Early in October 2002

Early in March 2002

---

The observatory logo, the first image analysed from the 1990 February 9 lunar eclipse

Some of the equipment used

The author studying the moon the easy way 

---

The Calwell Lunar Observatory main instrument

---

---

Here is a CCD surveillance camera which is used on the telescope 

---

My Astro MACs

I conduct this program using the many capabilities of my two MAC computers in conjunction with a 6 inch Newtonian telescope which is remotely controlled by separate switches near the computer to the drive motors on each of the axes of the telescope mounting to centre the images. The Mac IIci receives television images directly on-line from a CCD camera, either the surveillance unit at the top of the telescope or from a Sony Handycam TR511E electronic zoom cam recorder mounted piggy-back on the telescope (see above).

Once they have been captured by my MASS Microsystems video frame grabber card fitted to one of the newbus slots in the MAC, the images are processed by commercial and shareware software. The capture card is supplied with QuickImage 24 software.

Using file transfer protocol (ftp) selected images are placed directly to one of the web pages for near "live" transmission, or web-casts of lunar or even solar eclipses and planetary transits of the sun as well as bright star or planet occultations by the moon. The Sony Handycam makes this task very easy.

Prediction and Analysis software

However, to encourage other images and observations of the moon from astronomers world wide, I also provide an eclipse prediction service for many astronomical events such as eclipses, transits, lunar occultations and meteor storms. Most of this is accomplish by running an extensive suite of computer programs, originally written on the machine on the top LEFT, a SIRIUS 16 bit computer. These programs have been converted to run under MS QuickBasic on the MAC as fast compiled software.

When the ephemeris data is not readily available I use my DOS Compatible 6100 PowerMacintosh to run several DOS based programs to generate an ephemeris of the moon and the sun and other programs to predict when occultation of stars will occur during each eclipse. All of this information is made available to readers of my Internet Home Page.

Analysis and Publication

The many observations received along with the images are analysed and posted to several of my Home Pages, but I also send text files with illustrations via the MAC using e-mail to my "hard copy" publishers in the UK, Perth and Sydney. When an observer tells me that he does NOT have access to the World Wide Web I produce a hard copy "Observers' Guide " and post it to them whether they are in Australia or overseas, but the best is e-mail as I can easily attach images, tables and graphs to let them know of their results.

Feedback

One most important thing I do is to ALWAYS give feedback to the observers however they participate. Some provide hundreds of crater timings for reduction or images for analysis and others just send e-mail on how they saw the eclipse when walking the dog. But when they do this at -10 degrees Celsius in Nova Scotia it seems to have a special impact, it does on me at least.

FINALLY

Without my MACINTOSH computers I could have never conducted such a project - there are really NO LIMITS to what can be done with enthusiasm and the right gear, particularly when help is at hand when needed from the friendly "experts" in the ACT APPLE USERS GROUP.

COMET HALE-BOPP on 25 April 1997

From http://www.ozemail.com.au/~mhorn/halebopp.html

Exposure: 1 minute prime focus 1350 mm, f4.5, Kodak PJM-2.

Time: 6:35 pm AEST (8:35 UT) Location: Kilcoy, Queensland, Australia. Email: Michael Horn (mhorn@b022.aone.net.au)

This page is maintained by the Theodore Lunar Observatory - Australia.