February 2023 – Page 2 – Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society Dartford

Two super deep sky astroimages by CMHASD member and astrophotographer Neil Webster.

First is a stunning image of the Heart Nebula (IC1805) taken by Neil on the 22nd November 2022. Neil acquired the image using a WO GT71 APO, 0.8x Reducer, EQ6 R, ZWO ASI194MC Pro, Astro Essentials 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO ASI290MM, Optolong L Enhance filter. 57 x 240s Subs, 15 x Darks, 35 x Flats/Bias.

The Heart Nebula (also known as the Running dog nebula, IC 1805, Sharpless 2-190) is an emission nebula, 7500 light years away from Earth and located in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel on 3 November 1787. The nebula got its name as it looks like a human heart and it spans almost 2 degrees in the sky, covering an area four times that of the diameter of the full moon. At the top right is the companion Fishhead Nebula.

Next, see below; is a fantastic widefield image of the Jellyfish Nebula taken by Neil on the 21st January 2023.

The Jellyfish Nebula; also known as IC443 and Sharpless 248 (Sh2-248) is a galactic supernova remnant (SNR) in the constellation Gemini. On the plane of the sky, it is located near the star Eta Geminorum. Its distance is roughly 5,000 light years from Earth.

The glowing cosmic tendrils and bulbous 'head' are what give this deep-sky object its name, as it resembles a jellyfish. The Jellyfish Nebula is all that remains of a massive star that ran out of fuel and exploded as a supernova, leaving behind a shell of glowing gas. IC 443 has an angular diameter of 50 arcmin, the full moon by comparison, is 30 arcmin across.

Check out Neil's flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) by Simon Dawes on 31st Jan 2023

6th February 2023

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Super image of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) taken by member Simon Dawes with Bessel/Cousins photometric filters and a broadband LPS filter (IDAS LPS D2) then combined to give an RGB image, colour hasn't been altered. More detail of how Simon acquired his image is on the photo.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is a long period comet from the Oort cloud that was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility (hence the ZTF in the Comet's name) on 2 March 2022, using the 1.2-m, f/2.4 Schmidt telescope at Mount Palomar. It was the 3rd such object discovered in the fifth half-month (A, B, C, D, E) of the year. Thus, 2022 E3 (ZTF).

The comet has a bright green glow around its nucleus due to the effect of sunlight on diatomic carbon and cyanogen.

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)- 29th & 30th Jan 2023 by Jim Burchell

6th February 2023

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After seeing Honor Wheeler's image's of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) CMHASD member Jim Burchell decided to have a go at trying to image the Comet too.

Jim said ''It was rather difficult as the Comet wasn't very easy to see as there was some high cloud and the Moon was in play.

I was struggling to see the Comet with binoculars so in the end I used my 70 mm telescope but it still wasn't obvious.

The image below was taken with a Pentax KP camera attached to Altair Astro 70mm ED triplet refactor at ISO 1600 and 15 Second exposure.''

The comet is the fuzzy patch in the centre of the image below taken on the 29th Jan 2023 by Jim.

The next image below of the Comet was taken by Jim on Monday 30th Jan 2023 using the same setup as the day before. Again, it was quite difficult to find as the Moon was bright. The image was then processed by Jim on his phone using an enhanced image tool.

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) – 27th Jan 2023 by Dr Mike Rushton

6th February 2023

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A super photo of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) taken on 27th Jan 2023 by Dr Mike Rushton using an eVscope.

Comet C2022 E3 (ZTF) – 22nd Jan 2023 by Honor Wheeler

6th February 2023

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CMHASD member Honor has managed to capture Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) that is gracing our skies at the moment in a photo back on the 22nd Jan 2023.

Honor said ''I watched Nick James sky notes on today's BAA meeting about Comet E3 so decided to look for it. Not that easy to find but it is unmistakable as a faint fuzzy in binoculars. So I took a photo just to prove I wasn't seeing things. Worth a decent image with a telescope with more time than I had.''

The comet is the fuzzy patch centre right in the photo.

Jupiter & Venus – 22nd Jan 2023 by Jim Burchell

3rd February 2023

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Two lovely photos taken by member Jim Burchell of the planets Jupiter & Venus on Sunday evening the 22nd Jan 2023. The photos were taken with a Pentax K70.

Enormous Sunspot AR3190 – 20th Jan 2023

3rd February 2023

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NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please see our Solar Observing safety page at crayfordmanorastro.com/solar-safety/

A fantastic image of the Sun taken on the morning of the 20th January 2023 by member Jim Burchell. The image was taken by Jim using a pentax KP attached to 102mm Atair Astro refractor fitted with a solar filter. At the 4 O clock position from the centre of the Sun is the large sunspot AR3190. AR3190 is one of the largest sunspots of Solar Cycle 25 so far, at almost five times the diameter of Earth.

Boxing Day Sun in Hydrogen Alpha by Honor Wheeler

1st February 2023

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NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please see our Solar Observing safety page at crayfordmanorastro.com/solar-safety/

A stunning image of the Sun in H-alpha on 26th Dec 2022 by Honor Wheeler.

The image was acquired by Honor at 20221226_1212UT using a Canon M6 Mark II and Personal Solar Telescope (PST).

Honor wrote 'This image of the Sun was taken using a Coronado personal solar telescope or PST which shows the Sun's H-alpha surface features. These features include Sunspots, Filaments and Prominences. In this image there are a number of large Prominences around the edge of the Sun's disc and on the surface these can be seen as the dark Filaments snaking across the face of the Sun. The bright areas are Sunspots which are active regions which can flare brightly as you can see at the top right of the disc. Most H-alpha images that show Sunspot and Prominence detail and activity are composite images and are photographed separately then combined in editing software. In this case however, I was lucky and I managed to capture both Prominence, surface structures and activity in one single photo.'

The Moon & Earthshine by Honor Wheeler – Dec 2022

1st February 2023

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Three wonderful images of our Moon acquired by CMHASD member Honor Wheeler back in December 2022. The 1st image was taken on the 29th Dec 2022 and the next two on the 26th Dec 2022, all from North Kent.

Honor acquired her super image below of what looks like a 'Half Moon' at 20221229_2103UT by using a Canon M6 Mark II, 102mm Refractor, EQ3 synscan mount, x2 Barlow and ISO400, exp1/320s.

The next image below of a beautiful crescent Moon was acquired by Honor at 20221226_1654UT using a Canon M6 Mark II, 102mm Refractor, EQ3 synscan mount, x2 Barlow and ISO200, exp1/30s

Honor's 3rd image below showing a stunning amount of Earthshine was acquired at 20221226_1737UT using a Canon M6 Mark II, 102mm Refractor, EQ3 synscan mount, x2 Barlow and ISO400, exp4s. For more information about Earthshine click here.

Moon & Earthshine – 2023.01.18

1st February 2023

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Being up early on dark mornings has its rewards as member Jim Burchell shows here with these super images of a crescent Moon on the morning of the 18th January 2023. The amount of 'Earthshine' captured in the 1st photo by Jim is stunning. Also in the photo - bottom left, is the star Alniyat in Scorpius.

''Earthshine is a dull glow which lights up the unlit part of the Moon because the Sun’s light reflects off the Earth's surface and back onto the Moon. It is also sometimes called ashen glow, the old Moon in the new Moon's arms, or the Da Vinci glow, after Leonardo da Vinci, who explained the phenomenon for the first time in recorded history...... Earthshine is best seen a few days before and after a New Moon, right after sunset or before sunrise. Scientists studying global warming found that earthshine is more intense in April and May'' ref: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/earthshine.html

Crescent Moon & Earthshine with Alniyat in Scopius by Jim Burchell