Antonio Fernandez, about me


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For this self portrait a monochrome CCD astronomical camera and the same technique used for color imaging of deep sky objects were used. Three separate images -obtained through red, green and blue filters - were combined to obtain the color image. Image data, Camera: SBIG STL11000M @ -10ºC, Lens: Nikon Nikkor 105 f/2.5 (stopped @ f/22), Filters: Astrodon i-series, Exposures: RGB 0,5 seconds each, no flats, no darks. DDP with Fits Liberator 2.0 About Me I am a physician currently living with my wife, two children and our Labrador retriever in Las Rozas, Madrid where we relocated in 2002 after a three years living in the U.S. I received medical training at the University Hospital (Clinica Universitaria) in Pamplona and earned a M.D. degree in 1983 from the University of Navarra School of Medicine. In 1987 I went to work for my current employer, a major pharmaceutical company, where most of my career, both in Europe and the U.S., has been devoted to R&D -developing new drugs for central nervous system disorders- and later to management. My interest for astronomy, space exploration and radio -I am a licensed amateur radio operator, EA4LE and KC2HAX- dates back to my early childhood but the spark that definitely ignited my curiosity and passion for astronomy was watching Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV series during my teenage years. In the early nineties I learn of amateur astronomers doing deep sky imaging with a new breed of CCD digital cameras. As my previous attempts to image with film had been so disappointing, I started toying around with the idea of making one of these very sensitive digital cameras. The solution came with the publication of The CCD Camera Cookbook by Berry, Kanto and Munger. My home brew Cookbook camera saw its first light in the summer of 1998 and for the first time I had digitally imaged Jupiter and the four Galilean satellites. From there I went to successfully modify webcams for long exposure. Later I was impressed by some of the images acquired with the new digital SLR cameras to the extent that I seriously considered the purchase of a Canon D60. I was on the verge of ordering the D60 when Canon announced the 10D model. Switched gears and went for the 10D. I had a lot of fun with this camera that was followed by another Canon, this time a 300D model with its infrared filter removed. In 2005 I went back to cooled CCD cameras with a marvelous piece of equipment, a SBIG STL11000M camera. Living in the suburbs of a big city means light pollution. That's why I only do narrow-band emission-line imaging from my backyard and do most of my imaging from La Hita observatory, a location shared with other fellow astronomers. Some of my deepsky photographs have been published in astronomy magazines like Ciel et Space, France, Le Stelle, Rivista di Cultura Astronomica, Italy, Astronomia, Spain and Espacio, Spain. My photographs are also featured in Robert Reeves book Introduction to Digital Astrophotography, Willmann-Bell Inc., 2005 and in a new astrophotography book by Juan Carlos Casado to be published in late 2007. Two of my deep sky CCD Images have become NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) on July 16, 2007 and October 19, 2007. I hope you enjoy the visit to this site. You are welcome to e-mail me at antonio(at)afernandez.net (just replace '(at)' with @ ). Clear skies! antonio Portfolio of Published Images NGC218 The Pacman Nebula Antonio Fernandez Chasseur de Ciel Unique, Ciel et Space, France, February 2008 M20 The Trifid Nebula Antonio Fernandez Chasseur de Ciel Unique, Ciel et Space, France, February 2008 The Rosette Nebula Antonio Fernandez Chasseur de Ciel Unique, Ciel et Space, France, February 2008 IC1848 HII Region September Page, Ciel et Space 2008 Calendar NGC6888 July Page, Ciel et Space 2008 Calendar The Great Orion Nebula I Encuentro de Astrofotógrafos. Publicaciones de la AAS. Nº1, December 2007 IC5067 in The Pelican Nebula NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day, October 19, 2007 The Lagoon Nebula in Gas, Dust and Stars NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day, July 16, 2007 The Cone Nebula Region Fotografía con Gigantes, Espacio, Spain, August 2007 The North America and Pelican Nebulae En el Foco, Astronomia, Spain, September 2006 The Centre of the Galaxy Le Stelle, Rivista di Cultura Astronomica, Italy, June 2004 The Summer Milky Way Robert Reeves, Introduction to Digital Astrophotography, Willmann-Bell Inc.,USA, 2005 The Leo Triplet of Galaxies Robert Reeves, Introduction to Digital Astrophotography, Willmann-Bell Inc.,USA, 2005

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