Articles by Josef Chlachula

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Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)

October 17, 2024 Josef Chlachula Comments Off on Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) has indeed become very observable with the naked eye after all. It can be photographed quite well with smartphones. Of course, a camera with a larger aperture provides a better image, not to mention the quality lenses. How to find the comet in the sky is described quite well in the Sky and Telescope article  Comet […]
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Root River Park 2024

June 11, 2024 Josef Chlachula Comments Off on Root River Park 2024
Root River Park is located south of Rochester and is owned by Olmstead County. It is a small but pretty park adjacent to the North branch of the Root river. Rochester residents don’t use this park much and that’s a shame. However, this park is beneficial to amateur astronomers. The sky is dark enough to observe faint objects on a […]
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Aurora on May 10, 2024

May 20, 2024 Josef Chlachula Comments Off on Aurora on May 10, 2024
The night of Friday, May 10, was the first night for club members under the dark skies of Eagle Bluff after a long winter. To our surprise, it wasn’t even dark yet and already we saw something very special – the Northern Lights, and even in the south. A few minutes later, while it was still dusk, the International Space […]
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Total Eclipse 2024

April 18, 2024 Josef Chlachula Comments Off on Total Eclipse 2024
Did you observe the last total solar eclipse on April 8? Do you have valuable photos, video or notes? Perhaps they are suitable for submission and certification by the Astronomical League. Here is the information you need for submission: Location of the observer’s site, including longitude and latitude* Date and time of the observations (either UT or local time)* Instrument […]
Sola Fide observatory, Austin MN
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Cedar River Club meeting in Austin

February 9, 2024 Josef Chlachula Comments Off on Cedar River Club meeting in Austin
The Cedar River Astronomy Club in Austin, MN has meeting on Friday 2/9/24 on 7 PM. See more at https://www.hormelnaturecenter.org/upcoming-programs-and-events.html The Cedar River Astronomy Club‘s mission is to connect people with interest in astronomy and give hands on experience exploring the night sky while helping with outreach at the Sola Fide Observatory. In 1993, the Cedar River Astronomy Club was […]
Old Frontenac Outlook
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Frontenac Summer

July 30, 2023 Josef Chlachula Comments Off on Frontenac Summer
On Saturday, July 29, a long-planned astronomical observation took place in Frontenac State Park. Fortunately, the weather was nice and clear. People can especially enjoy walking the various trails in the park. For example, the Lower Bluffside Trail Loop takes you all the way down to the Mississippi River here called Lake Pepin. Members of the Rochester Astronomy Club arrived […]
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Supernova in M101

May 29, 2023 Josef Chlachula Comments Off on Supernova in M101
Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki on May 18 2023 discovered supernova in the Galaxy M101 Pinwheel. Supernova was designated with name SN 2023ixf and it is about 21 million light years distant. Galaxy Messier 101  is well known to the amateur astronomers and it’s easy to find it close to the handle of Big Dipper. Now it’s passing every evening local […]
NOAA forecast
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March Northern lights

March 24, 2023 Josef Chlachula Comments Off on March Northern lights
On the evening of March 23, NOAA predicted increased auroral activity in the auroral ring over Greenland and Canada. This activity was expected to affect Minnesota at a lower intensity. The aurora was clearly visible to the naked eye even from light-polluted Rochester. One could even suspect that the streaks and clouds had some color tint. The color stands out […]
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Members Blog

Astronomy League Carbon stars list

February 17, 2023 Josef Chlachula Comments Off on Astronomy League Carbon stars list
Table based on AstroLeague.org observing program Carbon Stars file CarbonStarList3.pdf. # Name RA DEC Mag. Per Con Type Cat HIP Desig HD Desig 1 WZ Cas 00 01 15 +60 21 19 6.9-11.0 186 Cas C9(N1) SAO 21002 HIP 99 HD 224855 2 SU And 00 04 36 +43 33 04 8.0-8.5 Irr. And C6(Nb) GSC 2793:243 HIP 363 HD […]