A huge favour

Mark G

Mark G

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Mark
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Hello Astro photographers, I have a massive favour to ask and I don't know if it's too much to ask but I'm going to give it a shot anyway.

The back story:
A friend of mine set up a charity a few years ago as she lost a baby during pregnancy, the baby was one of identical twins and they suffered from twin to twin transfusion syndrome. Essentially the blood flow through the shared placenta was distorted and if left they would loose both of the babies. Following laser surgery to correct the blood flow they unfortunately lost one of the twins.

The charity that they setup is to increase awareness and to assist medical research to help ensure more positive outcomes more frequently. They have just achieved over £100k over the last 3 years and have now funded a 2 year research project into medical complications during pregnancy.

You can read more about the charity HERE.

The favour:
The charity is named after the twin which they lost during pregnancy. "Capella", it is a twin star, I've seen some unbelievable Astro photography on here and I wondered if anyone would be able to take a clear photo of Capella. I'd love to be able to present them with an image of the twin stars to thank them for their selflessness and generosity.

Capella is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, the sixth brightest in the night sky and the third brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere.

If you are able to help then please do get in touch or reply on here as I'd love to take this forward.

Where do I come in to it?
I am a firm believer in this charity, this weekend just gone I photographed their main fundraiser of the year, the 24 in 24. It's 24 athletic events over 24 hours, these vary from Pilates to Zumba to Spin at 2am, bleep test at 4am and so on. It's a pretty full on event to say the least.

I have dabbled in photography for years and yes I have taken a couple of photos of the sky, however I do not possess the equipment or mainly the skills required to achieve such an image of a star.

If anyone would be able to help with this then I really would be eternally grateful.

Many thanks
Mark
 
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Hallo Mark!

This is a wonderfully worthy cause and I wish I could help but I'm a beginner. I hope you get some helpful offers/replies and I admire your friends for founding and funding this charity. My oldest friend has identical twins; it was a bit touch-and-go with one but both are alive and well and now aged 28!
 
A very good cause, Mark and a nice gesture by you. Unfortunately, I'm fairly sure it is not going to possible for you to give your friends the shot of Capella you want.

Capella is actually a four star system. Two of the members of the system are faint, the other two are much brighter. These two brighter stars appear as a single star to the naked eye but given the distance from the Earth to Capella and that the stars are close together I think there are relatively few telescopes in the world that can show them as separate stars.

Sorry this isn't the answer you wanted.

Dave
 
Hi,

At first I thought you might have been referring the Castor and Pollux, Also called the twins I believe.

They are still visible at dusk + an hour or two, but a bit low on the horizon.

But then you did say Capella..........
 
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Thank you all for your replies. I will have a look around and see if I can find a stock photo, although I feel it would have more sentiment if the photo was essentially taken for them. I'm still open if anyone thinks they may be able to help them please do get in touch.

Thanks again
Mark
 
I can understand that a photo taken especially for your friends will be the best option and also the stock photos are likely to be more scientific than artistic but as an alternative how about a photo of Capella and the rest of constellation to which it belongs?

Dave
 
Hi Mark,

Will have a look tonight all things being equal, ie wife, clouds etc

No promises of anything though.

I use a 8" scope with camera attached, but have quite a lot of light pollution here in South Wales.

If not tonight, will continue to look during the week, clouds allowing.

Mj
 
Mark Johnson said:
Hi Mark,

Will have a look tonight all things being equal, ie wife, clouds etc

No promises of anything though.

I use a 8" scope with camera attached, but have quite a lot of light pollution here in South Wales.

If not tonight, will continue to look during the week, clouds allowing.

Mj
Click to expand...


That really would be great Mark, thank you so much!
 
Capella 1 by Mark Johnson, on Flickr

Capella 1

Capella 2 by Mark Johnson, on Flickr

Capella 2

Capella 3 by Mark Johnson, on Flickr

Capella 3

Mark,

Got these three last night. Not overjoyed by their quality. I think I tried too hard re magnification!!

I will have another attempt and try to get the whole of Auriga constellation rather than just Capella.

Alas I am away for a couple of nights so won't be able to do much for a few days.

Let me know if you want the originals (not resized Jpegs). Also have Raw's (ORF's)

Fun doing it..........
 
Mark hi, #1 is superb. To me it just says, here are all the ordinary stars including the twin star and Capella burned ever so brightly for a brief moment in history. I love it.
And to the other Mark whast a lovely idea you have had.
Matt
 
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Thank you for taking those Mark. Sorry for not getting replying sooner, I've just worked 36 hours over 3 days so not had much time for getting on here.

Im glad you enjoyed taking the photos, If you do happen to get the opportunity to capture the constellation then I'd be really greatful. I like no. 1 so far but perhaps the whole constellation may have more context.
 
Hi Mark,

I think time has run out for photoing Auriga certainly until the Autumn. By 11pm when its almost dark enough to get a good image the constellation has almost gone below the horizon.

I did manage a poor image, but if you want something good its going to be October or so until the constellation is high enough in the sky to get a decent photo in the dark.

So I will be putting Capella and Auriga on the back burner until then.

If the Capella photo is of any use to you in the meantime, let me know.

Mj
 
Thank you for trying I do really appreciate it. The photos of the star aren't really what I had imagined so perhaps I will keep this in mind and practice some Astro myself until Auriga is suitable again. If I can get a good shot I may frame it and pass it to them at the next charity event I do with them.

Many thanks again
Mark.
 
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