The simple things in Astrophotography
How to take good astrophotography photos: Read more
- Go to Kerry International Dark Sky Reserve
- Wander outside at night and take a photo with your camera.
Light Pollution Observations parser
I’ve created some code to do basic processing of light pollution observation files at https://github.com/albertw/Light-Pollution
This came about from chatting to Prof. Brian Espey about processing the data from the SQM data loggers that he and others use around the country to monitor Irish dark skies and to assis the Dark Sky Places (and prospective places!).
Basically it does two things: Read more
Some astrophotography
I’ve recently tried taking some long exposure images just to see how the observatory handles the light pollution. To make life easier I’m using an Astronomik CLS-CCD filter with the DSLR. The one I currently have is for a t-ring, though since these images have worked out well I think I’ll get the clip in version to experiment with regular lenses. Read more
Dark Sky Parks and Dark Sky Reserves – A Comparison
Over the past while I’ve noticed that some confusion has arisen about the distinctions between Dark Sky Parks and Dark Sky Reserves. In preparation for an upcoming meeting I drew up the following 2 pager explaining the key differences. For the impatient, here’s the 2 line difference from Steve Owens:
- Parks are public land more or less empty of human habitation, and can be of any size.
- Reserves are large areas centered round a significant dark sky area (the core), with a buffer zone that includes communities stretching a min of 15km on all sides of the core.
Light Pollution Sensor Data for December 2010
As part of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy our Colleagues at the Kuffner Sternwarte Observatory in Vienna produced a light meter that could be used to monitor light pollution. More details on the project and the meter are available at lightmeter.astronomy2009.at (use login Guest and IYA2009). There are three stations in Ireland. One in Monasterevin (I’m not sure if it is active), one on the roof of the physics building in Trinity College Dublin, Read more
Partial Light Pollution Sensor Data for November 2010
As part of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy our Colleagues at the Kuffner Sternwarte Observatory in Vienna produced a light meter that could be used to monitor light pollution. More details on the project and the meter are available at lightmeter.astronomy2009.at (use login Guest and IYA2009). There are three stations in Ireland. One in Monasterevin (I’m not sure if it is active), one on the roof of the physics building in Trinity College Dublin, Read more
Partial Light Pollution Sensor Data for October 2010
As part of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy our Colleagues at the Kuffner Sternwarte Observatory in Vienna produced a light meter that could be used to monitor light pollution. More details on the project and the meter are available at lightmeter.astronomy2009.at (use login Guest and IYA2009). There are three stations in Ireland. One in Monasterevin (I’m not sure if it is active), one on the roof of the physics building in Trinity College Dublin, Read more
Partial Light Pollution Sensor Data for September 2010
As part of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy our Colleagues at the Kuffner Sternwarte Observatory in Vienna produced a light meter that could be used to monitor light pollution. More details on the project and the meter are available at lightmeter.astronomy2009.at (use login Guest and IYA2009). There are three stations in Ireland. One in Monasterevin (I’m not sure if it is active), one on the roof of the physics building in Trinity College Dublin, Read more