Welcome to DeepSkyAstro.com, featuring written articles and astrophotography by Jay McNeil. Most of the images included in the galleries to the left were taken from my backyard observatory, Muscadine Ridge Observatory, located on my family farm near the small town of Hollandale, Mississippi.

   I own and operate telescopes ranging from a simple 2-inch refractor to a monsterous 17.5-inch Newtonian reflector. However, the vast majority of my imaging is executed using several homemade astrographs (telescopes designed and built primarily for use with a camera) in the 8 to 10-inch range. The "camera" that I use for astro-imaging is actually a thermo-electrically cooled research-grade CCD, formally known as the STL-11000M by Santa Barbara Instruments Group. This device contains a large-format imaging chip that allows me to capture the wonders of the universe in splendid detail from my very own backyard. The mount that I currently use for imaging is an Astrophysics 1200 Quartz Micro Drive model, which is computer-controlled and capable of handling well over 100 lbs of equipment with great tracking accuracy and stability.

   Contrary to popular belief, the ability to image well beyond 20th magnitude does not replace the feeling that one gets from hunting down deep sky quarry with an eyepiece and telescope. As far as visual observing is concerned, you simply cannot replace the benefits of a high quality, large aperture Dobsonian. Therefore, my homebuilt 17.5-inch reflector (utilizing Discovery optics) stays in the barn out back ready to go at all times. On a good clear night, the skies from my backyard will often reveal stars as faint as 6th magnitude to the unaided eye. Being located less than 5 miles from the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, however, ensures that the local humidity and the state bird (aka the Mosquito) are often quite prevalent! In other words, the summer months are a lot less observer-friendly than other times of year...

   Please take a moment to calibrate your monitor in order to view astronomical images at their best! Just turn your monitor contrast to its maximum setting. Then, using the chart below, simply adjust your monitors brightness setting so that blocks numbered 1 through 19 are visible and distinctively seperate from one another. At the appropriate setting, block #19 should be just barely visible above the pure black background (represented by #20). Thankyou, and enjoy!