AstronomyCameras
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Spy satellites become reluctant space celebs, get their own paparazzi
Not only do American military satellites have to put up with the constant threat of ultrasonic space droppings, now they must also suffer the prying lenses of a couple of Frenchmen. Thierry Legault and Emmanuel Rietsch have spent the past two years turning consumer-grade components into a system that can keep up with the zippy and supposedly secret movements of craft like the X-37B space plane and the NROL-49 low-Earth orbit spy sat. Hit the source link and you'll see videos of the International Space Station, which they also managed to capture with steady-ish focus as it hurtled through space-time. Looks like nothing will thwart these guys, except maybe nano-satellites.
Pentax releases O-GPS1 add-on for DSLRs, appeals to astronomy nuts
Pentax's Optio WG-1 GPS point-and-shoot satisfied geotaggers out of the box, but owners of its K-5, K-r and 645D DSLRs have had to make do with third-party taggers like the PhotoTrackr or Eye-Fi. The new hotshoe-mounted O-GPS1 module fixes that oversight by recording latitude, longitude, altitude, Coordinated Universal Time and shooting angle. Everyday snappers might find an extra hotshoe attachment cumbersome, but astro-photography enthusiasts could well be enticed by the device's interesting "ASTROTRACER" function. This helps you take clearer photos of celestial bodies by using the in-built sensors to calculate a star's movement and then employing the camera's shake reduction system to compensate. Sounds clever, but be advised: this module is only for Pentax DSLRs -- and only for very specific models at that. You'll get full functionality with the K-5 and K-r cameras, and geotagging (no ASTROTRACER) with the 645D. Oh, and you'll need to make sure your camera's firmware is up-to-date. Peer carefully through that lens and you'll see the O-GPS1 heading for a July landing, priced at $250. [Thanks, Iddo]
Imaging Source Astronomy Cameras for gazing at the heavens
Stellar photography seems like a wondrous thing: you and a loved one on a starry night taking beautiful images of the heavens -- before making out. Unfortunately, anyone who has tried it knows it's more often a frustrating exercise of fiddling with exposure and aperture settings on your SLR while it hangs precariously off the side of your telescope, held in place only by a flimsy adapter ring. The Imaging Source has a simpler option, a series of digital cameras designed for slotting into your scope like an eye piece, capturing the night sky at up to 60-minute exposures over USB or FireWire. The range starts at $390 for a monochromatic VGA model, going all the way up to $870 for color and 1280 x 960 resolution. Not cheap, but it's probably a lot less than you paid for the equatorial mount on your new reflector. [Via Picture Snob; thanks Jay]
