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