Relativity Space launches 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket

I've always wanted to try out the new 3D printers that are all the rage these days, but I would never have guessed that a Space company would, or could, print a working rocket. 

On Wednesday night a Seattle company, Relativity Space, launched the first 3D-printed rocket, named "Terran 1", on a test mission from Cape Canaveral.  The primary aim of the flight was to put a completely new launch vehicle through its paces, and place a small memento plaque into orbit.  

Methane-tinged blue flames - Relativity Space / Michael Baylor © Provided by Geekwire

The takeoff of the two-stage, 110-foot-tall Terran 1, was picture perfect, and unique in that the exhaust was bright blue owing from that fact that it used Methane as a propellent (another experimental design feature).

The rocket successfully reached Max-Q, a point where the stress on the rocket's superstructure is the greatest, thus demonstrating that 3D printed components hold up to the severe stresses of launch and boost against the force of Earth's gravity.

But an anomaly in the second stage engine prevented stage two's ignition and thus made orbital insertion impossible. Nonetheless, the rocket demonstrated a first for space vehicles and future attempts to reach orbit are just around the corner as the company plans additional flights and larger vehicles.

Full article (and video) at: GeekWire

Experimenting with DuoBand filters

I was experimenting with the ZWO DuoBand filter that came with my ASI533mc using M42 as the subject.  This photo is a combination of images: DuoBand (180sec) + RGB (120sec) + RGB (30sec) Stars.  I processed the DuoBand subs separate from the RGB, producing two master images; one DuoBand the other RGB.  I extracted the R, G, and B from the DuoBand before applying the NBRGBCombination process in PixInsight.  I then used Bill Blanshan's technique for adding in the RGB stars (using the 30sec master). 

The core is a bit blown out, but the overall result is not all that bad. I'll need to try some other objects using this imaging combination and processing technique.

Comet C/2022 E3 leaving the solar system

Clouds, clouds, clouds, and then more clouds. But on February 8th when it looked like another cloudy night, there was a break between a cloud deck to the west and a cold front that just passed to the east giving me about 6 hours of mostly clear skies. Since I was hoping to get some more images of this comet before it left for good (well, at least for another 50,000 years) I had to set up quickly and take the opportunity presented to me.

The optics were still not up to par - the stars at the edges and corners of the field were still showing some severe signs of coma and out of focus (as I mentioned in my previous post on January 31). This made the postprocessing a bit difficult, and I had to pull out a few tricks to get the subs to stack properly. 

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) - February 8, 2023
William Optics ZenithStar 61;  ZWO ASI2600mm
2h57m total integration time

As anticipated, the comet had dimmed quite a bit and I was not able to get the ion tail to show clearly (may be due to some of the thin clouds that were still present and the fact that the moon was nearly full). If I stretch the image a bit more you can just make out the tail, but the quality of the overall image degrades a lot. So I decided to leave well enough alone.

Still waiting for that next best naked-eye comet to arrive. But this one was fun to follow and image.

Comet C/2022 E3 seems to be dimming

Skies cleared just enough this evening to set up my equipment and capture some more subs of comet C/2022 E3. What seems to be immediately obvious is that the comet is dimming. Although it could be due to thin clouds, or the moon's interference, initial examination of the raw images show a marked decrease in intensity of the coma and the fan-like dust tail. The individual subs show no sign of the ion tail. Some of this is also due to the geometry of comet's orbit as well.

Once I process the images and see what the stacked version looks like I'll post here. Probably will take a day or two before I get the time to do the processing.  

Observing comet C/2022 E3

Today, comet C/2022 E3, a visitor that has not visited the Earth since the last ice age, will make its closest approach to our planet, or perigee.  Then it will speed away and not return for about 50,000 years. 

Although it will be at its brightest during this time, the full moon is joining the show and will make it hard to see without optical aid. But in the days after the full moon (Feb 6-22) the comet will still be very bright and well placed for viewing in the NE sky, almost directly overhead (see diagram below). The comet passes close to the red planet Mars on the 10th-11th, and then passes just to the east of Orion's shield on Feb 16-22.

It's closest point (perigee) is a distance of around 26 million miles from our planet, about 28% of the distance between Earth and the sun. You can also watch the comet live online on Feb. 1 in a free webcast at 11 p.m. EST (0400 GMT) from the Virtual Telescope Project.

Another image of C/2022 E3

On January 27 I set up my ZS61 (wide field telescope) with my ASI2600mm monochrome camera to try to capture the ion tail of C/2022 E3 which I was not able to successfully image earlier. This time I had success.

Comet C/2022 E3 - January 27, 2023
William Optics ZS61;  ASI2600mm
Total integration: 2h46m  LRGB

I'm still having optical issues with the field flattener/focal reducer on the ZenithStar, and so if you look at the stars in the corners you can see they are distorted. However, the comet image is OK since it is in the center of the field.

Details on the image can be found on my Astrobin page.

The 'other' bright comet - C/2020 V2

While getting ready to image C/2022 E3 on January 9, 2023, I had some time to wait for it to rise above my tree line and so I decided to go after the other bright comet in my skies, C/2020 V2, which I have been following (and imaging) for awhile.  Interestingly enough I think I read in one of my astro magazines that there are 11 comets in the sky right now. I'll need to go and check that, and maybe I might decide to capture them all (or maybe not!)

C/2020 V2 has been in the sky for awhile, and is still well placed in the north, hanging around the north star.

So here is C/2020 V2 with my OSC - no filters - plenty of light pollution to deal with. Image was cropped for the final photo.

Comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF) - January 9, 2023
William Optics GT102 f/5.5 - ASI533mc pro
80x120 sec OSC (One shot color)

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) brightening up

I know some of you have been paying attention to the news outlets discussing the arrival of a new, bright comet this February - but let me tell you there is a lot of sensationalism going on as well. Some claiming it to the comet of the century (when have we heard that before), others heralding it's triumphant return since it's last visit to the inner solar system over 50,000 years ago (that part is true - the part about the timing, not necessarily the 'triumphant' part).

But, nevertheless, there is indeed a fairly bright comet, named C/2022 E3, that has just passed it's closest point to the sun and is quickly approaching it's closest point to Earth. It passed the sun on January 12th and on Wed, Feb 1st, it will be closest to us - about 0.28 AU (astronomical units, where 1 AU is the distance from the sun to the earth, or about 93 million miles). As it does so it will continue to get brighter.

Photographs show a striking blue-green coma - a typical feature often seen in comets as they approach and get close to the sun. The intense ultraviolet (UV) light breaks down the large organic molecules present in the comet into the simpler ones, and it's the diatomic carbon (C2) that produces the green glow. Here is an image I was able to capture on January 15th using my WO GT102 APO refractor and ASI533mc camera.

This comet is rather large and you can clearly see the wide dusty fan of a tail and the green coma. There is a very, very faint (not easy to see on this image) ion tail dropping down to the bottom right which extends a considerable distance beyond the field of view. Later this month I plan to image with my wide field WO ZS61 to capture the ion tail.

Currently visible to observers in the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to view C/2022 E3 is in the early morning just a few hours before dawn. The comet's brightness right now is hovering at about magnitude 7, easily visible through binoculars or any small telescope.  In fact, at that magnitude level it is pretty bright thru a good telescope. And if the comet brightens to magnitude 6 or better, C/2022 E3 might be visible to the naked eye under good conditions - and that means a relatively dark sky with clear atmosphere. In the Baltimore/Washington area the light pollution is so high that it probably can't be seen without optical aid, but a decent pair of binoculars should show it well.

Here is a sky map that shows the position of C/2022 E3 as it races through the early morning hours of January 18 to January 27. Positions are for 5:00AM EST. 

After late January the comet moves further west and is well placed for evening viewing, getting higher and higher each day. Here are the positions from January 21 to Feb 4 at 9:00 PM EST.

Although the comet is nearest the earth on Feb 1, the moon (almost directly overhead and approaching full moon on the 5th) will interfere considerably. Sky and Telescope magazine provides this handy chart for the best times to see the comet based on the moon and altitude of the comet.

You can stay abreast of the comet’s magnitude, coma diameter, and more at the Comet Observation Database (COBS). Click on the Recent Observations link, then search for C/2022 E3. Another excellent source is Weekly Information about Bright Comets.

SkyAndRockets to remain my blog of choice

Quick update ... SkyAndRockets will remain the blog of choice for my astronomy and astrophotography related news. I decided to keep it for a number of reasons, not to mention the considerable amount of content already on this blog that would be lost if I moved off to another site.

My new Astrophotography website (announced in my previous post) has been migrated to a domain all it's own.  It can be reached at mdastro.com, and now contains more than 10 of my best astrophotos avaialble in either framed prints or infused on metal. Oh, and the metal versions are absolutely gorgeous.

Check it out. 

Announcing New Web site and new Blog

Great news ...

today I am announcing my new website and webstore for hosting my astro-photos!

After much consideration, I have decided to make my astro photos available for viewing and sale from a new website:  astro.mdfiberarts.com.

This new modern website now contains the best of my astrophotos and will be the new hosting platform for my blog. I plan to retain this blog for a period of time as it contains a good amount of past posts that may be useful for reference. If I am able to import these posts into the new site I will do so and then remove this blog at that time. However, all future blog posts will be done from the new site.

Please take a look, provide likes and dislikes, send me your comments, and of course, check back often. I will, of course, post to facebook whenever I add additional posts to this site.

So go ahead, check out the new "The Astrophotography of Michael J. Mangieri"

Non-Astro post

Strange title isn't it?  Well, I thought I'd post a picture of our Christmas tree here in Maryland.  After thinking about what might be in my future if I set up the 6' tree with all the trimmings having a very rambunctious 7 month old puppy around to notice all the cool new toys hanging just where she could get them, I decided that just a smaller tree on a table would suffice for this year.  And what could be better than a Star Trek tree??

So here it is, with the complete Hallmark Star Trek system.  The ornaments are based on the "Mirror Mirror" episode.  Each figurine has a specific sound track, the Enterprise has multiple lighting effects, and when the command insignia on the Star Trek emblem ornament is pressed a complete segment of the episode is voiced.