My Own Private Hubble !!!

Almost 3 years ago, i had just then bought and assembled my new toy ( link ).  After mostly using it for visual astronomy, now, i have been connecting my camera to the telescope and taking deep sky astro photos. After months of trying and doing lot of mistakes, I can now say that I have started feeling very comfortable with my telescope.

Light Year:
Definitely, i am not going to bug you with complex astronomy terms. But, if you prefer to learn only one thing, it should be the "Light Year".  It is a very funny word. Because it has "year", you may think it denotes "time". Actually, it indicates the distance. It is the distance someone would travel if they travel at the speed of light for an year.
1 Light Year = 6 trillion miles or 10 trillion kilo meters (1 trillion has 12 0s ).

In a very different way, it denotes time also. Through my telescope, when I look at a star or galaxy 2 million light years away, that means light has traveled 2 million years before reaching my telescope and hitting my retina !!! It also means, I am looking at the galaxy how it was 2 million years ago. There is no guarantee it is still there today !!! Basically, I am looking back in time. Mind boggling fact !!! :)

Presenting, photos taken with my own private Hubble.

Open Cluster in the constellation, Perseus.
There are 2 "Open Clusters" in Perseus, known as the Double Cluster. This is one of them.
Clusters are groups of stars that are gravitationally bound to each other.
Distance: 7500 Light Years. f/8, 10 secs, ISO 3200.

Andromeda Galaxy.
The closest neighbor to our own MilkWay galaxy. Astronomers have confirmed that Andromeda and
MilkyWay are rushing towards each other. In about 4 billion years from now, both the galaxies are expected to
merge and become a single galaxy. No clue on what will happen to our Solar System but the merged galaxy
may be called "Milkomeda Galaxy" :)
Distance: 2.5 Million Light Years. f/8, 15 secs, ISO 3200.

The great "Orion Nebula", in the constellation, Orion.
Distance: 1,344 Light Years. f/8, 30 secs, ISO 800.

Globular Cluster, M3 in the constellation, Canes Venatici.
Distance: 33,900 Light Years. f/8, 20 secs, ISO 800.

M 81 Galaxy in the constellation, Ursa Major.
Distance: 11.8 Million Light Years. f/8, 30 secs, ISO 800.

M82 Galaxy (aka Cigar Galaxy) in the constellation, Ursa Major.
From our perspective on earth, we are looking at the this galaxy edge-on, hence the Cigar look.
Distance: 12.4 million Light Years. f/8, 30 secs, ISO 800.

Stars, Mizar and Alcor in the constellation, Ursa Major.
In Indian mythology, the constellation Ursa Major is known as "Subtha Rishi" (seven saints).
Mizar (bigger & brighter in the foto) and Alcor (second brightest) are the saint "Vashishta" and his wife "Arundhathi". 
During Indian weddings, the bride and the groom are asked to look in the direction of these 2 stars and blessed
to be as close as Vashishta and Arundhathi. Astronomers have confirmed that Alcor is a binary
(2 stars) system. I think, the 3rd star is Vashista's second wife ;)
Distance: Mizar - 82.8 Light years, Alcor - 81.7 Ligh Years. f/8, 20 secs, ISO 1600.

With these photos, I am giving myself a grade of C-. I have a long way to go in improving the quality of these photos. I am not worried. I have a lifetime ahead :) I bought my first telescope (no tracking, completely manual) in 2002. In the last 13 years the amateur astronomy hobby has made multiple "giant leaps", thanks to the advances in technology and the innovations of the telescope manufacturers. I took all these photos during a single night (a span of 1.5 hours) on March 7. It was simply not possible for an amateur to do this in 2002. 

Here is my Hubble.

This is my visual setup. Do you see a small "camera like" thingy attached to the top of the telescope? That thingy does an amazing job of aligning the telescope. It moves the telescope to point to 3 different areas of the sky and takes a photo of each area. It knows the time zone i am in and the latitude of San Diego. Practically, it knows what stars should be up there in the San Diego night sky on that day at that time. Based on this information and the location of the stars in the photos it took, it creates a model of the night sky for the telescope. When i select to view the Andromeda Galaxy, the telescope knows where it is in the sky and simply moves the telescope and positions Andromeda at the center of the eyepiece.

Once i am done with the visual observations, i remove the eyepiece and connect my camera to the telescope. The telescope moves on its own and compensates for the earth's rotation, keeping the deep sky object at the center. This allows me to take long exposure shots. My telescope's focal length is 1625 mm.
Another way to look at this is, I have a 1625 mm lens to attach to my camera ;)

Sunset & Sunrise at Sun Island !!!

Isla Del Sol, Bolivia
June 2014

After a nice, freshly cooked lunch at the eco lodge (La Posada Del Inca), we rested a while. Our guide Rodrigo asked us to be ready in the evening to go watch the Sunset from a vantage point. Definitely not willing to miss watching Sunset at Sun Island, we all went for it. It was a 45 minute walk from La Posada Del Inca. 

Some segments are paved with stones like these while most of the roads are mud paths.
We walked through many eating places catering to the tourists.
The villagers were returning from their work with Donkeys/Mules, Llamas carrying the load.

After a long walk, we reached the base of a hill. Rodrigo and I hiked up the hill for another 10 minutes.
It was getting cold and the breathing was difficult due to the altitude. But it was worth all the trouble. :)
The setting Sun cast its golden rays on the snow capped peaks of the Andes.

As the Sun set, the intensity of the light reduced and created a stunning view!

On this evening, there was a wall of clouds at the horizon and I couldn't see the Sun but
the Sun made its presence in may colorful ways !!!

Having missed the Sun during the Sunset, I got up very early the next day and watched the Sun rising over lake Titicaca !

Lazy Llama !!!

Arriving at Isla Del Sol, Bolivia

We were told to pack light and bring just what was needed for the one night stay on Isla Del Sol ( Island of the Sun ). All our remaining suitcases were sent to our next destination. For the Incas, Isla Del Sol was one of the most sacred places. There are many myths associated with the Isla Del Sol. According to one version, the ancient people of the area were without the sunlight in the sky for a long time. Then one day, they saw the Sun emerging from one of the cliffs on the island. Our guide Rodrigo explained that with so many volcanoes in Peru, it is possible that one of them blew up and the ashes blocked the Sun for a long time. The Inca kings from Cusco visited Isla Del Sol often and one of them built a temple for the Sun near the cliff where the Sun emerged from. The ruins of the Sun temple is called Pilcocaina ruins.

After the 1-hour long ride on Lake Titicaca, the boat from Copacabana dropped us off at Isla Del Sol.

Then started the steep hike to the top. There are no paved roads and cars in Isla Del Sol and
the only way to reach our eco lodge is to hike up !!!

The stone building towards the top right is the Pilcocaina ruins (aka Sun Temple).

At over 13000 feet elevation, we were all gasping for whatever little oxygen was available.
Rodrigo pinched off some leaves from a brush and asked us to crush the leaves and inhale it, explaining that
it will open up bronchial tubes in our lungs helping us to take in more air. It did help for a while until
we had to stop, rest for few minutes and inhale :)

But help was on the way !!! Within 10 minutes of our hike we spotted a train of people and animals
coming down to receive us. There was a woman managing a mule and two llamas and a man carrying an
oxygen tank and a first-aid kit! The mule was for anyone to ride on, the llamas to carry any bags,
the oxygen tank for any one having difficulty breathing :).
Thank God it was not that bad and we didn't have to use the oxygen tank.

We loaded all our stuff on the llama.

The higher we climbed, the better and stunning were the views.

The Snow-Capped peaks of the Bolivian Andes !!!

After huffing and puffing for 45 minutes, with the "Mule & Llama" train following us, we reached the top and level grounds.
Look, how far and tiny is the pier where we started this hike!

Courtyard of a small restaurant on the way. A stunning view to have it with your Narasu's coffee or masala chai :)

Arriving at the eco lodge, La Posada Del Inca. The black llama you see here is named "Herrara". He is the lazy llama :). We were told that Herrara doesn't want to do any work or carry any weight. He knew that if he came close he would be loaded with some luggage. For the entire hike, he was following at a safe 30 feet behind us :).

Of all the places we visited and stayed on this 2 week trip to Peru & Bolivia, I would say the most beautiful, natural and serene place is the Isla Del Sol.
More on Isla Del Sol coming up.