This photograph was taken on April 3, 1997. The particulars are as follows: Olympus OM-2 camera with ASA 1600 Fuji film, exposed for 1.5 minutes, 135mm lens set at f/2.8, and piggy-backed on the Celestron C8. This is an enlargement of a scanned print, and was modified with Paint Shop Pro to emphasize detail and reduce red in the picture (see page 1 notes). The Great Orion Nebula, M42, is very conspicuous in the lower right hand corner. Now notice the two bright stars at the top of the page. Look for the nebulosity near the left bright star. This is the Flame Nebula. M42 is visible in even the smallest of binoculars, and it may be glimpsed with the naked eye from very dark locations.
Now this is what I call a strange photograph. I was photographing the partially eclipsed Moon at
Armstrong State University in Savannah, Georgia. I don't know what happened, but I suspect that
someone may have been wandering around with a red flashlight during the exposure. I was again
using the Olympus OM-2 piggybacked on the Celestar 8, 400 ASA film, 50mm lens at f/2, with an
exposure of 4 seconds. Anyway, the picture looks neat, really emphemeral. The upper bright
"star" at right is the planet Mars.
Remember what one of the items mentioned in my "Things to Remember For the Would-Be Astrophotographer" states? Out of a roll of 24 exposures, only
this picture of the eclipse came out decent. I attribute many of the difficulties that night to focusing
problems (its really difficult in low light conditions through a 35mm camera focusing screen) and
vibration caused by numerous bystanders. This photograph was shot prime focus with the
Celestar 8 (essentially used as a 2000 mm telephoto lens), the venerable Olympus OM-2 camera,
400 ASA film, with 1/500 second exposure. This was a really nice eclipse, and my friends and I
with the Oglethorpe Astronomical Association enjoyed it to the fullest, since the next one will be
many years from now, and I'll be considerably more gray by then.
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Notice: All photographs are copyright 2007 by Philip Neidlinger. All rights reserved.