One of my greatest inspirations to study and share astronomy with others came from from my high school astronomy professor, Col. John W. Kritzar. I knew Col. Kritzar for many years, and he was one of the most kind and gentle souls I have ever encountered. He passed away on March 19, 2001, but his legacy lives on. Please read this tribute to Col. John W. Kritzar that I have created in his memory.
If you want to learn more about what is happening in the heavens above, check out the Sky and Telescope and Astronomy Magazines' web sites. You can also look at the latest and greatest pictures and information from the Hubble Space Telescope page. Of course, the NASA homepage is also a great source of space mission and science information for anyone interested in space sciences and astronomy. Two must-see websites are the Mars Exploration Rover Mission and the Cassini Mission to Saturn. Additionally, check out Richard Bell's astronomy webpage. He is an astronomer living in Michigan.
We are living in a "golden age" of astronomy with all the recent discoveries being made by the Hubble Telescope and other astronomical technologies. The recent Mars Exploration Rover Missions and the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn have also breathed new life into the US space program. Astronomy is definitely looking up!
Astronomy and Nature Photos
Here are some of my noteworthy photos taken over the last 25+
years.
A photo of the Moon on 6/11/2008 taken from Stafford, VA, using my Canon D30 digital camera attached to my Celestron 8 telescope and 1/500 second exposure. This photo made the Channel 9 local news and the Channel 7 local news on 6/12/2008!
A photo of Saturn on 5/25/08 taken from Stafford, VA, using my Canon D30 digital camera attached to my Celestron 8 telescope and a four second exposure. This photo made the Channel 5 local news on 5/25/08 and the Channel 9 local news on 5/26/08!
A photo of the lunar eclipse on 2/20/08 taken from Stafford, VA, using a Canon D30 digital camera. This photo made the Channel 7 local news on 2/21/08!
A photo of the ISS and Space Shuttle passing through the constellation Orion 2/16/08 from Stafford, VA, using a Canon D30 digital camera. This photo made the Channel 4 local news on 2/16/08!
A photo of the moonrise over a cow pasture taken on 1/21/08 from Stafford, VA, using a Canon D30 digital camera. This photo made the Channel 4 local news on 1/21/08!
A photo of a Cardinal taken on 1/13/08 from my front yard using a Canon D30 digital camera. This photo made the Channel 4 local news on 1/13/08!
A photo of the Moon and Venus and the International Space Station (ISS) taken on 1/4/08 from Stafford, VA, using my Canon D30 digital camera. Both photos made the Channel 9 local news on 1/4/08!
A photo of the Moon and Mars dodging clouds taken on 12/23/07 from Stafford, VA, using my Canon D30 digital camera with a 1/4 sec. exposure. This photo made the Channel 4 local news on 12/23/07 AND the Channel 9 local news on 12/24/07!
A photo of the waxing gibbous Moon taken on 11/20/27 from Stafford, VA, using my Celestron-8 telescope and Canon D30 digital camera with a 1/500 sec. exposure. This photo made the Channel 5 local news on 11/20-21/07 AND the Channel 9 local news on 11/27/07!
A photo of Comet Holmes taken on 10/31/07 from Stafford, VA, using a Canon D30 digital camera and 15-second exposure. This photo made the Channel 5 and Channel 9 local news on 11/1/07!
A photo of the International Space Station (the streak of light in the photo) among the Big Dipper's stars taken on 10/20/07 from Stafford, VA, using a Canon D30 digital camera and five second exposure. This photo made the Channel 4 local news on 10/20/07!
A photo of the August 28, 2007, lunar eclipse taken on 8/28/07 from Stafford, VA, using my Celestron-8 telescope and Canon digital camera. This photo made the Channel 4 local news on 8/29/07!
A photo of the almost-first quarter moon taken on 7/21/07 from Stafford, VA, using my Celstron 8 telescope and Canon digital camera. This photo made the Channel 9 local news on 7/26/07!
A photo of the moon and Venus taken on 5/19/07 from Stafford, VA, using a Canon digital camera and 300mm lens. This photo made the Channel 4 and 9 local news on 5/21 and 5/22/07!
A photo of storm clouds taken on 9/28/06 from Stafford, VA, using a Canon digital camera. This photo made the Channel 5 local news on 9/28/06!
A fiery, beautiful sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean taken from Kitty Hawk, NC, on August 2, 2005.
The lunar eclipse of October 27, 2004, taken from Stafford, VA, using my Canon D30 digital camera attached to my Celestron 8 inch telescope. Notice the reddish tint on Moon's lower portion. This is caused by sunlight filtering through the Earth's atmosphere.
These are not astronomy or nature related, but these photos of the Bodie lighthouse and the Cape Hatteras lighthouse came out better than expected. They were taken on July 15, 2004, during our vacation to the Outer Banks, NC.
I captured the magnificent sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean from Kitty Hawk, NC, on July 15, 2004. This photo won the best photo of the week on The Weather Channel on 7/20/04!
This photo of ominous clouds was taken on March 6, 2004, from Stafford, VA, using s Sony digital camera. This photo made the Channel 9 local news on 4/27/04!
The planet Saturn on Dec. 31, 2003, shot with a Sony Mavica digital camera manually aimed into the eyepiece of a Celestron 8 telescope.
My photo of the 2003 Christmas conjunction of the Moon and Venus made the Spaceweather.com website. Check out the photo here.
A beautiful late autumn sunrise taken on Dec. 1, 2003, from Quantico, VA, using s Sony digital camera. This photo made the Channel 7 local news on 12/1/03!
The largest group of sunspots in many years, taken on Oct. 24, 2003, from Stafford, VA, using a 35mm camera attached to a C-8 telescope outfitted with a solar filter. This photo made the Channel 9 local news on 10/24/03!
The planet Mars at its closest to Earth in 60,000 years! Taken with my 8" telescope and digital camera on August 25, 2003, from Stafford, VA. The white polar cap is visible on the top right of the planet. This photo made the Channel 5 local news on 8/27/03!
The Moon and Venus in the morning sky taken on Dec. 30, 2002, from Stafford, VA using a Sony Mavica digital camera.
A lightning bolt during a storm taken August 1, 2002 from Stafford, VA using a Sony Mavica digital camera. This photo made the Channel 9 local news on 8/1/02!
Stafford sunset after a storm taken June 6, 2002, from Stafford, VA using a Sony Mavica digital camera. This photo made the Channel 9 local news on 6/10/02!
The Moon and Venus in conjunction taken 5/14/02 from Stafford, VA, using a Sony digital camera. This photo made the Channel 9 local news on 5/15/02!
A double rainbow taken on 5/13/02 from Stafford, VA, using a Sony digital camera. This photo made the Channel 9 local news on 5/14/02!
Awesome sunrise the morning of March 2, 2002 from Stafford, VA, using a Sony digital camera.
A group of sunspots taken Dec. 1, 2001, from Stafford, VA, using a 35mm camera attached to a C-8 telescope outfitted with a solar filter. The large spot to the right of center is 6 times as large as the Earth!! This photo made the Channel 9 local news on 12/4/01!
A Leonid meteor (upper right of photo) taken Nov. 18, 2001, from Culpeper, VA, using a 35mm camera and 50mm lens with a 30 second exposure. This photo made the Channel 4 local news on 11/19/01!
Photos one and two of a rainbow over Stafford VA, taken 6/18/00. These photos made the Channel 4 local news on 6/18/00!
Partial solar eclipse taken Christmas Day 2000 from Morningside, MD, using a Sony digital camera with a solar filter attached to the front.
Comet Hale-Bopp taken in April 1997 from Apex, NC. I was lucky to capture an airplane flying by during the exposure!
Sunrise from Dale City, VA, taken February 1992 using Celestron 8" telescope.
Lunar eclipse just before the moon totally entered the Earth's shadow (umbra) on August 16, 1989, taken from Morningside, MD, using a 500mm lens attached to my 35mm camera.
Two views of Saturn taken in 1986 with a Celestron 8" telescope from Alexandria, VA.
High resolution closeup of lunar craters taken in 1984 with a Celestron 8" telescope from Alexandria, VA.
Gibbous moon taken during summer 1983 with Celestron 8" telescope from Alexandria, VA.
The planet Jupiter taken in summer 1983 using Celestron 8" telescope from Alexandria, VA.
The lunar eclipse of summer 1982 taken from Alexandria, VA, using a Celestron 8" telescope.
The planets Jupiter and Saturn taken in 1982 using a Celestron 8" telescope from Alexandria, VA.
The constellation Orion rising over the trees taken November 1982 from Alexandria, VA, using 35mm camera and 50mm lens.
A bird on a TV antenna during twilight taken in summer 1981 using a Celestron 8" telescope from Alexandria, VA.
This is not a ghost, but one of my first experimental photos taken in 1981. This is actually a friend of mine that I traced with a flashlight while the camera shutter remained open.
*********************************************************************************************
EMAIL ME!!
THANKS TO GOD FOR MAKING THE UNIVERSE POSSIBLE!
All materials are copyrighted 1981-2008 by David Abbou.
visitors since November 2000
