fealeybob14

Some recent Starblast 4.5 in. telescope – Orion 6.3 megapixel images. The small inset (lower right) image is the colorful double star Alberio in Cygnus.

CME (on L) from earlier today (6-26) courtesy the SOHO LASCO C3 camera https://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime-images.html. The CME source is possibly the large sunspot group 3038. The background stars of the SOHO image, when compared to a Stellarium view at the time (R), show the sun’s position in Gemini near Castor’s left foot!

The sun continues to be active and interesting.  Below is image from today (6/20/2022) taken with the 4.5 inch Starblast reflector (with Orion sun filter) and the Orion 6.3 Mpixel camera.

Probable CME today (image).  The complex sunspot group (3007) may be the origin.

Two possible coronal mass ejections (CME’s) from th

An still image from a video taken April 21, 2002 shown below.  Lots of big sunspots!  I used the Starblast 4.5 in reflector with full sun filter and the Orion 6.3 megapixel color camera.

Well, I have to complement WeatherUnderground’s forecast for tonight and hope you changed your mind and were able to observe tonight  Josef!  Not able to go, I will nonetheless get out in my observatory for a bit of galaxy observing later tonight.  Hope those able to be at Eagle Bluff have a great Messier Marathon!

SOHO C3 showing an earth directed CME and Mercury approaching superior conjunction below.

How great to see the Falcon launch and then the first stage returning to Port Canaveral in person, John!  I am so envious!

It is disturbing to think Dr. Dudnik and other Ukrainian scientists may have to suspend their work because of the Russian invasion.  Even Russian scientists are against this war…[Read more]

Jupiter, approaching solar conjunction, appears now in SOHO’s C3 camera field of view https://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/c3/1024/latest.html.

So glad you guys got to see this launch!  Seems to be a great observation site (Kayak Beach), however difficult to get to.  Followed it on the Space X website and as usual the live coverage was awesome https://www.spacex.com/launches/cosmo-skymed/

Bob

John, did you get to see the Space X launch of the Italian satellite on the 31st ?  I know it was scrubbed 4 days in a row.  Sad if you missed it.

Bob

Thanks John and Kathy for the picture info!  Hoping your weather and SpaceX are ‘go’ for today’s launch!

Very nice John and Kathy.  What kind of camera/lens was Kathy using?

Would love to see a launch also John.  Very nice observation!

Another interesting observation appears in the SOHO C3 camera video (2 posts back) covering the last 3 days. On the 20th Mercury appears at the 10 o’clock position and moves to the right against the background stars of Capricorn.  As it does it appears to disappear!  So little of it…[Read more]

Brilliant Venus, approaching inferior conjunction, is now visible in C3 SOHO fov.  See above for a video (over the next 10 days) of the planets conjunction with the sun.  See also https://spaceweather.com/ for photos and details of the conjunction.

Wow! Did anyone get a photo of comet Leonard and M3 ? (See https://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=180044).  Hopefully we’ll have a nice binocular and small telescope view over the next month or two.

Having a recent Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of a planet you have photographed really helps one recognize subtle structures visible in one’s blurry pics.  In the attached image the Hubble image is part of yearly maps of each planet taken as part of the Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy program, or OPAL.  Check out Hubble’s recent photo…[Read more]

Whoops!  The Frontenac SP event noted above was on Nov 6th and not the 7th!