Welcome to Stellar Products
Astronomy is
one of my Hobbies
My
2017 measurement of the solar-induced
gravitational deflections of some stars seen during a total eclipse was
certainly a highlight, but I’ve been busy with other telescope projects
since then. Einstein originally suggested to astronomers that they look for
this small deflection during the day, but it was impossible to image stars with
the required precision. With modern technology, I did my best to do this, but
still failed. Einstein also suggested that astronomers look for stellar deflections
near Jupiter, where the deflections would be 100x smaller, but nighttime
measurements could last hours, not just a few minutes. I am in the middle of trying this!
During
lulls in imaging for these deflections, I’ve contributed to some occultation events and have done some imaging of Mars. I also captured the Great Christmas Conjunction of Jupiter
and Saturn in December 2020. It was cloudy in Leakey, TX for the 2024 total
eclipse, but I did get some prominence
images.
Click on any
of these thumbnails to take you to the detailed web pages with more information
and photos.
Old Astrophoto Links
Jupiter, April 9, 2004 (my highest resolution Jovian image)
Stellar Products was the first company to manufacture standard adaptive optics systems to both amateur and professional astronomers. The AO-2 adaptive optics system provided image stabilization for planetary photography. The AO-5 adaptive optics system provided correction of defocus and astigmatism as well as image stabilization. Either of these systems allows the astronomer to improve his images to the limit of his telescope.
Mars, August 9, 2003, using a webcam
Saturn, December 29, 2000, using AO-2 system
Jupiter, January 7, 2001, using AO-2 system
(For best viewing, please maximize your monitor brightness and adjust the contrast until you can see each of the 17 gray scales shown here)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, click on these links:
Image Gallery
Adaptive Optics Tutorials
and Products
About Stellar Products
Thank you for your interest in Stellar Products!
All content is Copyright
2005-2024 by Don Bruns
All text and images are owned by Stellar Products, 1992-2024. Any use by others without permission of Stellar Products is prohibited. For information on commercial use of any of these images, click here.
Web page last updated April 17, 2024.