There has not been an update in quite a while to this website. And there is a very good reason for it.

In 2025, I came to the decision that the POD MAX Domed observatory will be replaced with a Roll off Roof (ROR) observatory. I am not getting any younger, and I needed something that is easier to manage, but still give me plenty of room for my equipment. I decided on a ROR design because the dome movement interfered with the movement of the scope mount, it is simplier to operate and I don’t have to get up on a tall ladder to clamp the slot during strong winds.

At the time of this writing, I can tell you that the POD MAX dome has been disassembled and is going to a new home. The frame of the ROR is up, and plywood has been affixed. Key features of the new ROR design include a 14′ x 12′ telescope room separate from a 10′ x 12′ warm room, reuse of the original floor, and full automation of the roof opening and closing. The warm room will be climate-controlled and accommodate visitors. The telescope room will be isolated from any light coming from the warm room, monitors, and other equipment.

The roof will be handled by hardware from great people at Dark Dragons Astro, and is all ASCOM compatible with safety sensors.

I expect the construction to be completed sometime in late April or early May. Then I will be back at bringing you my pictures from deep space.

The post Upgrading to a Roll Off Roof Observatory appeared first on Chamberlain Observatory.

Many invitations have been sent to the astrophotography community to participate in Russell’s achievement. The PSA is a world-wide photography venue that until now has not featured many astrophotos. You all should be familiar with my Bronze Portfolio Award last year for “Nebulae of the Milky Way”. This year I have written an article for the PSA Journal about getting started in astrophotography. My hope is to encourage many photographers to enter into this rewarding field. The article will be published and sent to members of the PSA. Here is a preview of the article.

The post 2024 Photographic Society of America (PSA) Photo Festival to honor Russell Croman appeared first on Chamberlain Observatory.

To my knowledge, mine was the first to feature deep space astrophotography at PSA. The Bronze level is the first portfolio any member of PSA can submit before moving on to the silver and gold levels. The bronze level must consist of 10 images, be arranged in a balanced and cohesive manner in an overview image, support a Statement of Intent, and be something you would like to hang on a wall in your home.

My statement of intent follows:

“There is grandeur and mystery in deep space. Our existence pales in comparison to the marvels of the dark, vast night sky. One can see the light, color, and fury from so far away through a telescope and camera. This portfolio shows a selection of beautiful nebulae from our Milky Way galaxy.”

It was quite an honor to receive the award and pin for this recognition by the PSA President, J.R. Schnelzer.

Links to PSA Website:

My BPSA Award announcement

PSA Award Acceptance Photo at the Photo Festival in Williamsburg, VA

–Dale A. Chamberlain, BPSA

The post Bronze Portfolio Award at PSA (09/27/2023) appeared first on Chamberlain Observatory.

I demonstrated the AI tools from Russ Cromen and show a portion of my workflow. Enjoy!

The post My presentation to ASEM on AI in Astrophotography appeared first on Chamberlain Observatory.

Additionally, Russell Croman has developed a number of artificially intelligence-based (AI) tools to remove stars (StarXterminator), noise (NoiseXterminator), and most recently an AI-based deconvolution process (BlurXterminator).

One last addition is the Pixelmath processes from Bill Blanshan, particularly the narrowband normalization and star reduction methods.

Take a look at the image comparison page on this website to easily see what the new post-processing methods can do.

The post Using New Processes to Improve Image Quality in Post Processing appeared first on Chamberlain Observatory.

The post Article published in Amateur Astrophotography Magazine appeared first on Chamberlain Observatory.

Therefore, I have relabeled the deep space images from the northern hemisphere as being acquired from the Chamberlain Observatory (I do not intend to use Telescope Live at this time for anything other than southern hemisphere images. The southern hemisphere image files are downloaded as raw, uncalibrated images. I also obtain the calibration files necessary, such as darks, flats and bias frames, to complete processing the images myself. Consistent with Telescope Live’s ownership policy, I can copyright the final processed image as my own provided that Telescope Live is given credit as the source. This will be clearly stated in the description of each image shown.

The Southern Hemisphere offers a large spectrum of beautiful objects. This becomes a great alternative to cloudy nights here in southern Illinois.

You can find the Southern Hemisphere Deep Space image gallery by using the Photo Gallery link.

The post New Image Gallery for Southern Hemisphere Deep Sky Objects appeared first on Chamberlain Observatory.

The auction will continue until October 16, 2022, at 9 pm central. You can attend the Caring Solutions 20th Anniversary Celebration, where the items will be displayed. You can register and purchase tickets to join us at the Foundry Art Center in St. Charles, Missouri, to celebrate Caring Solutions and recognize my better half Madi Hawn who is retiring as CEO and Founder. Click here to register and purchase tickets: https://e.givesmart.com/s/elpfw9/e/rVd/

You are not required to be in attendance to bid and win any auction item. Here are links to view and bid on my metal prints:

Andromeda Galaxy: https://e.givesmart.com/events/rVd/i/_Auction/iu1u/

Elephant Trunk Nebula: https://e.givesmart.com/events/rVd/i/_Auction/iu4i/

Cygnus Loop (Supernova Remnant) : https://e.givesmart.com/events/rVd/i/_Auction/iPMZ/

Monthly calendar card sets of images are also taken at the Chamberlain Observatory. Each image represents an object visible in the Northern Hemisphere during the month of the card.

These card sets are usable every year. Good luck with your bidding!Dale

The post Caring Solutions Auction and Celebration appeared first on Chamberlain Observatory.

For a two-day event, it was jammed packed with presenters, sponsors, exhibits, big giveaways, and a wonderful dinner. Terrific opportunities to meet experts in astrophotography, and for me a chance to finally meet face-to-face with people I’ve talked to by phone or Zoom meetings.

I met with two of the three Masters of PixInsight team members, Pete Proulx and Warren Keller. Ron Brecher could not make it to San Jose this time, but several of us posed in Hawaiian shirts in his honor, including yours truly (lower right).

There were 24 presentations, given by Jon Talbot, Wanda Conde-Silva, Sean Walker, Kerry-Ann Leck Hepburn, John Hayes, Warren Keller, Yuri Beletsky, Simon Tang, Russ Croman, Adam Block, Peter Jenkins, Harry Krantz, Trevor Jones, Nico Carver, Dr. Phil Plait, and Dr. Dirk Froebrich. In addition, there was the Hubble Award and lecture. This year’s recipient of the Hubble Award was Bob Denny, the father of ASCOM.
Russ Croman headlined a very interesting presentation on artificial intelligence and its use in astrophotography post-processing. Russ explained how the AI process works and evolves to create tools for noise reduction and star removal for astrophotography images. We can expect more tools to be developed in the future based on AI technology that will greatly improve how we process images.

You can register with the AIC website free of charge and access the presentations.

I came away from the event with more expert contacts and some new products to help with astroimaging. But most importantly, meeting new friends in person for the first time. Rogelio Bernal Andreo, author of Mastering PixInsight, graciously autographed my copy of his book, as did Warren Keller on my copy of Inside PixInsight. Rogelio also gave a surprise and moving speech Saturday morning.

Please follow the embedded links in this blog post for more information.

The post My First Advanced Imaging Conference (AIC) – San Jose, CA May 20-21, 2022 appeared first on Chamberlain Observatory.

During the winter, I spent some time upgrading equipment in the observatory. Starting with replacing my Wink hub with Wi-Fi-enabled switches, specifically the Web Power Switch Pro by Digital Loggers. This is a fantastic piece of equipment that web/network enables switches for all the equipment in the observatory. Also, I replaced the network access point with a more reliable unit, the lighting strip with a Wi-Fi accessible LED light strip, and the door lock with a Schlage Encode Wi-Fi lockset. No more dependency on cloud services to operate these devices.

New cameras such as the ZWO ASI2600MM-Pro, ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro the ZWO M68 Off-Axis Guider, ZWO 2” Electronic Filter Wheel, and Chroma broadband and narrowband (3nm) filters were added to the mix. Please see the Technologies Used page for further information.

Also, the nasty problem of losing USB connections was solved by moving the observatory desktop to the pier, reducing cable lengths, and simplifying cable management.
And to top it all off, I have been spending time learning new insights into PixInsight and astrophotography image processing.

The first image of the year taken with the new upgrades in place was NGC 2174-The Monkey Head Nebula, thanks to 3 consecutive clear night skies!

Enjoy!

Dale

The post 2021: A Year for New Astrophotography Experiences appeared first on Chamberlain Observatory.