaluru.
About 70 per cent of the applications received for the post of astro ambassador came from girls and of the 24 finally selected, just 7 are boys.
With the virtual inauguration on October 31, the ambassadors are also being trained in avoiding light pollution and have been provided with special curtains to lower light pollution. After getting hands-on experience with telescopes, the astro ambassadors are also interested in getting trained in astrophotography.
***CLICK on the Above Image to go to Flickr and see options for up to a 10,000 pixel version***
Tuweap also known as Toroweap is at the far western edge of the Grand Canyon National Park. It’s a really rough drive out to the edge. 65 miles off pavement and the last 7-8 miles you need 4×4 to make it.
This is a huge panorama 80 separate images. Stitched on their edges. 40 for the sky and 40 for the ground. Standing on the edge of a 3,000 foot drop 6″ from death in total darkness is a bit unnerving, especially since the ground exposure was about 30 minutes. Hence the detail of a very realistic view of this fabulous viewpoint. If you have 4×4 get out to see this! WAY worth it, its the most unreal part of the Grand Canyon.
Click on the image to go to Flickr and see this image up to 10,000 pixels.
***Warning 80mb image***
If you have the bandwidth click on the big image, zoom in and see what you can see at night, at the bottom of a black canyon.
When working with bright objects in images we run the risk to clip signal while processing, or the signal might already be clipped to begin with. For big features that are really bright we can take images at different exposure times and use HDR processing to make sure we have all the information there and a good looking final image. However, sometimes we might not realise this happening or it is just some small features. To me, this happens a lot whenever there ‘happens to be’ a planetary nebula in the FOV. They are not the main target and I might discover them only when working on the images. They are often bright though, so bright they can easily clip, especially if you are using Ha together with RGB. In this situation there is a solution though: it might be clipped in the Ha data, but surely the RGB data has non-clipped signal there! This was the case with an image I’m currently working on and I want to share the way I used the RGB data to fill in the clipped signal in my HaRGB combined image. But this will also be applicable to just RGB data. In many cases you are clipping signal during processing and you can easily make an alternate version of your data specifically targeting the previously clipped area. You can then use the data from the alternate version to fill in the clipped area in your ‘main version’ of your image.
Find the clipped signal
The Readout will tell you the values for the pixels and you can just go with your mousepointer to the object and see if it says 1.0 in any of the channels. In this case you’ll have 1.0 for R of course. We can use Pixelmath to show us clearly where in the image we can find clipped signal. This will most likely also contain some stars. So for this I split the HaRGB image in the seperate color channels and use the following formula: iif(HaRGB_R =>0.999,HaRGB_R,0) And let it return a greyscale image. Now you have clearly visible where the pixels are you might want to target. So why are we using 0.999 as a value instead of 1.0? This has to do with the fact that we start counting at 0 and this is the first value. Therefor we can never reach 1 because we are limited by the amount of values we can store. (compare it to counting to 10 on your 10 fingers, but starting at 0 )
In my case this was the result for the area I’m interested in:
Create clipped signal mask
Now we can use this image to use as a mask to target only the pixels we want. You can use the CloneStamp tool if you have any structure or pixels in there you don’t want to replace. In order to get a good result however, we can’t use the image just like it was returned from PixelMath as it has really sharp edges wich will result in ugly transitions. So to smoothen the edges we use Convolution with some high settings and smoothen the mask.
For me this was the result: Much better!
If you need more control over the blur however, you could also use PixelMath and create multiple masks for different pixel values. You can then combine those masks with different strengths to create your own smooth transition. For instance; create a mask1 for pixel values above 0.9999, mask2 for pixel values above 0.9995, mask3 for pixel values above 0.999, etc. Then combine those masks with different strenghts in PixelMath by simply adding them together with different multiplications like; 1*mask1+0.8*mask2+0.6*mask3 etc.
Replace clipped signal with RGB data
Now we can simply use the mask on the main image and use PixelMath to copy over the non-clipped signal. To do this you need to apply the mask you just created to the main image. Then open PixelMath and simply type in the name of the image that contains the non-clipped signal you want to copy over. Make sure you checked ‘Replace target image’ since masks don’t work when you use Create new image. Now drag the New instance icon (the little triangle in the bottom left corner) over on the main image and you’re done! To tweak the results a bit you can experiment with turning up the signal you copy over a bit by simply using a multiplication in PixelMath. So instead of just using the image name you can put in RGB*1.2 to strengthen the signal a bit.
The result
In my case this was the result.
Eventhough it’s just a tiny area of 60 by 90 pixels in an image of 11308×7880 pixels, I do think paying attention to the little details like this is worth it. Especially if it’s in areas of high significance in terms of objects
A special thanks to Niall Saunders who helped me out with this on the PixInsight forums.
La gran tormenta de polvo que amenazaba a la continuidad de la misión Insight de la NASA comienza a dar muestras de debilitamiento con el cambio de estación en el planeta rojo.
Tras un mes de nerviosismo en la agencia espacial por el desarrollo de esta tormenta debido a que en ocasiones suelen ser intensas y muy persistentes parece que poco a poco se va dispersando y los paneles solares de las sonda vuelven a recibir más luz solar.
Recordemos que una gran tormenta global de polvo fue la causante de que en 2018 la misión Opportunity llegase a su fin. Los rovers Curiosity y Perseverance no corrían riesgo ya que obtienen su energía de sus generadores por radioisótopos (MMRTG), pero la sonda Insight si que es dependiente de la energía solar.
Grandes tormentas de polvo que cubren todo el planeta
Algunas tormentas de polvo locales se producen durante cualquier época del año marciano, pero las tormentas más grandes se vuelven más comunes a medida que finaliza el verano en el hemisferio sur, llegando a convertirse en enormes tormentas globales que afectan a todo el planeta. Esto fue lo que sucedió en la pasada oposición de Marte en 2020 en la que una gran tormenta de polvo cubrió la totalidad del planeta privándonos de las mejores imágenes justo cuando estábamos más cerca.
La tormenta de polvo y la localización de las sondas de la NASA. (Crédito de la imagen: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
Debido a los desequilibrios de calor producidos en los cambios de estación y a la menor gravedad y densidad de la atmósfera marciana las tormentas de polvo además de globales suelen ser muy duraderas.
Los científicos creen poco probable que veamos otra gran tormenta de polvo este año en Marte así que parece que podremos disfrutar del planeta rojo durante estas semanas próximas a su próxima oposición, el 8 de diciembre. Recordad que es el mejor momento para apuntar nuestros telescopios hacia el planeta rojo e intentar observar sus casquetes polares, valles y planicies.
Imagen de marte durante la pasada oposición en 2020.
Numerosos astrónomos aficionados llevan ya varios días siguiendo la evolución del acercamiento de Marte y habían constatado que la gran tormenta de polvo era notable en sus fotografías planetarias. Esperamos que el tiempo mejore y poder empezar a hacer seguimiento de esta nueva oposición marciana.
Perfectly silent and with zero backlash. Last night I finished calibrating and allowing the mount to carry the full weight of all scopes I’m using and still perfectly silent and smooth. I’m hoping for some great and starry nights ahead of me soon.
The gap in the foreground where the timing belt will come through
R.A. motor in a close up image
R.A. axis opening with the LED-light in the background
Rowan Astronomy Worm Mount
Rowan Astronomy Worm Mount middle and right. The old worm mount case on the left and the lubricant used to re-lubricate the screw
Side by side comparison of worm mount cases
The mount split in DEC and RA halfs
The fascination of star gazing had already started during the very first years of my childhood. I was looking up at the night sky with my grandfather every summer night, studying constellations, the phases of the moon cycle, counting satellite passages and by using his binoculars to discover globular clusters of stars. Equipped with star maps from his home-library I was gradually discovering more and more of this fascinating world we call universe.
Even though years went by, the interest and fascination of cosmos had never left me… I found myself occupied with many other things before astronomy finally became my main hobby in recent years.
I was born in Stockholm, Sweden 1979 and grew for the most part of my childhood years in Greece. Later I’ve studied physics at Lund’s university and was hoping to continue with astronomy. At my free time I was an active amateur astronomer in South Sweden, Lund. At some point I was also appointed as chief of observatory for the Tycho Brahe Astronomy Society in Lund.
Circumstances in life led me to move with my family to California. Today I’m working as a sofrware developer within the aviation industry and weather systems for airports. During my off-time, I spend most of my time with my wife Melissa and our daughters.
My main hobbies are astronomy, astrophotography, game development and I was also a member of several astronomy societies in south Sweden but time was never enough to continue being an active member.
This blog is dedicated to my family (Melissa, Vanita and Lena Grace), our friends and to all of you who share the same fascination towards the beauty of this science and all the mysteries yet to be revealed by our constant discoveries!
One of the most common questions I get is “what portable power source do you use for astrophotography”. This is a hot topic in the astrophotography community, and there are many options to consider for powering your gear at night.
When deciding on an off-grid power station, you need to think about things like battery life, power output, power input charging, and the number and types of output ports. There is no one-size-fits-all option, as budget and weight come into play as you explore the higher-end options.
If you’ve ever browsed the Portable Power Stations on Amazon, you’ll know that there are literally hundreds of options to choose from. However, choosing the right one for your telescope and astrophotography purposes requires a slightly different approach.
Which portable power station is best for astrophotography in the field?
Whether charging via solar panels when you are off-grid is important to you, or you need a unit that can save your butt during a power outage – there is an option for you. If you enjoying comparing features and prices, selecting the best portable power station for your astrophotography needs is actually kind of fun.
In this article, I’ll describe my experiences using a premium portable power station, and provide a number of alternatives suggested by astrophotographers around the world.
Feel free to leave a comment describing the portable power station you use, to help create a complete resource for astrophotographers. Just like everything else in this hobby, there are many options to choose from at various price points.
The Need for a Portable Power Station
When taking pictures of space from the backyard, I plug into household AC power, but what about when I travel to a dark sky location? Milky Way photography with a DSLR and star tracker is one thing, but running a robust deep-sky imaging kit away from home is another.
There is a good chance, that if you’re an amateur astrophotographer, at some point you will need to invest in a quality portable power station. Something that can reliably power your astronomy telescope and accessories throughout the night.
Portable power stations are essential while camping.
Visual observers sometimes need power for a goto computerized mount and maybe a few dew heaters, but astrophotographers? We need to power anywhere from 3 to 17 devices (or more) and if even one of them fails, you can kiss your precious picture goodbye.
Thankfully, today’s portable power stations are equipped with many output ports, including dedicated AC and DC ports and multiple USB types. Some of them even include integrated wireless charging areas to charge your phone.
Here are some of the potential devices you will need to power on your astrophotography setup:
Powered Devices for Astrophotography
In the following video, I provide an overview and real-world experiences using the brand new Anker 757 Portable Power Station. Anker asked that I provide an “astrophotographer’s perspective” of their new mobile power station.
This is a great option to consider if you need a serious power station that can handle a wide variety of devices. If you are running a simple setup in the field, this type of portable power may be overkill for your astrophotography needs.
This large 1500W power station can power a robust setup for multiple nights.
Portable Power Station vs. a DIY Solution
The Anker 757 Portable Power Station is a fantastic unit, capable of powering several devices for an extended period of time. However, many amateur astrophotographers believe that it is more cost-effective to just “build your own” DIY power supply using a deep cycle marine battery.
There are some serious cost savings if you take this route, and there are many great how-to tutorials available online to build one. To build one you will need:
A sealed deep cycle marine batteries
DC to AC power inverter
Smart Charger/Maintainer
Inverter Cable
Unfortunately for me, I have not had much luck with a DIY deep cycle marine battery unit (yes, I built one several years ago). My poor experience taking this route is likely due to the fact that I have zero experience in the field of electrical or mechanical engineering. It seems that I am the exception in the astrophotography crowd.
As I mentioned in the video, bulletproof reliability is critical to me, and I am willing to pay a little extra for it. The all-in-one package that Anker has created is impressive and is a smart option for anyone willing to pay the added cost.
Here is an example of someone who built their own portable power station using a mix of components. If you’re up to the task of taking on projects like this, you can really save some money. Again, this is beyond my personal skill set, but it’s an option.
Video: How to Make a Portable Power Station
A Portable Power Station for your Telescope
To me, the most important feature of a portable power station for astrophotography is reliability. It also has to have enough power to go at least an entire night (or 2) before needing to be charged.
It also needs to have enough output ports for all of the astrophotography accessories I need to plug in from USB-powered dew-heaters to my laptop charger.
If the portable power station is not up to the task of providing a constant source of power to my rig for an entire night without interruption, it’s useless to me. Even a brief outage means I lose the connection to my telescope mount, the autoguiding goes nuts, and I squander a precious clear sky.
I’d rather run a 200-foot extension cord than risk a battery that flickers in and out. I’ve had this happen before, and it’s absolutely infuriating. The good news is, that most of the astrophotography gear we all use does not consume a lot of power, with a few exceptions of course.
Anker 757 PowerHouse
I tested Anker’s flagship 1500 Watt power station to run my deep-sky astrophotography rig, the 757 PowerHouse. It’s pretty heavy (44 pounds), but the built-in handles make it a lot more manageable.
The 757 uses premium LFP (LiFePO4) batteries, and it can charge from 0% to 80% in about an hour. It’s a slick package made with an automotive-grade aluminum frame. It’s vibration and temperature resistant, and here’s an important one, it’s silent.
The Anker 757 PowerHouse is a 1500W (1228Wh) power station with LPF (LiFeP04) batteries and 13 ports to connect various devices.
There are 13 ports in total to power everything you need for your astrophotography imaging rig. There is 1 “car-socket style” DC port which you might use for your computerized telescope mount.
I still use a DC connection for my Sky-Watcher EQ-6 Pro equatorial mount, so I was pleased to see it there. The rest of my astrophotography equipment is powered by the AC and USB outputs on the power station.
I like to plug in things like a 12V 4A power supply for my ASIAIR Plus, or Celestron NexStar 8SE into the AC output ports. The USB-A ports are perfect for my USB-powered dew heater bands, although you’ll need to make sure that you have long cords to reach the power station from the objective of the telescope.
Those of you with laptops, cooled dedicated astronomy cameras, and autofocusers will have more than enough power to play with for about 2 straight nights (depending on usage and temperature).
When running an advanced astrophotography setup including my Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro mount, cooled camera, and dew heaters, the 757 PowerHouse had 45% power left after 1 full night.
One thing I should note – if you’re using the power station to power your rig, do not use “power-saving mode”. This is designed to turn off when your device is fully charged, which is not applicable when powering your equatorial mount for an entire night.
AC Output (Bypass Mode): 100-120V~ 12A Max, 50Hz/60Hz, 1440W Max
AC Output (Inverter Mode): 110V~ 13.64A, 50Hz/60Hz, 1500W Max
USB-A Output: 5V⎓2.4A ( 2.4A Max Per Port )
Car Charger Output: 12V⎓10A
Discharging Temperature: -4°F-104°F / -20°C-40°C
Charging Temperature: 32°F-104°F / 0°C-40°C
The light bar is handy to have when you’re off-grid, and I am happy to see that it is a warm color temperature and that it is soft. A lot of the lights on portable battery packs use hyper-white, blinding LEDs. This one is a warm, orange color.
However, I wish that there was a red light option to protect your night vision even better. I also wish that clicking the display button for a second time (when it’s on) turned it off, but it doesn’t. So, you may want to cover this up with tape if you are at a star party or a gathering where any amount of light needs to be shielded.
The manual states that the operating temperatures should be between 32 and 100 Fahrenheit – or 0 – 40 Celsius. That definitely puts a limit on the times of year you can use this power station, and it’s something to consider.
I use a portable power station to run my Celestron NexStar 8SE while camping.
Smaller Options for Astrophotography
Jackery Explorer 500
If you’re on a budget and prefer to keep your power station light and portable, the Jackery Explorer 500 Portable Power Station is a great option to consider. This power station weighs just 13 pounds and is one of the lightest and most portable rechargeable lithium battery generators on the market.
Jackery Explorer 500
The Jackery Explorer 500 has a 518 watt-hour (24Ah, 21.6V) lithium-ion battery pack and a pure sine wave inverter. It includes 1 AC outlet, 3 USB-A ports, 2 DC ports, and 1 car socket. Jackery also offers a smaller version with less wattage (Explorer 240) for maximum portability.
Bluetti EB3A Solar Generator
The Bluetti EB3A is another portable power station to consider. This one only weighs 10 pounds, yet it has a 268.8Wh capacity and features an impressive 9 output ports. This unit was named the “Best value portable power station” on CNET’s list of Best Portable Power Stations.
This power station can be charged using the optional Bluetti solar panel, and even has a dedicated mobile app to monitor battery levels and output information. The Bluetti EB3A is an impressive unit that I hope to experience firsthand in the future.
Bluetti EB3A
If you need a lot of power, have a look at the Bluetti AC200P. This monster weighs 60 pounds and offers a whopping 2000 watts of power!
Togo Power Advance 350
The Togo Power Advance 350 was specifically designed for charging laptops, mini-cooler, drone, and other outdoor electronics. With 330W, it has more than enough power to handle running your astronomy gear for an entire night.
The AC pure Sine Wave outputs will provide clean power to your devices. It features 8 output ports in total, including 2 handy 12V 10A DC ports for powering your astrophotography devices like the ZWO ASIAIR, and/or dedicated astronomy camera.
This unit can be charged using a solar panel in about 5-8 hours on the road, and also features a 10w wireless charging area for your smartphone.
Togo Power Advance 350
Final Thoughts
There have never been so many great portable power stations available to choose from. The price, wattage, and the number of ports on these units vary widely. The Anker 757 PowerHouse is an excellent choice, in my opinion, if you’re willing to pay extra for a heavy-duty power station.
The car battery booster-style packs I purchased from the hardware store in the past, were a huge letdown. All of them would hold less and less of a charge over time, and would unexpectedly shut off in the middle of an imaging session. Thankfully, portable power stations have come a long way since then, and are much more reliable.
I know that a lot of you have built your own DIY power supply consisting of a marine battery, and an inverter. If you enjoy that type of thing (and know what you’re doing), by all means, go for it. You’ll likely save some money and get to work on a fun project.
If you are more comfortable in the office than in the shop (like me), one of the many fantastic pre-built portable power stations is likely a better fit, and worth the added cost.
Be sure to choose a unit that has dedicated output ports for the astrophotography equipment you use most, and that it can reliably power your rig for at least 1 entire night before requiring a recharge.
For now, I’ll continue using the Anker 757 PowerHouse on my astrophotography and camping adventures, and plan on getting a lot of use out of it for several years. I hope that this article was useful to you and that you have a better understanding of the options available in 2022.
Even More Options to Consider
Here is a list of options provided by the AstroBackyard community on YouTube and Facebook:
This image is a 2 panel mosaic comprising 28 hours of RGB exposures in 20 minute sub-frames. The images were acquired across 8 nights during November December 2018. Processing is exclusively with Pixinsight.
Cliff de Wit, a former Microsoft South Africa director and now chief technology at Altron’s Netstar, is passionate about many things: skills development, the internet of things, artificial intelligence … and even astrophotography.
He joins TechCentral’s Duncan McLeod in the TC|Daily studio for a wide-ranging — and fascinating — discussion on some of the latest technologies Netstar is exploring that take the company’s offerings well beyond the traditional tracking and recovery of vehicles it’s traditionally known for.
Well known in developer circles — he maintains a keen interest in software development as well as in education and skills development from his Microsoft days — De Wit chats about how Netstar is taking the vast amount of information the company collects daily, and refining it into something forward-looking, useful and actionable.
He also takes us into the world of astrophotography, and much more besides.
Don’t miss the discussion — and do subscribe to TC|Daily if you haven’t already done so (details below). The full-resolution Milky Way image taken by De Wit that he speaks about in the interview can be found here.
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Bruce Presents Astrophotography – Virtual Zoom Webinar
The night sky has long held us captive with its beauty and wonders, only to disappear with the coming of the sun. But photography, beginning with the first pictures of the Moon in the 1800s, has enabled us to see into the dark reaches of space, capturing a moment that can be shared anytime. Advances in photographic technologies have given way to Astrophotography, the imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. Modern Astrophotography is not only dazzling to behold, but also provides important data and research support on objects invisible to the human eye such as dim stars, nebulae, or galaxies.
Reservations at Brucemuseum.org
Carina Nebula, photo by NASA’s James Webb Telescope
Support for Bruce Presents is generously provided by Berkley One. Learn more here
Once you click on the image it may take 15 seconds or more to render!
What some have come to call the Rainbow Mountain is at Old Paria, or Pahreah, which is a ghost town on the Paria River in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in central Kane County, Utah, United States. It was inhabited from 1870 to 1929, and later used as a filming location. it’s on Highway 89 between Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona. Although a regular vehicle can make this drive rather easily do not attempt it if rain is in the forecast or if it has rained recently. The road turns into an impassible slime pit for hours.
Paria is one of the oddest places on earth. If you like geology, you are going to LOVE Paria! There are more colored layers of rock here than you can shake a stick at. Here you can see the layers of the area that were laid down in beautiful colors over millions of years. Many other places you can see bits and pieces of the rock layers, here they are all exposed in one spot to gape at.
The Outlaw Josey Wales was filmed with Clint Eastwood here in the 1970s. There was a cool old town till some dimwits burned it down about 10 years ago,
80 images cropped a bit. a very large panorama! Once you click on the image it may take 15 seconds or more to render!
