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G'day, my name is Steve Quirk, this website started out featuring how I go about imaging astronomical objects observed in the night sky from the southern hemisphere. For harvesting photons of light from the distant cosmos, I use the sensitive low-light GSTAR-EX Deep-Sky Video Camera as a versatile and reasonably priced alternative to DSLR or more expensive dedicated astronomical CCD cameras.
Also on these pages there's a bit about me, Frog Rock Observatory and the GSTAR Camera, something to cheer you up, something to depress you - light pollution, some personal gripes (Geez, I can crap on), image processing techniques, a meteor detection system and info on a couple of books I've co-authored with Steve Massey. My latest interest (madness) is 3D printing and in particular, models of rockets, telescopes and sci-fi models.
The content on this website is what it is ... it is what I share with you ...
if you get something out of it, that's great, otherwise it don't matter.
So, you won't find me on
I'm not interested in what everyone else had for breakfast !
I'm just not into social media.
Yes, I may suffer from Visiobibliophobia
This link goes to a page explaining the fear, concern or anxiety some people have about posting on social media and in particular facebook.
Always remember...
"Authority can lie but nature does not" - R.P.Feynman
I've reached an age where I have settled into three distinct states of mind... Sarcastic, Angry and downright Snippy.
Version 1.0 created 3rd August 1999
Current Version 13.666
LATEST UPDATES:
23 May 2023 - X-20 Dyna-Soar in with rockets, 3 new aircraft
Harrier Jump Jet, UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter, AH-64 Apache Helicopter.
4 April 2023 - 4 more Sci-Fi vehicles
Angel Interceptor (Captain Scarlet), Spectrum Cloudbase (Captain Scarlet), Dark Star, Runabout Rio Grande (Star Trek DS9)
11 Jan 2023 - 2 more Sci-Fi vehicles
Aratech 74-Z Speeder Bike (Star Wars), AT-AT Walker (Star Wars)
30 December 2022 - 4 new vehicles
Doomsday Machine (Star Trek), Balok's Fesarius (Star Trek), Shuttlecraft Galileo (Star Trek), Tholian Web Spinner (Star Trek)
18 December 2022 - New robot: the Iron Giant and a big NCC 1701 Enterprise
22 November 2022 - Series of planes at 1/120 scale
1: Wright Flyer. 2: D-1 Fokker. 3: Gypsy Moth. 4: Spitfire. 5: B-17 Flying Fortress. 6: Bristol Beaufort Bomber. 7: P-51 Mustang 8: B-29 Super Fortress. 9: Bell X-1. 10: F-86 Sabre. 11: U-2. 12: B-52 Stratofortress. 13: F-104 Starfighter. 14: X-15. 15: B-58 Hustler. 16: XB-70 Valkyrie. 17: SR-71 Blackbird. 18: F-111 Aardvark. 19: F-14 Tomcat. 20: F-15 Eagle. 21: A-10 Thunderbolt. 22: F-18 Hornet. 23: F-117 Nighthawk. 24: X-29. 25: B-1b Lancer. 26: B-2 Spirit. 27: F-22 Raptor. 28: F-35 Lightning.
20 September 2022 - 2 new vehicles, 1 new robot
Space Station and fighter (Enemy Mine), Jeager Gipsy Danger (Pacific Rim)
30 August 2022 - 2 new telescopes... GTC
Gran Telescopio Canarias, Gemini North
3 August 2022 - 3 new vehicles
Alexei Leonov (2010), City Destroyer (ID-4), Moon Bus (2001)
23rd July 2022 - 1 new vehicle, 1 new robot, 1 new weapon
NIMBUS (Futurama), Clamps (Futurama), Mjolnir (Thor's Hammer)
6th June 2022 - 1/33 scale model of Frog Rock Observatory
25th May 2022 - 3 new vehicles, 4 new robots
B-Wing Fighter (Star Wars), Tie Fighter (Star Wars), Y-Wing Fighter (Star Wars), Box: The Ice Robot (Logan's Run), Isaac (The Orville), Iron Man, Optimus Prime (Transformers)
27th Apr 2022 - 1 new vehicle, 1 new robot
DeLorean Time Machine (Back to the Future), Asgard Destroyer (Thor)
10th Jan 2022 - 5 new sci-fi vehicles
USS Icarus (Stargate), O'Niell Class Asgard Warship (Stargate), Replicator Mothership (Stargate), Shadow Vessel (Babylon 5), Vorchan Class Centauri Warship (Babylon 5)
11th December 2021 - 4 new sci-fi vehicles
Batmobile, Buble-coptor (Oblivion), Hyper-space Plane (5th Element), Flying Car (The Jetsons)
4 December 2021 - 3 new sci-fi vehicles, 2 new sci-fi tools
Corben's Taxi (5th Element), Jupiter II Chariot, H.G.Wells Time Machine, Police Blaster (5th Element), Stones and 5th Element.
22 November 2021 - 1 new sci-fi vehicle, 1 new sci-fi tool, 1 new Sci-fi Robot, 1 new telescope... DKIST
Moon Train (Jules Verne), Smell-o-scope (Futurama), Nixon's Back (Futurama), Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope.
9 November 2021 - new model telescope... McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope
15 October 2021 - 6 new weapons/tools, 3 new vehicles and 1 robot
Communicator (Star Trek), Hypospray (Star Trek), Comm Badge (STNG), Tricorder (STNG), M41A Pulse Rifle (Aliens), Han Solo Blaster (Star Wars), Naboo Royal Transport (Star Wars), Light Cycle (Tron), Landspeeder (Star Wars), Wall-E.
19 September 2021 - 13 new robots and 4 re-makes
Ava (Ex_Machina), Arnie T-800 (Terminator), Braman (Thunderbirds), Crichton (Buck Rogers), Defender (Oblivion), Hymie (Get Smart), Marvin (New Hitchhikers), Probe Droid (Star Wars), Recogniser (Tron), Robert The Robot (Fireball XL-5), Robotica (Fembot), Scutter (Red Dwarf), Dr Theopolis (Buck Rogers). Battle Droid (Star Wars), Bicentennial Man, Old Marvin (Original Hitchhikers), Twiki (Buck Rogers).
11 August 2021 - 2 new telescopes... Uppsala Schmidt and VISTA
3 August 2021 - 15 new and 1 redo sci-fi ships, 1 new robot
Ancients Aurora (Stargate), Bounty Hunter (Star Wars), Cosmostrator (First Spaceship on Venus), Mother ship (District 9), Drop Ship (Aliens), ECTO-1 (Ghostbusters), F-302 (Stargate), Imperial Shuttle (Star Wars), Klingon Bird of Prey (Star Trek), Milano (Guardians of the Galaxy), Narcissus Shuttle (Alien), Promethius (Stargate), Space Arc (When Worlds Collide), Sulaco (Aliens), V Shuttle. Derelict (Alien), Killer Dog (New War of the Worlds).
12 June 2021 - HARP (High Altitude Research Project) gun added to rocket group
23 March 2021 - a couple more sci-fi models and another set of Telescope models
23 August 2020 - Report on New Horizons Parallax Program
23 July 2020 - Barnard's Star and Proxima Centauri proper motion over 35 years
24 June 2020 - The New Horizons Parallax Program
22 May 2020 - Asteroids and Comets imaged close up and the spacecraft
18 May 2020 - Minor alterations to website
02 April 2020 - SpaceX Big Falcon Rocket (BFR)
22 March 2020 - Blue Origin New Glenn
21 January 2020 - MIR Space Station
19 January 2020 - Blue Origin New Shepard
30 December 2019 - Atlas V and Starliner
21 December 2019 - 1/72 scale ISS model completed
05 December 2019 - New display area for 1/72 scale rockets
18th August 2019 - Some more of my 3D printing projects
22nd July 2018 - Construction of a 1/60 scale Space Shuttle model
18th March 2018 - The building of a 1/60th scale model of the Apollo Saturn V rocket and gantry tower
18th January 2018 - The Crab Nebula, imaged 12 years apart
17th January 2018 - More Sprites recorded with meteor cameras
