Michael A. Stecker
mastecker@gmail.com


 

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Mount Pinos amateur astronomer observing site


Mt. Pinos parking lot in daylight on August 10, 2007
Mount Pinos is a mecca for amateur astronomers about 100 miles north of Los Angeles in the Los Padres National Forest.
At an elevation of 8300 feet one gets a clear view of the night sky.
(photo by James R. Foster)

Map of Mount Pinos, California    AstroPeople slide show

 
 
 

Mount Pinos Night Sky Time-lapse Video 


Mount Pinos and summer Milky Way
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The video was taken by astrophotographer Stephen Conferruseing a Nikon DSLR camera with intervalometer for a time-lapse movie.  The camera sat on a programmable rail running back and forth over a 3.75 hour period.   The red dot seen on the left in the static image above is a reflection from a small LED  illuminating the telescope.  In the video you can see apparent movement of the summer Milky Way including Cygnus and Aquila caused by the earth's rotation.  Clouds are also moving through the sky with red streaks below representing cars driving thru the site.
The movie ends at morning twilight.

The movie as a mpeg4 video
.../video/pinos_nightsky_v2mp4.mp4

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