DVD
My blogs
| Industry | Education |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Professor of Chemistry, Brigham Young University |
| Location | Mapleton, Utah |
| Introduction | I've loved astronomy as long as I can remember, but could never see much with the low-end equipment available to me. Then a few years ago I discovered digital cameras, and the heavens opened ... I've definitely taken the incremental, low-cost approach to astrophotography. I began with a Canon PowerShot A560 point-and-shoot camera. I've moved on, and now use a cooled monochrome CMOS camera and filter wheel with a couple of 2nd-hand telescopes and a $15 135 mm lens I bought on e-Bay. I finally replaced my 2nd-hand mount and goto controller I built myself with a commercial EQ6 mount. I'm constantly amazed at what the camera can see. All my images are posted at astrobin.com/users/dvdearden. In real life, I am a professor of chemistry at Brigham Young University, and do research on the application of Fourier transform mass spectrometry to the study of supramolecular complexes. Most recently, we have developed a new method for measuring molecular size to complement the high performance mass measurements we make with the FTMS. As with astrophotography, I'm having fun with my job. |
| Interests | Fourier transform mass spectrometry, molecular recognition, supramolecular chemistry, teaching general chemistry, amateur astrophotography |