Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 

Don't miss the last Soldiers Delight Star Party of 2024 - Saturday, December 21, 2024

 

Soldiers Delight Star Party - December 21, 2024

"The Search for Exoplanets"

Tonight, we embark on an exciting journey beyond our solar system to explore the fascinating world of exoplanets and the quest for habitable zones. The search for exoplanets—planets orbiting stars outside our solar system—has revolutionized our understanding of the universe and our place within it. With advancements in technology and the dedication of astronomers worldwide, we have discovered thousands of these distant worlds, each with its own unique characteristics. Our discussion will delve into the methods used to detect these planets, the criteria that define a habitable zone, and the implications of finding potentially life-supporting environments beyond Earth. Join me as we unravel the mysteries of these distant realms and consider the profound question: Are we alone in the universe?

December Highlights

Meteor Showers

December 12: Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks
The Geminids are quite active during their peak, with up to 120 meteors per hour. But a nearly full moon this year could make some of the dimmer ones harder to see. 

Planetary Views

Venus: Venus keeps getting brighter this month as it moves closer to Earth (it will reach its closest point in February of 2025).
Jupiter:  the king of planets will be at opposition on Saturday, December 7.
Mars: Increasing in brightness throughout the month, visible in the late evening.

December 15: Full “Cold” Moon

December’s full moon, which is nicknamed the cold moon, the oak moon and the black moon, will peak at 4:02 am on December 15.

Constellations

Orion: The beautiful constellation of Orion rises in the early evening, a favorite for stargazers.

All programs are Rain or Shine. All ages.

Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.

Activity: "Where Are the Distant Worlds?" and "What is the "Habitable Zone"?

Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024

Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

Location:

Soldiers Delight Environmental Area
5100 Deer Park Rd.
Owings Mills, MD 21117

Join us at the Soldiers Delight Star Party - November 16, 2024

Soldiers Delight Star Party - November 16, 2024

"Exploring the Wonders of Our Solar System: A Journey Across Planetary Realms."

Tonight, we embark on a cosmic voyage, traversing the vast expanse of space to unveil the marvels and mysteries that inhabit our celestial neighborhood. We will embark on a grand tour of our solar system, from the scorching inferno of Mercury to the icy depths of the Kuiper Belt. Along the way, we will encounter gas giants adorned with swirling storms, rocky worlds scarred by eons of cosmic collisions, and icy moons harboring secrets of their own.

November Highlights

Meteor Showers

Southern Taurids: Peaking on November 4-5, this shower is known for its bright fireballs.
Northern Taurids: Following closely, this shower peaks on November 11-12 and often aligns with the Southern Taurids for a double meteor show.
Leonids: Known for their swift, bright meteors, the Leonids peak on November 17-18.

Planetary Views

Venus: Becoming more prominent in the western evening sky.
Jupiter: Visible in the east, shining brightly among the stars of Taurus.
Saturn: Located in the south, with its stunning rings visible through a telescope.
Mars: Increasing in brightness throughout the month, visible in the late evening.
Mercury: An evening object, though challenging to view due to its low position on the southwest horizon.

Supermoon

Beaver Moon: The fourth and final supermoon of 2024, offering a spectacular view.

Constellations

Orion: The beautiful constellation of Orion rises in the early evening, a favorite for stargazers.

All programs are Rain or Shine. All ages.
Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.

Activity: Making a Comet

Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024

Time: 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

Location:

Soldiers Delight Environmental Area
5100 Deer Park Rd.
Owings Mills, MD 21117

Sun Eats Comet

Back on Oct 1, 2024, I posted that the ATLAS survey in Hawaii had discovered another new comet that would become bright in Earth’s skies. Predictions for C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) had it reaching as bright as magnitude -5 to -7 when it comes closest to the sun, at perihelion, on October 28. But now it appears likely that the Sun has devoured this latest interloper. The latest imagery from the sun-observing SOHO spacecraft suggests that Comet S1 did not survive its run-in with the sun. On its approach to today’s perihelion, the once-promising sungrazer comet seems to vanish from the spacecraft’s field of view. Presumably, the comet has disintegrated.

Complete article can be found at EarthSky

More of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

I'm still processing the camera shots of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS that I took on Thursday from the church property in Westminster, but yesterday I noticed that the comet was high enough in the sky now to be visible from my home above the trees. So, I imaged it with my wide field ZS61 telescope and ASI533 camera. Later this coming week I'll image it with my EdgeHD11 to get real close and hopefully some more fine detail in the tail(s).

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS - October 18, 2024 - 7:30pm EDT
ZS61/ASI533mc - 17x60sec

New Photos of Comet A3

Skies cleared wonderfully this evening, so I set up my camera at my church property and snapped away! 

Here are the first images to be processed, I'll get to the rest later this week.

Image one is a stacked composite using Astro Pixel Processor to register and stack the comet and PSP to enhance the image. The anti-tail is plainly visible.

Comet A3 - October 15, 2024 7:28 pm EDT
Canon 70D - 22 stacked subs
70mm, ISO 400, f/5 5sec per sub 

Image two is a single photo, taken at the end of my session at 18mm, processed in PSP to enhance the image.

Comet A3 - October 15, 2024 - 7:59 pm EDT
Canon 70D - f/4, ISO3200, 18mm, 5 sec

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas has an anti-tail!

Comet A3 has an anti-tail! Can you see it?

What's so special about an anti-tail? Well ... ordinary comet tails always point away from the sun. That's because they're created by solar radiation pressure and by solar wind streaming out from our star. But – as of Sunday – Comet A3 also has a rare anti-tail pointing toward the sun. An anti-tail appears as Earth crosses the comet’s orbital plane, as it has been since Sunday and will be through this evening. A discussion of A3's rare anti-tail can be found at EarthSky.

Here are a few photos of A3 with it's anti-tail. I was actually able to capture it in my photos from Monday (see Sky and Rockets: Additional Processing of Tsuchinshan-Atlas) but these are really excellent.

Yarelis Medina caught the anti-tail of Comet A3
on October 13, 2024, from Utuado, Puerto Rico.

By Anis Abdul
Pontotoc, TX, USA, Pontotoc, TX, United States
AstroBin

Soldiers Delight Star Party this Saturday

“Unlocking the Cosmic Secrets: The James Webb Space Telescope”

Join us on a captivating journey beyond the visible spectrum! The JWST, humanity’s latest cosmic sentinel, is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the universe. Imagine peering through the veil of dust and time, witnessing the birth of galaxies, the dance of exoplanets, and the cosmic symphony of star formation. In this exclusive talk, we’ll delve into the cutting-edge science, awe-inspiring innovations, and mind-boggling discoveries that await us. Buckle up, stargazers—Webb has already challenged our understanding of the Universe and is continuing to unveil the cosmos as never before!

All programs are Rain or Shine. Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.

Date: Saturday, October 19, 2024

Time: 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Eastern

Location:

Soldiers Delight Environmental Area
5100 Deer Park Rd.
Owings Mills, MD 21117

Additional Processing of Tsuchinshan-Atlas

Spent some time stacking 14 individual 10sec images to get a cleaner, slightly more detailed image of the comet.

First sighting of Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas

Tonight was the first evening that I expected comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas to be visible, possibly with the naked eye, but certainly in binoculars. Originally, I was going to view it at my church in Westminster, but the overlook on Deer Park road, just west of the Soldiers Delight Visitor Center (where I give lectures every third Saturday evening) was just a couple of minutes from where I live and has a nice parking area facing west.

I arrived at 6:00PM and there was already about 10 or so folks gathering to photograph the comet. Had a great time talking with everyone while waiting for the sky to darken a bit and the comet to show. Some rather thick clouds were obscuring the western horizon, but as soon as it got reasonably dark Tsuchinshan-Atlas made it's appearance. It appeared to be quite dim, but that could have been due to the cirrus and cirrostratus clouds covering the area. Fairly easy to spot with binoculars - tail extending about 10 degrees nearly straight up.

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas - October 13, 2024 - 7:41PM EDT
Canon 70D - 32mm f/4 ISO 800 10sec
Processed in Paint Shop Pro

Weather prospects are still fairly good for the next few evenings, and with the comet rising a bit each day it should be easier to pick out. I'll be imaging it every night, weather permitting.

Aurora Here In Reisterstown

Although I try to announce when astronomical events will happen reasonably in advance of the event auroras are hard to anticipate and predict. Partially because I've never seen one myself and it is very rare to see them at all this far south (they are a northern sky event, hence the popular name "Northern Lights".

However, I was ready to post about the likelihood of seeing the aurora after 10:00pm tonight when I get a Facebook notification from my astronomy club (WASI) that the event is happening NOW (that was at about 7:00 - 7:30 pm). It is still possible to see it throughout the evening, but the major portion may have already gone by.

Here are a few pics from my iPhone taken from my front yard in Reisterstown, MD.

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas visible soon!

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas (C/2023 A3) should be bright enough to see with the naked eye very soon! The comet will be closest to Earth this Saturday but should be visible through the end of October given that there are clear skies. It will get dimmer as it climbs higher in the western sky so if you want to see it without optical aid early in the month would be preferable. It will still be low in the sky so seek out a good location that won't have trees or buildings in the way.

To get the best view of the comet, go outside about an hour after sunset and look west. While you should be able to see the comet with the naked eye given clear skies, binoculars and telescopes will give you a better view of it. 

Here is a chart showing the location of the comet through October.

Two comets coming soon ... yes, two!

Comet 'no-name' - a bright sungrazer?

Ok, if you've been keeping up with the astronomy news of the last few weeks you already know about comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) (see my post of Aug 31). In mid-October it should be well placed in the western sky just after sunset for those of us in the northern hemisphere and rising higher every day afterward. Reports from folks down in NZ and Aus have indicated that it has survived the perihelion passage (Sept 27) and is putting on a great show. I'll be posting an update later this week.

Tsuchinshan-ATLAS - photo by Ian Griffin
Mount John - Lake Tekapo South Island NZ 

But the exciting news is that the ATLAS survey in Hawaii has discovered another new comet (September 27, 2024) that could become bright in Earth’s skies. This comet is so new it’s still waiting for its name (current designation is A11bP7I). Predictions for the comet have it reaching as bright as magnitude -5 to -7 when it comes closest to the sun, at perihelion, on October 28. That would make the comet even brighter than the brightest planet, Venus. It might even be visible in the daytime sky. As with Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, this comet will first make its appearance in the southern hemisphere before making its debut in the north during the early morning hours in late October and early November. A11bP7I is part of the Kreutz sungrazers. These are comets that come perilously close to the sun, where they can disintegrate or, if we’re lucky, become fantastically bright. We'll see.

Reschedule of "The James Webb Telescope" talk at Soldiers Delight

“Unlocking the Cosmic Secrets: The James Webb Space Telescope”

NOTE:  Due to unforeseen circumstances, the September 21st event (same topic) was cancelled at the last minute. The same topic is therefore being offered in October.

Join us on a captivating journey beyond the visible spectrum! The JWST, humanity’s latest cosmic sentinel, is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the universe. Imagine peering through the veil of dust and time, witnessing the birth of galaxies, the dance of exoplanets, and the cosmic symphony of star formation. In this exclusive talk, we’ll delve into the cutting-edge science, awe-inspiring innovations, and mind-boggling discoveries that await us. Buckle up, stargazers—Webb has already challenged our understanding of the Universe and is continuing to unveil the cosmos as never before!

All programs are Rain or Shine. Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.


Date: Saturday, October 19, 2024
Time: 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.EDT

Location: Soldiers Delight Environmental Area
5100 Deer Park Rd.

Owings Mills, MD 21117 

Soldiers Delight Star Party - Sept 21

“Unlocking the Cosmic Secrets: The James Webb Space Telescope”

Join us on a captivating journey beyond the visible spectrum! The JWST, humanity’s latest cosmic sentinel, is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the universe. Imagine peering through the veil of dust and time, witnessing the birth of galaxies, the dance of exoplanets, and the cosmic symphony of star formation. In this exclusive talk, we’ll delve into the cutting-edge science, awe-inspiring innovations, and mind-boggling discoveries that await us. Buckle up, stargazers—Webb has already challenged our understanding of the Universe and is continuing to unveil the cosmos as never before!

All programs are Rain or Shine. Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.


Date: Saturday, September 21, 2024
Time: 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.EDT

Location: Soldiers Delight Environmental Area
5100 Deer Park Rd.
Owings Mills, MD 21117

September News from Sky and Rockets

What's Up for the rest of September

After a great run of clear nights here in Maryland (and I took advantage of that by imaging three new deep space objects - to be posted later this month) there are a few items still upcoming.

Lunar Events

During the night of September 17–18 we will be treated to a partial lunar eclipse; and very partial at that. This will be the first and only time the Moon ducks into Earth’s umbral shadow in 2024 - covering a teeny, teeny bit of the moon in darkness. Mid eclipse occurs around 10:44 pm EDT.

Eclipse phases by time zone

Eclipse Event	UT	ADT	EDT	CDT	MDT	PDT	AKDT
Penumbra first visible?	~1:30	~10:30 p.m.	~9:30 p.m.	~8:30 p.m.	~7:30 p.m.	—	—
Partial eclipse begins	2:12	11:12 p.m.	10:12 p.m.	9:12 p.m.	8:12 p.m.	7:12 p.m.	—
Mid-eclipse	2:44	11:44 p.m.	10:44 p.m.	9:44 p.m.	8:44 p.m.	7:44 p.m.	—
Partial eclipse ends	3:17	12:17 a.m.	11:17 p.m.	10:17 p.m.	9:17 p.m.	8:17 p.m.	7:17 p.m.
Penumbra last visible?	~4:10	1:10 a.m.	12:10 a.m.	11:10 p.m.	10:10 p.m.	9:10 p.m.	8:10 p.m.

Partial eclipse phases and times on September 17–18, 2024. Dashes indicate the Moon is still below the horizon for that time zone. Source: USNO and Sky and Telescope

On September 17th, the morning before the eclipse, observers in the western half of North America, Hawai'i, and parts of Indonesia and Australia can watch the waxing Moon occult the planet Saturn. Check the International Occultation Timing Association's website for a map and details on times for individual cities.

Five mornings later on September 22nd, the waning gibbous Moon occults the Pleiades star cluster. The passage is nearly central for many U.S. locations and multiple stars will be covered. Observers in the eastern half of the country will see the occultation during morning twilight; in the western states it happens in darkness.

Here is the position of the Moon at 6:00 am for the Baltimore MD area. The sky will be reasonably dark but getting brighter soon after. Telescopes and binoculars will provide a pretty view and you may even be able to witness some occultations (Electra (17) at about 6:11 and Merope (23) at 6:48 for Reisterstown MD.)

Soldier's Delight Star Party

On Saturday evening, September 21, 2024, at 8:00 - 11:00 pm, meet us at Soldier's Delight visitor center for a great talk on the James Webb Space Telescope. We'll discuss the building of the massive telescope, it's launch, where it is now and the science it was designed for. Lots of awesome photos will be presented. In addition I'll discuss and provide information on the Pleiades lunar occultations.

Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area
5100 Deer Park Road
Owings Mills MD 21117

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS on its way for a great show in October

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), first discovered in early 2023, has been zooming towards the inner solar system ever since. Earlier this year it was touted as potentially becoming the brightest comet in decades. Then some news came that it may have already started to 'self destruct' as it approached the sun.

August 10th with a 2.8′ coma and 16.9′ tail

Despite fears that it may be disintegrating, the comet was spotted by NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft on the other side of the sun and seems to be in good health (whatever good health means for a ball of dirty ice). I'm anticipating some good news in the next few weeks, but comets are very fickle, and they do what they want - remember comet ISON?

September 27th marks the date of perihelion, the point in the comet's orbit when it is closest to the sun. After perihelion passage C/2023 A3 will start moving away from the solar system. If it survives perihelion, it will then race upward in the western sky - prime viewing for us in the northern hemisphere. 

On October 9, 2024, C/2023 A3 will be close to the sun but may be visible if the comet turns out to be as bright as the most optimistic forecasts claim it might - as bright as Venus. Each night it gets higher and higher and will be easier to spot against the darker sky.  But it's also getting dimmer and dimmer, and any tail will start to decrease in length as the comet leaves the sun's vicinity. 

Key events:

October 10 - comet head glows brightly with an ion tail rising straight up. The dust tail should be splendid due to the forward scattering effect as it is situated between us and the sun.

October 13 - a sunward-pointing anti-tail forms, as the comet now can be seen in a darker sky about 14 degrees in altitude at 7:00pm EDT.

October 15 - Tsuchinshan-ATLAS passes close to M5, the Rose Cluster, a globular cluster of stars. In a dark sky away from the light pollution of nearby cities. Binoculars should show the pair in the same field of view.

Each night the comet moves about 3 - 4 degrees higher and to the SW. It should remain visible until the end of the month. Those with small telescopes can follow it into November.

A great simulation by Nicolaus Lefaudeux (hdr-astrophotography) shows the anticipated two apparition highlights — the growth of an approximately15° dust tail and even longer gas tail from September 28th through October 2nd. When C/2023 A3 climbs away from the Sun in the evening sky, its dust tail will stretch about 10°, with a gas tail possibly as long as 40°! Viewing circumstances at dusk are also ideal for viewing the comet's anti-tail, which may rival that of Comet Arend-Roland in 1957.

More to come as we get closer to the end of September.

 

Green Flash

Green Flash by Nikita Misiura
© nekitmm

Nikita Misiura, a member of Astrobin, the service that hosts my Astro photos, has published an awesome picture of the famous (but illusive) green flash. I've never seen this phenomenon myself, let alone image it, but this is incredible. Hats off to you Nikita. He also received the Image of the Day (IOTD) award for his effort. Check out the details on his Astrobin page.

The Perseids are coming

The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most spectacular annual celestial events! This year, the Perseids will peak around the night of August 11th and the early hours of August 12th. During the peak, you can expect to see up to 100 meteors per hour under ideal conditions. 

So, what are 'ideal' conditions?

Most important is to find a dark spot. Try to get away from city lights to a location with minimal light pollution. Look towards the constellation Perseus. The meteors will appear to radiate from this area in the sky. The chart below gives you an idea on where the meteors will appear to be coming from, but they can appear anywhere in the sky. After midnight is best as the radiant rises higher in the sky.

Radiant point is about 28° high in the NE at
midnight on the 12th of August for observers
at 40° N latitude

Be patient. Give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness and bring a blanket or chair to stay comfortable. Let me know how many you see.

AP Mount back in action

Saturday, I reported a situation with my telescope mount controller. It appeared to be dead-in-the-water and I was set to return it to the manufacturer for a repair visit.

Late Saturday I got some correspondence from the wonderful folks at Astro-Physics. They had a conversation about my problem and one of the engineers recommended that I remove the cover of the control box and check to see if the main circuit board has loosened itself from its connection slot. They sent me detailed instructions and gave me the OK to try the fix. 

It turned out that the board was indeed loose, and so I reseated it and closed up the box. It solved my problem! I now have USB, Ethernet and WiFi communication working again. It's a good day when a simple, end user, no cost fix solves a big problem. Cudos to AP for thinking this one out.

Soldiers Delight Star Party Lecture - August 17

The Cosmic Distance Scale: A Journey Across the Universe

Ever wondered how astronomers determine the distances to the planets, stars and galaxies? Then why not stop by the Soldiers Delight Visitor Center at 5100 Deer Park Rd., Owings Mills, MD 21117, August 17, at 8:00pm. I am the host for these events which are scheduled for the third Saturday of each month - April through October. Each month I present a 'down-to-earth' presentation based on some specific area of Astronomy and Space. Presentations can be fairly detailed (to keep the adults interested), but I always try to make sure everyone learns something. And yes, they are kid-friendly, and frequently include a hands-on fun project (to keep the younger crowd happy too). As a bonus, if the sky is clear, telescopes are usually set-up to observe something after the lecture. 

August's Topic:  "The Cosmic Distance Scale: A Journey Across the Universe"

Join us for an enlightening voyage through the vastness of space! Our stellar navigators will unravel the secrets of cosmic distances, allowing us to piece together the fabric of the universe. 

We’ll start close to home, measuring the astronomical unit (AU) within our Solar System. Then, step by step, we’ll extend our reach into the cosmic expanse. Learn how astronomers use parallax—the apparent shift in a star’s position—to measure distances to nearby stars. Ground-based parallaxes reveal secrets up to 100 parsecs away, while the Hipparcos mission extends our cosmic tape measure to 1000 parsecs.

Sometimes, we can’t rely on geometry alone. Enter the “standard candles”—objects whose luminosities we know. By comparing their apparent brightness to their true luminosity, we unlock distances to galaxies and quasars. It’s like pulling ourselves up by cosmic bootstraps!

These distances form the foundation for understanding our universe’s past, present, and future. From the expanding cosmos to the birth of stars, we’ll explore it all.

Buckle up, stargazers! Reserve your seat for this cosmic odyssey.

All programs are Rain or Shine. Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.

Specific details can be found at Night Sky Network.

A Parody of Errors

Back on June 21, 2024, I setup the telescope and powered everything up ready to do some visual astronomy for a change. The sky was quite clear for a summer evening and the temperature was bearable. Astrophotography is my love, but every now and then looking through the Edge11 with an eyepiece at double stars and the planets is very satisfying. I was set - so, you know where this is going, right?

I was unable to remotely connect to my NUC on the pier. And without the connection, I can't move the scope (I don't own a handset). Then, the clouds showed up, so I decided to pack up and check out the NUC later in the week. 

It wasn't until returning from our trip to Iceland in late June-early July that I got the NUC communicating remotely on my network again. It was a setting, of course, that somehow got changed. Ok, great, now it was time to wait yet again for a clear night. Got one on July 27.

First, I updated my imaging software since the new version was released and I wanted to check it out. Then, powerup the system and ... "Hello mount - why are you connecting to the NUC?" Spent all night trying to diagnose what was wrong. The USB port appeared to be dead. Not a problem, connect via ethernet - no go. Try WiFI - no go. Argh - shut everything down; diagnose the issue the next day.

Spend the next day re-installing windows and rebuilding my NUC thinking the problem was a corrupt operating system environment. But that wasn't it.

After many email exchanges with Astro-Physics, the manufacturer/vendor of my mount and control box, we determined the USB port was probably bad, but I was able to get the ethernet and WiFi connection working. Had to buy a LAN splitter to send the network connection to both NUC and mount control box, but that arrived the very next day from Amazon (love Amazon). Tested everything in my workshop before re-installing everything at the pier. Lookin' good.

Yesterday I setup the telescope ready to complete the installation of the new software on the rebuilt NUC and test out the telescope. The control box refused to connect! Not by ethernet or WiFi. Ah, a broken power supply connection. Fixed that and tried again. Nope! No connection.

Bring everything into the cool workshop and try to determine what's going on - it was working a few days ago. After 3 hours, I gave up. It seems that possibly whatever caused the USB port to die has now infected the remaining connection paths.

Next step - return the control box to Astro-Physics and have them take a look at it. Want a bet we have the longest string of clear nights while my control box is being repaired? Ha.

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas may be disintegrating

As reported by EarthSky this week it looks as though Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas may be in the process of disintegrating. Discovered in early 2023, the comet had the possibility of brightening substantially around the time of its closest approach to Earth and the sun in October, 2024. But in recent months, as Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has been approaching the inner solar system, it should have been brightening. And observers were perplexed because they did not notice a brightness increase during the past three months.

Comet A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS from Puerto Rico on July 8, 2024.
Image via Efrain Morales/ Eddie Irizarry

I was cautiously anticipating getting to image this comet in September and October, but over the years of my comet observing I recognize that comets are fickle, and they do what they want to do. It was in October of 2013 that I purchased my EdgeHD telescope in preparation for comet ISON, which was expected to reach naked eye visibility in November and rival the greatest comets of all time. Then, in late November, news came that ISON was rapidly disintegrating. It never survived it's swing around the sun! 

Hopes were widely expressed that C/2023 A3 would become a naked-eye object about the time of its perihelion passage in late 2024. However, based on its past and current performance, the comet is expected to disintegrate before reaching perihelion. Independent lines of evidence point to its forthcoming inevitable collapse.

However, as I have said, comets are notorious for being erratic and unpredictable. So, we will have to wait a few more weeks and see what happens to the comet next. But I'm not very optimistic about the outcome.

Soldiers Delight Star Party - this Saturday, June 15

 Hosted by

  Westminster Astronomical Society

Looking for something to do this Saturday night? Have an interest in astronomy? Then why not stop by the Soldiers Delight Visitor Center at 5100 Deer Park Rd., Owings Mills, MD 21117, June 15, at 8:00pm. I am the host for these events which are scheduled for the third Saturday of each month - April through October. Each month I present a 'down-to-earth' presentation based on some specific area of Astronomy and Space. Presentations can be fairly detailed (to keep the adults interested), but I always try to make sure everyone learns something. And yes, they are kid-friendly, and frequently include a hands-on fun project (to keep the younger crowd happy too). As a bonus, if the sky is clear, telescopes are usually set-up to observe something after the lecture. 

June's topic is: "The Quest for Cosmic Companions"

For millennia, humanity has pondered one of the most profound questions: Are we alone in the universe? This question, which has captivated the minds of scientists, philosophers, and dreamers alike, lies at the heart of our exploration of intelligent life beyond Earth. Tonight we will provide an overview of this age-old question, drawing upon the pioneering work of physicist Dr. Frank Drake and his eponymous equation for estimating the number of communicative civilizations in our galaxy.

All programs are Rain or Shine. Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.

Specific details can be found at Night Sky Network.

Soldiers Delight Star Party

Hosted by

  Westminster Astronomical Society

If you are local to the Baltimore, MD area and have an interest in astronomy, why not stop by the Soldiers Delight Visitor Center at 5100 Deer Park Rd., Owings Mills, MD 21117 on Saturday evening, May 18, at 8:00pm. I am the host for these events which are scheduled for the third Saturday of each month - April through October. Each month I present a 'down-to-earth' presentation based on some specific area of Astronomy and Space. Presentations can be fairly detailed (to keep the adults interested), but I always try to make sure everyone learns something. And yes, they are kid-friendly, and frequently include a hands-on fun project (to keep the younger crowd happy too). As a bonus, if the sky is clear, telescopes are usually set-up to observe something after the lecture. 

May's topic is: "Exploring the Wonders of Our Solar System: A Journey Across Planetary Realms."

Tonight, we embark on a cosmic voyage, traversing the vast expanse of space to unveil the marvels and mysteries that inhabit our celestial neighborhood. We will embark on a grand tour of our solar system, from the scorching inferno of Mercury to the icy depths of the Kuiper Belt. Along the way, we will encounter gas giants adorned with swirling storms, rocky worlds scarred by eons of cosmic collisions, and icy moons harboring secrets of their own.

All programs are Rain or Shine. Time machines will be provided by the Westminster Astronomy Club.

Specific details can be found at Night Sky Network.

More Astrophotos from my Backlog

I just completed the post-processing of a couple of objects from my backlog - one from Feb 6, 2024 (open star cluster M35) and the other the Wizard Nebula imaged between September 5 and September 18, 2023.

M35

M35, Open Cluster in Gemini
WO ZS61/ASI1600mm Pro
Feb 6, 2024 - 24x60sec RGB

M35, also known as NGC 2168 or the Shoe-Buckle Cluster, is a relatively close open cluster of stars located in the constellation Gemini. It lies approximately 2,970 light-years away from Earth. Directly above in this image is NGC 2158  which, although looks like a globular cluster, recent data shows it to be a very compact open cluster, with a radius of 8 light years and an estimated age of around 2 billion years. It lies approximately 14,700 light-years away from us, far beyond the nearby M35 cluster.

The Wizard Nebula

Wizard Nebula (in SHO, Narrowband Palette)
September 2023 - EdgeHD11/ASI2600mm Pro
Integration Time: 17h 15m

The Wizard Nebula (NGC 7380) is an emission nebula that surrounds the open star cluster NGC 7380 in the constellation Cepheus. The nebula gets its name as it is said to resemble the appearance of a medieval sorcerer when viewed sideways. It lies approximately 7200 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 7.2. It has a radius of 100 light years and occupies 25 arc minutes of the apparent sky. For comparison, the moon has an apparent size of approximately 31 arc minutes (about 1/2 degree).

This image was another capture session from my backlog of projects. Because of it's size and the fact that I was using my Edge OTA, this is also one of the few mosaic images that I have processed. It is a two panel mosaic taken over the period September 5 to September 18, 2023. Each panel has 33x600sec subs of NB data and 30x30sec subs of RGB data for the stars.

The Dumbbell Nebula - M27

Getting around to completing the postprocessing of a number of astro objects in my backlog. Part of my backlog of image runs, this image contains subs taken over the period August 8, 10, 11 and September 1 and 2, 2023.

The Dumbbell Nebula (M27) - Aug/Sep 2023
EdgeHD-11 / ASI2600mm Pro
Hubble Palette (HOO) - total integration time: 14h 15m

The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 27, and NGC 6853, is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Vulpecula, approximately 1360 light-years away from us. It was the first planetary nebula to be discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. It appears as an elongated spheroid from our perspective along the plane of its equator. Based on its angular expansion rate of 2.3 arcseconds per century, M27 has an estimated age of 14,600 years.  Its apparent magnitude of 7.4 makes it one of the largest and brightest planetary nebulae in the sky. (Wiki)

Planetary nebulae are clouds of gas and dust that form when a star like the Sun dies. The star's outer layers are shed, forming the nebula, while the core becomes a white dwarf. The nebula's complex chemicals glow in interesting colors when lit by the white dwarf. It is the light from this glow, mainly from excited Hydrogen gas (Hα) and Oxygen (Oiii), that my photographic filters allow through to the camera sensor - all other light is blocked. Images taken in this way are known as narrowband images since they only contain light from a very narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Hubble Palette includes Hα, Oiii and Sii (Sulphur). Since there is very little contribution from Sii in M27's light, I used a modified Hubble Palette which only captures Hα and Oiii (known as the HOO palette).

Since M27 glows very bright in normal light as well, here is the same image taken with RGB subs, 20 of each color (broadband imaging, at an exposure of only 60 seconds each for comparison.  

M27 - RGB
EdgeHD-11 / ASI2600mm Pro
20x60sec - total integration time: 1hr

Updated photos of the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

The total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 as taken at Vermilion, OH.  The front moved out of the area but left behind some high, thin clouds, which did not prevent the viewing of this fantastic eclipse, but did prevent me from capturing the full span of the sun's corona. This composite photo shows the eclipse at mid-eclipse (center). The top left image shows the lunar limb just after 2nd contact with the bottom right showing the other side just before 3rd contact. The view with the naked eye was awesome. I did not see the solar prominences with the eye during the 2017 eclipse. The southern prominence in this display was outstanding - looking to the eye as an electrical storm blasting out from the sun. Photos just don't do justice to the sharpness and clarity that was evident while enjoying this celestial event.

Photos were taken with my William Optics GT102 and Canon 50D body mounted on an iOptron iEQ30 mount. Everything was checked out the Sunday before the event. I had created a script (or plan as APT calls it) to run the sequence of exposures bracketing up to 3 stops either side of nominal exposure. I wanted to spend most of my time observing the eclipse with photography a second priority. I missed capturing the diamond ring during the 2017 event when I forgot to remove the solar filter. I missed it this year since I didn't start the plan on time. Everything was ready to go, I had worked out the specific times for each exposure provided I started the plan 30 seconds before 2nd contact. At precisely 15:12:15 I pressed the 'start' button and ... nothing. Tried again - nothing. Finally I realized that I still had the camera set for live view (as I was using that to capture the partial phases and make sure focus was maintained). Argh, I quickly turned live view off and started the plan. But now the sequence was late by about 30 seconds or so. Next time (if I'm still around for next time) I'll have multiple plans that can be started at later times in the event that the first one fails.

This was a real joy to experience and I was very happy with the results. A total eclipse is one of those astronomical events that simply can't be missed if at all possible.

Exploded views of lunar limb showing the solar prominences:

The sizes of these solar prominences are huge. In the image below the Earth is shown next to the southern prominence for comparison.

Details on the image capture

HDR Combination of 1/30, 1/60 and 1/125 seconds with ISO400.
Top Left:  3:13:34 EDT
Center:  3:15:04 EDT
Bottom Right:  3:16:32 EDT

Solar Eclipse from Vermilion OH

We arrived at Vermilion OH on Saturday, late afternoon, to our rental house which had a great backyard for viewing the eclipse.

Equipment was set up and tested on Sunday. I had written a script for APT to automatically run the series of exposures varying the duration based on time in order to capture Bailey's Beads and maybe the Diamond Ring. Weather forecast was promising only high level clouds during the event.

Monday morning the scope/equipment was set up outside and tested one more time. The script would require me to start it precisely at 15:12:15 in order to maintain the order of exposures. I spent the partial phase time making sure the focus was good. After capturing a number of photos of the partial phase the time of second contact (start of the total phase) was getting close.

At precisely 15:12:15 I pressed the start button to run the script. Nothing. I pressed it again. Still, nothing! I then realized that I was still in Live-Mode (which prevents the script from running). I quickly turned off Live-Mode, started the script and ran back to the telescope to remove the filter. I knew that getting the Diamond Ring and Bailey's Beads was probably not going to happen as the script was now off-sequence. But I didn't want to miss out on at least seeing them with the naked eye.

Although the clouds probably masked the outer corona as it didn't appear to extend very far, the view of the coronal ring with all those red prominences was a sight to see. The ring was bright. Brighter than the one during the 2017 eclipse. And the prominence at the bottom of the sun was absolutely stunning. It almost looked like a blazing red fire igniting the base of the moon.

As expected, initial review of the photos showed a good number of images capturing the total phase in various durations but only one photo got a hint of Bailey's Beads. I'll take it! I will spend the next few days processing the images. Probably not surprising was the fact that the view through binoculars (and naked eye) seemed crisper and more colorful than the photos - at least, the unprocessed ones. Total solar eclipses are definitely meant to be seen live! 

Here is a single, unprocessed photo of the eclipse. All images were taken with my William Optics GT102 telescope and Canon 50D camera mounted on an iOptron eq30 Pro. 

Comet 12P/Pons Brooks

So I finally got around to capturing the periodic comet 12P/Pons Brooks.

Since I was not able to capture this comet from my permanent telescope at my home (too low to get above the tree line) I decided to get my portable scope upgraded (GT102 on iEQ30) and take a short trip to my home church in Westminster.  There I was able to capture 32 subs using my ASI533 OSC. I stuck with just 60sec subs as the western sky here in Westminster at this time has a lot of aircraft traffic and even StarLink trails due to the early evening time frame. I took 70 subs and ended up with only 32 at the end. Had I gone with the 120 sec exposure rate I probably wouldn't have had a single sub with a trail! 

Comet 12P/Pons Brooks - March 21, 2024
GT102 Telescope / ASI533mc Camera
32 x 60 sec subs

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is a Halley-type periodic comet. It was first discovered by Jean-Louis Pons on July 12, 1812, and later independently rediscovered by William Robert Brooks in 1883. This comet has an orbital period of about 71.3 years. Note: So, if I didn't capture it now, I don't think I will have another opportunity :)

During its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion), comet 12P/Pons-Brooks comes within approximately 0.78 astronomical units (AU) (72.5 million miles) of the Sun. At its furthest point (aphelion), it is located at a distance of about 17.2 AU (1.6 billion miles). Interestingly, this comet is also associated with the κ-Draconids meteor shower.

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is expected to reach its maximum brightness, potentially becoming visible to the naked eye during the month of April. Coincidentally, its closest approach occurs just a few days before a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. 

Fossil Footprint Nebula

NGC 1491, also known as the Fossil Footprint Nebula (and other designations: SH2-206 and LBN 70), is an emission type bright nebula located approximately 10,700 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Perseus. Hot stars ionize the surrounding gas, causing it to glow in visible light. These stars, such as the blue 11.22 magnitude star BD+50 866, emit copious amounts of ultraviolet radiation, which ionizes the hydrogen gas forming the nebula. This hot star is also creating a bubble in the gas that immediately surrounds it.

NGC 1491 - Celestron EdgeHD 11"; ZWO ASI2600mm, Nov 3-8, 2023
Total integration time: 16.5 hours

This image was acquired over a six night period: November 3 through November 8, 2023. It was processed in the standard Hubble Palette with RGB stars added in. Longer sub exposure times would probably have brought in more of the subtle O3 and S2 signal, so this is definitely a subject for another try in the future. The image above is a 50% crop of the original wider field (below) which shows the expansive gas cloud, albeit quite dim.