Michael Carnes was a good friend and fellow observer of the night sky using video astronomy equipment. Michael passed away earlier this year as a result of a very unexpected heart attack. Michael and DiAnne had moved to one of the park homes at Cool Breeze Campground in Galax, Virginia in April 2021. Cool Breeze had become a great dark sky location for small star parties that my wife and I attended. Michael built a great observing deck and place for his astronomy equipment after they moved there. It was fitting that, with DiAnne’s encouragement, we had another mini-star party in Michael’s honor on his deck. Some of the deep sky images I captured there are part of this post.
I learned that Michael had a PhD in Plant Sciences and, as part of his career, he was hired by Monsanto Company in St. Louis, MO, to head up a research lab. He developed techniques that led to significant scientific breakthroughs to help make crops more productive and resistant to disease and weather. He travelled often to Switzerland and Japan for research collaboration. Michael also founded a company to provide greenhouse technology to poultry farmers.
After retiring, Michael became extremely interested in the advances in Video Astronomy that enabled someone to see on a screen during an observing session what we never would see just looking through a telescope. He met other amateur astronomers as DiAnne and he travelled in their small RV to night sky sites. This is how Sharon and I met them since we were doing the same thing.
I have included in a prior 9/1/2022 post a great article that Michael wrote for those who might be considering Video Astronomy. In the article he discusses suitable telescopes, mount characteristics, Video Camera considerations and software.
I brought my 8” RASA telescope and DS26cTEC camera to use on my Celestron AVX mount with StarSense AutoAlign while at this special star party on Michael’s deck. Below is a picture that shows his storage shed for his equipment on the left and the open deck on the right.
I learned that Michael had a PhD in Plant Sciences and, as part of his career, he was hired by Monsanto Company in St. Louis, MO, to head up a research lab. He developed techniques that led to significant scientific breakthroughs to help make crops more productive and resistant to disease and weather. He travelled often to Switzerland and Japan for research collaboration. Michael also founded a company to provide greenhouse technology to poultry farmers.
After retiring, Michael became extremely interested in the advances in Video Astronomy that enabled someone to see on a screen during an observing session what we never would see just looking through a telescope. He met other amateur astronomers as DiAnne and he travelled in their small RV to night sky sites. This is how Sharon and I met them since we were doing the same thing.
I have included in a prior 9/1/2022 post a great article that Michael wrote for those who might be considering Video Astronomy. In the article he discusses suitable telescopes, mount characteristics, Video Camera considerations and software.
I brought my 8” RASA telescope and DS26cTEC camera to use on my Celestron AVX mount with StarSense AutoAlign while at this special star party on Michael’s deck. Below is a picture that shows his storage shed for his equipment on the left and the open deck on the right.
You can see three telescopes set up on the deck (my RASA is on the left). This was the first time I used my RASA away from home. I really like going to Cool Breeze because it has Bortle 4 dark skies, low temps and low humidity. Below are several images I captured while viewing on Michael’s deck at night. As I have done in the past for smaller deep sky objects, I include both the full FOV image and a zoomed (cropped) image. These are the actual images I captured with no post processing or enhancements. The key exposure information is listed below most images.
Hercules Cluster m13 – 1b 1s 100g 0-255..150..100h-lhdr 35stk 5.78 magnitude 23 Kly
Eagle Nebula m16 100g 2s 50-150h
Dumbbell Nebula m27 100g 2s 20-150h
Andromeda Galaxy m31 100g 5s 30-150h 50stk
Whirlpool Galaxy M51 - 1b 4s 100g 30-150h 50stk 7.92 magnitude 28 Mly
Bode’s Nebulae/Cigar Galaxy M81/M82 - 1b 2s 100g 20-150h 20stk 6.77/8.02 magnitude 12 Mly
Owl Nebula/Spiral Galaxy m97/m108 100g 5s 70-150h 30stk
Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major m101 100g 5s 15-150h 30stk
North American Nebula NGC7000 4 magnitude 2.6 Kly
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