Birds Astronomy Site

Image Gallery
Mars	Jupiter	Saturn
Venus	Lunar	Uranus and Neptune

Items of interest

• 18th December 2016
  Phil Miles and I have successfully captured the faint rings of Uranus with his 508mm scope

• 11th July 2015
  This year the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) have chosen me as the recipient of the 2015 Walter H. Haas Observers award for excellence in solar system imaging. This came as a complete surprise and a great honor.

• 14th April 2012
  Every two years the National Australian Convention of Amateur Astronomers (NACAA) awards the Berenice and Arthur Page Medal to an Australian amateur astronomer, and this year I had the honour of being the recipient.

• 11th November 2010
  I've been awarded a $2500 grant from The Planetary Society as part of their Shoemaker NEO Grants. It's a great honour and I'll be using the money toward improving my equipment, in particular a faster-cooling primary mirror that's needed in my climate.

• 25th July 2010
  Jupiter Partial Rotation - Almost half of jupiter is visible in this rotation avi

• 8th March 2010
  The Green Machine - I've bought a dedicated astronomy trailer, check it out!

• 19th February 2010
  Saturn animation, Rhea transit showing both Rhea, Tethys and some cloud detail on Saturn

• 5th September 2009
  Planets - Altitudes and Sizes for the next few years from South East Australia

• 19th July 2009
  Jupiter Impact Report. Jupiter has been hit by a large object (comet or asteroid).

• 17th May 2009
  First images of my new 16" scope (under construction)

• 8th May 2009
  Animation of Europa occulting Ganymede

• 5th October 2007
  My best images of 2007 (so far)

• 16th August 2007
  Construction of my observatory at Murrumbateman

• 3rd April 2007
  calculating focal length from plate scale

• 28 December 2006
  Saturn image from our home at Murrumbateman

• 23rd January 2006
  Images of my new 13.1" scope.

• 28th November 2005
  New 9kg counterweight for my G-11 from Mick Pinner.

• 10th November 2005
  Remote Control system that I built for my 10" f/6 newtonian.

• 8th November 2005
  Effect of thermal instability of high res imaging.
  A set of videos that demonstrate how important thermal equilibrium is for planetary imaging.

• 8th November 2005
  The 4-port Temperature Logger I built for measuring mirror and ambient temperatures around my scope.

• 17th October 2005
  Version 3 of Birds Newt Cooler, a new design.

• 23rd may 2005
  Birds Ideal Astronomy Camera
• 22nd March 2005
  Cooling a Newtonian, a saga in four parts:
  • Part 1
    
  • Part 2
    
  • Part 3
    
  • Part 4
    

Vendor Links

• Deep Sky Optics
• Jims Mobile Inc
• True Technology
• The Binocular and Telescope Shop (Sydney)
• Advanced Telescope Supplies (Australian distributor for Losmandy G-11 mount)
• Astro-Optical Supplies

Community Links

• Weather Underground forecast models
• Cloudy Nights - reviews and discussion forums
• IceInSpace - Australian astronomy discussion forum
• Canberra Astronomical Society
• Lunar Photo of the Day
• Jupiter Great Red Spot transit time calculator

Software

• ninox - A tool for centering images in BMP or FIT image files and (optionally) cropping the files to minimise wasted space.
• fixfits - A program to fix up error in FIT files created by Registax.