Astronomical Photography by Rusty Fletcher
The heavens declare the glory of God ... Psalm 19 verse 1.
All pictures on this site are the property of Rusty Fletcher. I
have all the originals from which these images were processed. For
permission to download or use them free of charge, please email me at:
Most of these photos were done in Kyle, Texas under Bortle 5.9 skies.
Select any photo to see a larger view and details about the object.
STELLAR SPIKES
Stellar spikes (diffraction spikes) are artifacts caused
by light diffracting around the support vanes of the secondary mirror in a
reflecting or Newtonian type telescope. These spikes are prominent around bright
stars and sometimes can be seen extending from stars outside the photographic
field of view. One example is my picture of the Horsehead and Flame Nebula. The
artifacts of these spikes cannot be removed without damaging or altering the
picture. Since I have owned and used Newtonian Telescopes for many years, I have
grown accustomed to them and enjoy the view. I do not want to damage the natural
beauty of a picture by attempting to remove the spikes. Even some of the
Hubble Space Telescope’s photos exhibit strong diffraction spikes
BELOW ARE OLDER ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOS I TOOK YEARS AGO.
The telescope I used to make these photos of Jupiter and Mars was my 17.5-inch, AZ-ALT, 2000 mm fl, with a Barlow to increase the fl to 4000 mm.
The camera I used for planetary photography in 2007 & 2008 was a color Phillips 2 U Cam.
Jupiter on September 4th, 2008 at UT 03:22 Jupiter on September 5th, 2008 at UT 02:55
Jupiter and it's moon Io on August 27th, 2008 at UT 04:54
I photographed this full-size Moon shot with my 4.5-inch, 450 mm fl telescope and my SBIG ST-9E camera
Moon on 12-27-2007 at: UT 06:55:31
I photographed this close up of the Moon with my 17.5-inch, AZ-ALT, 2000 mm fl telescope and my SBIG ST-7E camera
The Moon May 21st, 2005 at UT 06:02
My upgraded telescope and gearing system in 2005
The original design of my 17.5 inch computer-controlled telescope in 2002
Old photos of my telescope, friends, and family
Links to friends astronomy websites:
I live in Kyle, Texas and I am a Member of: The Austin Astronomical Society
When I lived in Seguin, Texas I was a member of: The San Antonio Astronomical Association
When I lived in Columbus, Texas I was a member of: The Houston Astronomical Society
When I lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma I was a member of : The Astronomy Club of Tulsa
Contact me at: