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Young's Photo Gallery


James W. Young, Professional Photographer

Astronomical - 1


Outside of the various camera equipment owned by the author over the years,
many of the astronomical pictures were taken with additional equipment, such
as telescopes, tracking devices, and Schmidt style cameras.  As you scroll down
the image section, many will indicate which additional equipment was used. 
They are as follows:

CamTrak
This is an 'Ed Byers' CAM-TRAK, used specifically at Cerro Tololo Observatory
(click the link to the Cerro Tololo images) in Chile in June, 2000.  This very small
portable tracker was modified to hold a co-aligned finder telescope for locating the
south celestial pole (SCP), seen here with the red cap over its eyepiece.  In this
image, the Contarex and 250mm f/4 telephoto lens is ready for imaging the night
sky, starting June 1, while the author was running the 2MASS telescope for the
IR sky survey for the University of Massachusetts and Caltech.  The author owns
the CAM-TRAK, but the camera and lens are owned by JPL.

Click here to view the CAM-TRAK images in Chile Cerro Tololo


16-inch
The 16-inch f/20 reflector at Table Mountain Observatory, circa 1962-1966.
This was a manually operated telescope, with a weight driven clock-drive.  Both
RA and Dec axes were adjusted with hand controls.

24-inch
The 24-inch reflector at Table Mountain Observatory, circa 1966 - present date.
This was a motor-driven analog instrument when set up in 1966, and had clutches
and brakes to control slew, set, guide, and track motions for both RA and Dec axes.
It is currently a computer controlled telescope with extremely accurate pointing and
tracking capabilities.

10-inchSchmidt
This is the 10-inch Schmidt Camera developed and built by Floyd Day of Palomar
and Mt Wilson Observatories as a proto type for the 48-inch Schmidt still in use
at Mt Palomar today.  The 10-inch was loaned to Table Mountain Observatory from
 its then owner, Ted Haberman, in 1985.  It was subsequently purchased from Mr
Haberman, and used specifically to image Halley's Comet during 1986.

Celestron Schmidt
This 8-inch Celestron camera was purchased by JPL for Table Mountain Observatory
in 1985 for additional comet photography.  Seen here in the field for tests conducted
by the author at Grandview Campground in the White Mountains of California.

10-inch
This is the author's 10-inch home-brew reflector, with a G-8 Losmandy mounting
on a modified heavy duty tripod for field operations.  It is pictured here at the
Grandview Campground in the White Mountains of California.  Polar alignment is
extremely easy with Losmandy 'polar axis' finder.  This current telscope and
mounting are housed in the author's home observatory located in Wrightwood,
California.  The author's wife, Karen, uses this instrument to make asteroid
occultation observations for IOTA, as well as variable star measurements for
the AAVSO.  This telescope, used since 2002, is easily transported for field
operations from its normal home location.


Images

Cassiopea
My very first astronomical image, taken in Seattle, Washington on August 16,
1957 with my mother's Bantam 828 camera, set at f/4.5.  The camera was
mounted on a tracking mount in my backyard, and bolted to an old tree trunk
for this 60 minute exposure using Kodak Tri-X film.

Jupiter
'Red Spot' drawing of Jupiter made by the author as indicated,
at Table Mountain Observatory

Craters
The Apennine Mountains on the moon, using the 16-inch reflector,
August 29, 1964, at Table Mountain Observatory

Ikeya
Comet Ikeya-Seki from Table Mountain Observatory, October 30, 1965

Two Planets
Planetary Conjunction of Jupiter (left) and Venus (right), with Mars just above,
with stars Castor and Pollux to the left, August 7, 1966 from
Table Mountain Observatory

Cinjunction
Planetary Conjunction: Mercury just above the trees, then Venus, the moon, with
Mars and Jupiter to the right of the moon, from Table Mountain Observatory,
August 14, 1966


Saturn
Saturn taken with the 24-inch reflector at Table Mountain Observatory,
September 26, 1968


West
Comet West, taken at Table Mountain Observatory, March 8, 1976

Halley1
Halley's Comet, taken January 8, 1986 with the 24-inch reflector
at Table Mountain Observatory

Halley2
Halley's Comet, taken March 11, 1986, with the 10-inch Schmidt camera
 at Table Mountain Observatory


Halley3
Halley's Comet, taken March 20, 1986, with the 10-inch Schmidt camera
 at Table Mountain Observatory


Hytake1
Comet Hyakutake, taken March 22, 1996, with the 10-inch Schmidt camera
at Table Mountain Observatory

Hytake2
Comet Hyakutake, taken March 25, 1996, with the 10-inch Schmidt camera
at Table Mountain Observatory


Hytake3
Comet Hyakutake, taken March 27, 1996, at Table Mountain Observatory


Hytake4
Comet Hyakutake, taken April 12, 1996, at Table Mountain Observatory


HaleBopp
Comet Hale-Bopp, taken in the Angeles National Forest (California), March 17, 1997
(a bright meteor crossed the tail from right to left)


HaleBopp2
Comet Hale-Bopp, taken from Mahogany Flats in Death Valley NP, April 30, 1997

Iridium1
An Iridium satellite flare, taken on August 13, 1999 at Grandview Campground,
in the White Mountains of California


Annular
The annular eclipse of the sun, as photographed near the Pacific Ocean,
north of Oceanside, California, January 4, 2002

SolarEclipse
A partial solar eclipse recorded June 10, 2002 with a 10-inch reflecting telescope,
in Wrightwood, California

ISS
The International Space Station (ISS) as recorded through the 24-inch
reflector at Table Mountain Observatory, June 16, 2002


Iridium2
An Iridium satellite flare just left of the constellation 'Lyra', as seen from
Wrightwood, California, June 24, 2002

California
The 'California' nebula photographed at Grandview Campground in the White Mountains
of California, using an 8-inch Celestron Schmidt camera, on August 10, 2002


Ring
The famous 'Ring' nebula imaged through Table Mountain Observatory's
24-inch reflector, June 22, 2005

Iridium3
An 'Iridium' satellite flare as recorded at the water's edge (Pacific Ocean),
in Cannon Beach, Oregon, August 3, 2005 (Haystack Rock to the left)

Moon Phase1
The nearly full moon imaged on May 29, 2007 from Table Mountain Observatory

Satellites
Three earth orbiting satellites (right center) leave their short trails in this image
taken from near Oswald West State Park (Oregon coast), July 5, 2007


M42-1
The Orion Nebula, taken with a 10-inch reflector at Grandview Campground
in
the White Mountains of California, on August 10, 2007

Lagoon
The Lagoon and Trifid nebulae, taken on August 10, 2007 from Grandview
Campground in the White Mountains of California

EclipseMoon
A total eclipse of the Moon, taken through a 10-inch reflector, on August 28, 2007
in Wrightwood, California


Holmes
Comet Holmes, taken at Table Mountain Observatory, November 6, 2007

M42-2
The Orion Nebula taken with the 24-inch reflector at Table Mountain Observatory,
November 6, 2007

GEO
Look closely!  These are geostationary satellites, all 17!  10 show quite well, but
the other 6 are hard to see at this resolution.  This image was taken at Table
Mountain Observatory, September 3, 2008

M-13
M13, the famous globular cluster in the constellation, HERCULES, taken at Table
Mountain Observatory, February 19, 2009

Setting Moon
The thin crescent moon setting over Palmdale, California, June 23, 2009 from
Table Mountain Road near Wrightwood, California

2Iridiums
Two 'Iridium' satellite flares, from Wrightwood, California, on June 23, 2009

mOON pHASE2
The waxing gibbous moon, October 28, 2009, from Wrightwood, California

Moon Phase3
The full moon, taken November 2, 2009, from Wrightwood, California


On February 14, 2010, Jim and Karen went to Chiricahua National Monument,
about 46 miles north of Douglas, Arizona.  At an elevation of nearly 7000 feet,
the skies were clear by nightfall for astrophotography using Canon cameras and
lenses, along with two separate tracking instruments.  The sky was exceptional
dark, with a bright zodiacal band after sunset, and later, the gegenschein was
also seen visually and photographically.

Zodiacal
The zodiacal light looking southwest after sunset, with the lights of Fort Huachuca
(right) and Bisbee (left) on the horizon.

Orion
The constellation ORION with the Orion Nebula in the lower center and Betelgeuse
in the upper left and Rigel in the lower right.  The fainter Horsehead Nebula is
above and to the left of the Orion Nebula.

OrionNebula
A close-up of the Orion Nebula in the lower right, and the Horsehead Nebula in
the upper left.

Pleiades
The Pleiades star cluster with faint nebulosity.

Rosetta
The Rosette Nebula in the constellation of Monoceros.

Gegenshein
The gegenschein, an extremely faint oval patch of light directly opposite the sun,
is seen in this enhanced picture, with Saturn at the extreme lower left, and much
brighter Mars in the upper right.  Mars is just above the 'beehive' cluster in the
 constellation CANCER.  The star Regulus, in the constellation LEO, is in the center
of this image, with the gegenschein just to the right.  The gegenschein is the result
of sunlight falling onto millions of small particles in the plane of the ecliptic, which
can be seen because of the 'opposition' effect (opposite the sun).  This image was
taken by K. Young.

Geosynchronous
Another picture of 'geostationary' satellites, but in this case over 20 were seen.

M81-82
M81 and M82, two galaxies in the constellation URSA MAJOR.

MilkyWay
The rising Milky Way, some 30 minutes before twilight.

RhoOphiuchus
The Rho OPHIUCHI cloud complex, is a dark nebula of gas and dust.
The red star, Antares (lower left) is in the constellation SCORPIUS,
with the bright globular star cluster, M4, seen in the lower right.


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