• HOME: About me and my equipment
  • Images
Welcome to Bruce Pipes's Astrophotography Website
​
​
Pictured is the intrepid astronomer and the 14" telescope with the Hyperstar mounted.

Picture

I had a strong interest in astronomy when I was a teenager growing up in Fort Worth, Texas. However, I put it away for about 50 years until I retired in 2007 from my position as Professor of Physics and Provost at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. Shortly thereafter I met Dan Good and John Yecker, who encouraged me to try astrophotography. I began imaging from my back yard with an SBIG ST-8 camera, loaned to me by Dan, on my 8" Meade LX200R telescope. In January, 2010, I acquired a 14" Meade LX200GPS telescope mounted on a Milburn wedge and installed it in Dan Good's observatory in the Chiefland Astronomy Village, Chiefland, FL. I make 3 visits to Chiefland each winter with Dan and John. Images from Chiefland are made with the 14" scope, and I image in Mastersonville, PA, near my home using the 8" Meade LX200R.

The cameras used are, early on, an SBIG ST-2000XM, again on loan from Dan Good, and, now, my own SBIG ST-8300C and ZWO ASI533MC Pro one-shot color cameras. Scope control is done with Astroplanner, camera control with Nebulosity and autoguiding with PHD2 and a Lodestar X2 on a Starlight Xpress Off-Axis Guider. The images are processed with Nebulosity and Photoshop using Noel Carboni's Astronomy Tools Action Set. 

In March, 2011, I added a Hyperstar 3 to the 14" scope. On this setup autoguiding is done with a Lodestar X2/Orion ST-80 combination. 

I want to thank Dan Good and John Yecker for their encouragement that got me started in astrophotography and for their many tips on telescopes, imaging and image processing.

Please click ​here or click on "Images" on the upper left to view my images.

 
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.