fealeybob14

Great shots Duane that show the extent of comet C 2023 A3’s long tail.

I’ve selected a cell phone picture that was taken through the 50 mm finder scope-2x Barlow lens- 20 mm eyepiece concoction that was guided by my telescope mount.  I’ve identified some stars and the globular cluster M5 as well.

One more time: a view last night 10-14 at RRP

Getting this message when posting: https://wordpress.org/support/topic/there-has-been-a-critical-error-on-your-website-134/.  Is there a work around or what am I doing wrong!?

The comet is now a pretty obvious naked eye object.  I was alone at Root River Park tonight and can heartily recommend this site as a great place to view the comet as it climbs higher in the western sky.  I had no trouble seeing the comet’s 10 degree tail and will be here tomorrow to take some pics.

Very nice pics Duane and Kirk!  We spotted the comet just east of due W and close to  the elevation of Venus.  Was difficult to see until the western sky darkened a bit and then it was a good binocular object with a 7 to 10 degree tail.  The photos above nicely capture what could be seen with binoculars.  As the comet climbs higher in the west…[Read more]

I would try to see it around 6:30 to 7 pm tonight.  It will be almost due West and at the same elevation as Venus above  the horizon.  The comet climbs higher over the next few days and I’d love to see it next to M5 on the 15th at 7 pm or so.  Root river has a good view of the due W horizon.

Very nice Josef.  Here another view from my backyard.

Geomagnetic storming with nice aurora over 2/3 of sky NOW! (9 pm 10-10-2024)

Look at this fantastic pic from SOHO today of a massive CME and the comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS near the sun!  We may get another G4 geomagnetic storm on Oct 10 and the comet may lose it’s tail!

At Okie-Tex this week Randy, Jerome and myself enjoyed the clear dark skies and views of galaxies (especially M77 in Cetus) and small planetary nebulae.
Last night back in Rochester I imaged M77 and noticed an edge on galaxy (which turned out to be NGC 1055). These are the two largest galaxies in their neighborhood approximately 50-60 million…[Read more]

Today I am on the way to the Okie-Tex Star Party! I think Randy and Jerome are going to be there as well.
I am taking my new setup of the Quattro 6 inch f/4 scope and HEQ5 Pro mount and hope to get some nice pics.
I used this combo a few nights ago to get the below picture of the Helix Nebula. I was surprised by the large size and color that…[Read more]

My story today discusses something old and something new. I recently severely cracked the corrector plate of my Meade 10 in SCT while moving it. As corrector plates are not off the shelf items I haven’t found a replacement. This loss triggered me to do something with my old Meade 8 in SCT which was collecting dust in my basement as it has a…[Read more]

I’ve been getting familiar with my new setup of scope and mount (Quattro 150P and HEQ5 pro respectively). Below is my attempt of M33 a popular target for amateurs and professionals. It graces the cover of the November 2024 Sky and Telescope and is a tempting target this time of year.
The photo below is 251, 5 second frames stacked with ASI…[Read more]

Dodge Center outreach event of 9-5-2024 was sparsely attended (mainly by club members and Ingvild Herfindahl the library director). Ingvild did her best to get the North Park lighting turned off but Excel Energy did not respond to her request. We had a good discussion during the presentation portion (about Orion-Meade departure from commercial…[Read more]

Outreach at Frontenac State Park last night (8/31) was outstanding. Large crowd of old and young, clear dark skies and great presentation and discussions by club members. Frontenac has fairly good horizons except to the east where tree tops block view a bit. A zenith dark sky recording appears below. Max readings (MPSAS = 21.07 and NELM =…[Read more]

Tonight we may be treated to both Perseid meteors and a geomagnetic storm with aurora.  I say “may” because both are a half day or so past peak.

The Gamehaven Summer Camp outing was well attended by scouts and staff, the latter very accommodating to RAC members.  Lights were off and the camp director’s plan for the activity was just right.  RAC members were given a Gamehaven Summer Camp 2024 patch at the end.  The patch appears in the attached figure, a dark sky meter recording below (t…[Read more]

Terrific Milky Way shot Duane! Nice corpuscular rays. Glad you two had fun at Root River.
I’ve been following solar cycle 25 closely on unmanned spaceflight. I don’t think the cycle has peaked as yet, at least based on sunspot numbers. Check out this link: https://spaceweather.com/images2024/02aug24/sunspotnumber2.jpg

I was lazy and stayed at my home observatory last nite.  Good skies for sure, so I hope Josef and Duane enjoyed observing at Root River.  I have a new mount and scope and was educating myself on how to operate them.  The mount is the HEQ5 Pro and the scope is the Quattro 150P, all Sky Watcher hardware.  Spent $2000+ of my savings, but hey I’m not…[Read more]

Excellent members event at Eagle Bluff last night and early this am.
A zenith dark sky recording is shown below