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Vultures in DMS

 Birds  Comments Off on Vultures in DMS
May 292019
 

Dave Lochhaas kindly gave me permission to show his first published video using Dave’s Motion Stacker. Great to see how they trace out rollercoaster tracks in the sky.

 Posted by at 7:11 pm

Dave’s Motion Detector – First Trial

 Birds  Comments Off on Dave’s Motion Detector – First Trial
May 282019
 

This is a first test of my latest software. It allows you to scan multiple videos and only select scenes with action. Great for subjects like bird feeders above.

 Posted by at 10:42 am

Sunspot AR2738 13th April 2019 Timelapse

 Solar HA, Uncategorized  Comments Off on Sunspot AR2738 13th April 2019 Timelapse
Apr 152019
 

This was taken with my Coronado PST solar scope from Inverness, Scotland over 8 hours of sunshine. It repeats a couple of times at different speeds so you can watch the action.

 Posted by at 6:19 pm

Painting by Birds – First Results

 Birds  Comments Off on Painting by Birds – First Results
Mar 082019
 

Here is the first result from my latest app. It processes video of the sky and adds color trails to all the birds. Click on the image to view the video.

Painting by Birds over Inverness – 18th March 2019

 Posted by at 3:05 pm

Dave’s AstroTour Software – First Results

 Deep Sky  Comments Off on Dave’s AstroTour Software – First Results
Jan 262019
 

I have been working on a new app that will automatically take astro images overnight and below are some early results. All taken with a Canon 1100D and Sigma 70-300mm lens, stacked in Deep Sky Stacker and processed in StarTools.

AstroTour interfaces with PHD2 autoguider (including dithering), All Sky Plate Solver for accurate targeting and digiCamControl for capture. digiCamControl allows a wide range of Canon and Nikon DSLRs to be controlled as well as some Sony and other cameras.

M42

M45

M31

M80

 

 Posted by at 2:28 pm

Twinkle, Twinkle

 Deep Sky  Comments Off on Twinkle, Twinkle
Nov 192018
 

I just treated myself to a second hand Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Macro DG zoom lens for my Canon 1100D and this was my first shot.

 Posted by at 1:36 pm

3D Gulls

 Birds  Comments Off on 3D Gulls
Mar 122018
 

Another 3D spectrogram of gulls but this time taken with my £20 Adokey voice recorder.

Click on the image or here to view the interactive 3D version. Zoom with your mouse wheel and click-drag to rotate.

 Posted by at 2:08 pm

3D Spectrogram Tutorial

 Birds  Comments Off on 3D Spectrogram Tutorial
Mar 042018
 

This tutorial shows you how to easily make interactive 3D Spectrogams like this using Audacity. The source files are zipped up here which includes the “spectrogram.html” file you will need for your own spectrogram.

Click image for interactive 3D version

The 3D graphics are powered by the Babylon.js framework which does all the hard stuff for you.

1. Select Your Audio:- Choose the audio you want to display, optimise it and save it to “original.wav”.

2. Grab Audacity Screenshots:- Load “original.wav” and show its color spectrogram. Hide all toolbars and zoom in to fill track with audio information. Use Audacity>Help>Tools>Screenshot Tools to take a color screenshot. Change spectrogram to monochrome and take another screenshot.

Continue reading »

 Posted by at 12:55 pm

3D Birdsong

 Birds  Comments Off on 3D Birdsong
Mar 032018
 

I have been experimenting with processing birdsong in the Audacity sound editor. This is a very powerful and free program which is great for recording and cleaning up audio and inspecting its frequency spectrum. I used the Audacity spectrogram to generate a 3D model that you can view in your browser.

Click on the image below to view the 3D spectrogram. Zoom in with your mouse wheel and click-drag to rotate the view. The robin sings once at 1x speed and then again at half speed so you can follow the detail.

Click image for 3D model with sound

Click image for 3D model with sound

BTW, this was recorded on my £15 Logitech C270 webcam feeding in to Audacity. I set Audacity up to record automatically at 4am and stop at 8am.

 

 Posted by at 2:57 pm

Horsehead by Remote Control

 Deep Sky  Comments Off on Horsehead by Remote Control
Feb 062018
 

Above  is a trial I shot of the Horsehead Nebula using iTelescope.net which has a range of high spec remote controlled telescopes across the world. I bought 20 imaging points using their starter plan which was made up to 60 points as a new member. I then booked 45 minutes on their telescope #24 which is a 0.61 metre reflector in California. I shot 300s each of Ha, R,G,B, O and S and combined the HaRGB in Krita.

This shooting plan took 47 of my points which I think is really good value for using a scope I could never hope to own.

Note that the image is pretty noisy because I did not have enough images to stack and reduce the noise. I will be taking more shots soon and will post the results here.

 Posted by at 11:56 am