Messier 81 and 82

Two of the most interesting galaxies are found in Ursa Major, better known as the constellation containing the Big Dipper. This image of these two bright galaxies was made with an 8" f/3.68 Faworski Astrograph mounted on a Paramount 1100S with a ST10XE w/CFW8. The moon was still up when my friend Sheldon and I started this image. As normal, this is the sum of a number of sub exposures that are put together in post processing. The final processing was done by our friend Sean Walker who is one of the best. There are a number of smaller, fainter galaxies visible in the image if you look closely.

M88

This is my first astro image in some time taken with Sheldon's 10 inch telescope. I'm still recovering from the removal of a renal cancer tumor in my spine which also had to be fused together with a metal clamp. It was the most difficult of my three surgeries, but once everything is done, I should be able to walk with less pain.
The taking of this image sure helps the healing process and would not be possible without the help of my friend Sheldon. Thanks also to Sean for a great job processing the image.
With everything that has happened in the past months, seeing this galaxy reminds me just how small we are in the whole universe.

Jasmine

Trevor's cat, Jasmine, is the alpha female cat in our house. She can be incredibly cute one minute and a sneak thief the next. Jazzy, as we call her, has the softest fur of all of our cats.

Snow Trees

This winter was not as bad as last year and produced beautiful scenes after a big storm. It sure looked nice until you had to go out and shovel it.

Casio and the sun

Our only male cat Casio loves to follow patches of sunlight that come through the windows in the family room. The sunlight makes his fur look a little different, but you can tell from his look that he loves the warmth of the sun. Taken at 24mm and F/2.0 with the Leica lens of the LX3.

October Galaxy

This is a faint galaxy with a strange name, IC342. It was taken the evening of October 20th, 2008 in one of my friend Sheldon's observatories in NW Illinois using an eight inch newtonian reflector and an SBIG ST10 CCD camera. The galaxy is in the constellation Camelopardalis, but is very near my wife's star in the constellation Cassiopeia. Thanks go to Sean Walker for the wonderful processing of the image files.

NGC7635 Bubble Nebula

This image was taken last Friday night at my friend Sheldon's home in Illinois. Taken with the 8" f/3.68 Faworski Astrograph and an SBIG ST8, it is a photograph of the Bubble Nebula. One look at the shape indicates its name.

Osprey Dad Upset

The Dad osprey about ready to get at me for taking pictures of his family.

A GBH With Attitude

A modern day Great Blue Heron.

Mom's Mad

Mom osprey is not too happy having her picture taken.

Osprey mother and baby

Osprey mom and baby in their nest.

GBH Head

The head of a Great Blue Heron.

Osprey feeding

A mother Osprey feeding her young.

Green Heron - Everglades

Imaged on a recent trip to the Everglades with a Canon 5D and a Tamron 200-500mm lens.

Casio's normal state-relaxed

They say that it is a "cat's life". Wouldn't it be nice.

For those who are into photography, this image was taken with the Tamron 18-250mm at F/8. Sharpness is very good for a super zoom.

Click the image for a larger view.

Tamron Article

Tamron, a company that manufactures a great line of lenses asked me to work with them on an article on astrophotography because of the newest comet, Comet Holmes. Here is the url:
http://www.tamron.com/lenses/learning_center/jeff_peronto/astrophotography_peronto.asp

Comet Holmes

An interesting new comet that has become very bright. This shot is a stack of nine exposures with a Canon 20D and a Tamron 180mm F/2.5 lens at 400 ISO and three minute subs. I had the assistance of my brother in law Ted and my friend, Sheldon.

Nearly Full Moon

Here is a shot of the moon taken with a Tamron 200-500mm zoom at 500mm with a Canon 5D. The image is enlarged 100% and shows that the moon actually has some subtle color.

Butterfly Pictures

Today was a good day for butterflies and even though I had a rather strange photo setup (70-300mm zoom lens on my Canon 5D), I was able to fire off a few good pix.

Iris Nebula

This is my most recent object shot through a ten inch telescope with an SBIG CCD camera. The Iris Nebula is also called NGC 7023.