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Face-to-Face Meetings Every Thursday

Face to face meetings every Thursday plus we are live on Zoom*

As a courtesy to others please stay at home  and attend via the zoom if  you are feeling unwell – coughs, sniffs and sneezes etc.

* zoom will only be available with the lecturer’s consent.

Gallery

A selection of images, photos and observations taken by CMHASD members

 

Society News

The Sun – 25th Feb 2024 by Jim Burchell

NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.

A splendid image of the Sun taken on the 25th February 2024 by member Jim Burchell.  Jim captured the image using a Seestar S50 smart scope fitted with a solar filter and processed in Snapseed. The giant sunspot AR3590 that can be seen on the Sun in Jim’s image was more than ten times wider than Earth when the image was taken.

Messier 52 by Diane Clarke

A super image of Messier 52 or M52, also known as NGC 7654 taken by member Diane Clarke on the 6th March 2024 during a brief clear spell in the weather. 

Messier 52 is also known as the Scorpion Cluster or the Salt & Pepper Cluster and it is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Cassiopeia. The cluster has an apparent magnitude of 6.9 and lies at an approximate distance of 4,600 light years from Earth.

Diane acquired the image using a Seestar S50 smart scope, 270 x 10s subs, stacked & processed using Affinity Photo.

Visible at the bottom of the image is part of the Bubble Nebula also known as C11 and NGC7635.

The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51a) by Diane Clarke

A great image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a (M51a) or NGC 5194 and its companion NGC 5195 taken by member Diane Clarke on the 3rd March 2024. 
 
The Whirlpool Galaxy was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. 
 
NGC 5195, which is also known as Messier 51b (M51b) is a dwarf galaxy and is the smaller object to the upper left to the Whirlpool galaxy in the image. NGC 5195 is gravitationally interacting with the Whirpool Galaxy.  Both galaxies are found in the constellation Canes Venatici.
 
Diane acquired the image using a ZWO SeeStar S50 smart scope, taking 96 x 10sec subs and processed in Affinity photo.
 

Lunar Clair-obscur Effects – French for “light” (clair) and “shadow” (obscur)

Some fantastic images showing two ‘Clair-obscur’ effects visible on the surface of the Moon taken by member Jim Burchell on the 19th & 20th January 2024.
 
Clair-obscur effects are revealed when light and shadow interact with the Moon’s craters and other features to trick the eye into seeing something that isn’t really there.  Below are 7 of the best recognisable shapes created on the surface of the Moon.
Photo ref:https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/clair-obscur-effects-on-moon
 
Most Clair-obscur effects require specific timing. Some last for days and are easy to see. Others last for a few hours and are more challenging.  Clair-obscur effects on the Moon are not one-time or rare events; this is because lunar lighting patterns repeat in a cycle of approximately 29.5 days, so each effect can be observed from somewhere on Earth once every month.
 
All of Jim’s images below were a single shot; taken with a Pentax KP body attached to 102mm Altair Astro refractor. The images where then processed in Snapseed.
 
Lunar V
 
Plato’s Hook
 
For more information about Clair-obscur effects check out:

The Orion Nebula by Jim Burchell

A lovely image of the Orion Nebula (Messier 42/M42) taken by Jim Burchell on the 23rd February 2024 using a ZWO SeeStar S50 smart scope. The image is a stacked image containing 12 minutes of 10 second images.  Jim said ”Considering the Moon phase was 97% illuminated I was quite impressed with the image.”

The Orion Nebula (M42) by Dr Mike Rushton

A superb image of the Orion Nebula (Messier 42/M42) taken by Dr Mike Rushton on the 3rd March 2024.

Mike acquired the image using a Dwarf2 telescope from DWARFLAB and took 400 subframes of 10 secs which was then processed in SIRIL. 

The Sun by Jim Burchell – 1st March 2024

NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.
 
Super image of the Sun taken by member Jim Burchell on the 1st March 2024.
 
The image was taken using a Pentax KP body set at Iso 200 & 1/400 sec, attached to a 102mm F14 Altar Astro refractor fitted with a solar filter (baader solar film). The image was then processed in Snapseed.
 

IC434, Horsehead Nebula and NGC2024 Flame Nebula by Kevin Langford

A fantastic image of IC434, the Horsehead Nebula & Flame Nebula (NGC2024) in the constellation Orion by member Kevin Langford. The image was taken on the 19th January 2024 from Bexley, Kent.

Kevin acquired his image using a ES 102ED APO, 0.7x focal reducer corrector, EQ5 Pro, ZWO ASI071, Orion MMAG and a L-enhance filter.  A total of 2.45 hours of exposures.

IC434 is a bright emission nebula in Orion. It was discovered on February 1, 1786 by William Herschel.

The Horsehead Nebula is a small dark nebula silhouetted against IC 434 and is located near to the star Alnitak (ζ Orionis) which is a triple star system at the eastern end of Orion’s belt.  The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1,375 light-years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of its resemblance to a horse’s head.  

The Flame Nebula (NGC2024) is also an emission nebula, it has a radius of 6 light-years and located about 1350 light-years away from Earth.

AstroFest 2024

Many members have been at AstroFest this weekend, but it looks like the cost of living crisis and high prices seem to be having an impact, with many retailers and manufacturers not exhibiting at AstroFest this year. At least there isn’t the crush of people from past years and a bit more space to have a coffee and cake or get get some practice in docking to the ISS.

Occultation of Asteroid 2000 SZ278

Observation of an occultation by Asteroid 2000 SZ278 using an eVscope by Mike Rushton.
 
Mike has just started analysing these himself rather than sending them off to California for a bot to do the work.
Asteroid 2000 SZ278 which is a Main Belt member and only 1.2km in diameter passed in front of a 13th Mag star. The shadow crossed Kent and blocked the stars light for 2.2 secs.
You can clearly see this in the light curve (The time series data are 0.3 secs apart.)
 
2000-SZ278OCCULTATION-20240126

Occultation by Asteroid 2000 SZ278 on 2024-01-26

The Moon – 17th Dec 2023

A lovely image of a Waxing Crescent Moon taken on the 17th Dec 2023 by member Honor Wheeler. On this day the Moon was 4.72 days old, 27.01% illuminated and in the constellation Aquarius.

The image was taken using a Skywatcher ED80 Refractor, Skywatcher EQ3 Synscan mount, x2 Barlow, Canon M6 MRKII Camera set at ISO100 and exp. 1/20s.

CMHASD Christmas Quiz – 2023

Congratulations to team Dalek for winning this years CMHASD Christmas Quiz.   

Team Dalek

Member’s Rita Whiting and Debra Holton pulled out all the stops to provide a night of head scratching, puzzlement and fun.  Thank you Rita & Debra for all your hard work & effort creating the quiz.  It was a great night and we are all looking forward to the next one!

Venus, Spica & Moon – 8th Dec 2023

Two super images by member Jim Burchell taken on the 8th Dec 2023. The 1st image shows Venus, the star Spica and the Moon going lower left to top right.  Spica is the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo and one of the 20 brightest...

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Jupiter using a red filter – 5th Dec 2023

A great image of Jupiter taken by member and trustee Simon Dawes. The image was taken on the 5th Dec 2023 using a Celestron EDGE11HD, with a red filter, f2800mm (f10), Rising Cam CMOS sensor and Mesu e200 mount. Sharpcap Pro, 2 min of video, stacked in AutoStakkert,...

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Moon – 28th Nov 2023

Two lovely images of the Moon taken by members Jim Burchell & Kevin Langford on the 28th Nov 2023.  The Moon was in it’s Waning Gibbous phase. On this day, the moon was 14.57 days old, 99.58% illuminated and so in the Waning Gibbous phase and found...

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Aurora – Norway – November 2023

Member George Buckberry’s sister Val Hicks went on a cruise up to the North of Norway in November this year and has kindly shared her photos with us of the stunning Aurora display that she saw.  Some truly beautiful images 🙂 [Show...

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Lunar Halo – 25th Nov 2023

A stunning example of a Lunar Halo captured by 3 members of the society – Leigh Slomer, Honor Wheeler and Simon Dawes on the evening of the 25th Nov 2023.  The white dot at the 4 o’clock position from the Moon is the planet Jupiter. The ring around...

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The Sun by Jim Burchell – 23rd Nov 2023

NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.   A superb single image of the Sun in white light showing sunspot groups 3489-3498 taken on the  23/11/2023 by member Jim Burchell.   The image was taken with a...

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Shears Green Junior School – Cosmic Camp 2023

Several society members attended Shears Green Junior School on Friday 15th September 2023 with their own or a society telescope to take part in the school’s ‘Cosmic Camp’.  The Society would like to say a big thank you to all the members who helped make this...

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Comet Lemmon C/2023 H2 – Nov 2023

Superb image of Comet Lemmon C/2023 H2 taken by member Richard Bohner on the 11th Nov 2023 from Arizona, USA. Richard used the following to acquire his image – Canon 5D Mk IV on a Celestron 8” SCT. Magnification about 100X. 60 seconds exp. At ISO 10K. The comet...

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