Hi, my name is Steve Bell. This is my astroimaging site. Here, I describe the telescope I use, and give links to the astroimages that I've taken. I do CCD imaging with SBIG ST-10XME and ST-2000XCM digital astrocameras, from a location SE of Denver, CO, about 10 miles NNE of Elizabeth, CO. The location has relatively dark mag 5 skies and lies at about a 6500 ft altitude. Even though higher than Denver, the location is not in the mountains, but somewhat out on the plains of Colorado, along the northern part of the Palmer Divide which has a slightly higher elevation than Denver. The seeing here is generally average, about 3.5" in the winter, but as good as 2" in the summer, when the jet stream stays well north. Some of the images were taken from my previous light polluted site in a SW suburb of Denver. Any comments you might have are welcomed.
The telescope I use is a 16" f/4.9 Newtonian that is permanently mounted inside a 10 ft Pro-Dome from Technical Innovations, Inc. The dome sits on a concrete slab in my backyard. I laid a concrete sidewalk to the dome, which significantly helps getting to the dome after a snowstorm after some shoveling (see side_view.jpg). I have to say that my Pro-Dome has greatly added to the pleasure of using my scope, and has drastically cut down the time it takes to setup an astroimage. It is a great pleasure and benefit to be able to take advantage of those clear nights when possible. Another feature of the dome is its ease of assembly and disassembly, which was greatly appreciated for the move to my present location east of Denver.
Please note that at the end of each of my image's page, there usually is a link to the fine pages of the Students for Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS). Each SEDS page usually contains an excellent image of the object taken at the Anglo-Australian Observatory, and also contains very interesting astronomical information.
For any of you accessing this page to view and/or download my General Relativity and Atomic Theory papers, please click on the link at the bottom of the list.
Send any comments to: Steve Bell
