



Astronomy every Thursday
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.
A stunning 10 frame image of the Moon taken by member Neil Webster on the 19th Dec 2023. The Moon was in the First Quarter phase, 47% illuminated, 7.07 days old and in the constellation Pisces.
The First Quarter phase comes roughly 7 days after the New Moon and is when the moon has completed one quarter of its orbit around the Earth hence the name First Quarter. The Moon in this phase is also referred to as a Half Moon too.
Neil acquired is image using a R/IR filter, ZWO ASI 290MM, EQ6 R, AA 115 triplet APO, and Firecapture. 10 frames stitched in Microsoft ICE. Each 90s x 33fps. 20% stacked in AutoStakkert. Post processed in Photoshop.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/53409456667/
Below are a couple of individual frames from the above image.
To see more of Neil's brilliant images check out his flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/with/53409456667/
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 stars in the night sky. The 2nd image is of the Moon with Earthshine.
The Moon on the 8th December 2023 was 24.88 days old, 22.05% illuminated and in the Waning Crescent phase. This is the phase where the moon is less than 50% illuminated but has not yet reached 0% illumination which would be a New Moon.
Two lovely images of the Moon taken by members Jim Burchell & Kevin Langford on the 28th Nov 2023.
On this day, the moon was 14.57 days old, 99.58% illuminated and so in the Waning Gibbous phase and found in the constellation Gemini. The Waning Gibbous phase is the first phase after the Full Moon. It lasts roughly 7 days with the Moon’s illumination growing smaller each day until the Moon becomes a Last Quarter Moon with an illumination of 50%, sometimes referred to has a half moon.
Gibbous has its origins in the Late Latin word gibbosus, meaning 'humpbacked' and the Latin word gibbus, meaning "hump." It was adopted into Middle English to describe rounded, convex things.
Kevin Langford's image taken using a Cannon 750D and a 150 to 600 mm Sigma lens.
Jim Burchell's image taken using a Pentax KP, F8.0, 1/400 sec, 300mm, iso 800 and cropped in Snapseed.
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 the Moon - or 'lunar halo' is caused by the refraction of moonlight from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. For more information check out https://atoptics.co.uk/blog/moon-halo/
Leigh Slomer
Honor Wheeler
Simon Dawes
Several CMHASD members were out on the 29th September 2023 to image the final Supermoon of 2023 and below are their images. This full Moon is also known as the Harvest Moon as it is the closest Full Moon to the September equinox this year.
Most years, the Harvest Moon is in September but around every three years it’s in October. When the Harvest Moon occurs in September it replaces the Corn Moon. When it happens in October it takes the place of the Hunters Moon.
Kevin Smith's image taken from Deal, Kent.
Honor Wheeler's images taken from Dartford, Kent.
Dominique Ferrand's image taken from Cordoba, Spain. Dominique's image is of the full Moon and Jupiter.
For more information: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/harvest.html
A fantastic image of a Full Moon, a Supermoon and finally a Blue Moon all captured by member Jim Burchell on the 30th August 2023 from Dartford top road in Kent. WOW!!!!
The combination of a Blue Moon and Super Moon is very rare, so this was a very rare chance to see what is known as a Super Blue Moon. The last one was back in 2009 and we will have to wait until 2037 to see it again.
A blue Moon happens when the pattern of days in a year means there are 13 full Moons instead of the usual 12 and so one month has 2 full moons. This year the month of August had 2 full Moons.
Anyone hoping to seen the Moon tinged the colour blue would have been disappointed. The name of the Moon has nothing to do with colour but instead is so called because it does not fall in the usual scheme of named Moons. It is thought that the rarity is where the phrase "once in a blue Moon" may come from. The last blue Moon was in August 2021 and the next one will be in 2026.
This blue Moon is also known as a supermoon too and so appeared larger and brighter than usual in the sky. This was due to the fact that the Moon was near it's closest point in its orbit around the Earth.
Finally, the 30th Aug 2023 full moon was the biggest and brightest Super Moon of the year as this year there are 4 Supermoons!
For more information click on this link https://moon.nasa.gov/news/197/super-blue-moons-your-questions-answered/
Superb image of a daytime Waning Gibbous Moon (60% illumination) taken on the 7th Aug 2023 by CMHASD trustee & member Simon Dawes.
A lovely image of the Moon and Jupiter taken by member Diane Clarke.
Diane wrote '' Jupiter & the Moon 4° apart. I went to image this event as it rose above my local horizon, but the sky was cloudy so I decided to wait as both Jupiter & the Moon would need to clear a local stand of trees. Fortunately, after they cleared the trees the sky broke giving me the opportunity to take an image of the event.
Image taken: 01.10.23 @22.33 hrs BST. Camera: Canon EOS M50m2. Lens: Canon EF L 100 – 400mm @ 160mm, F-stop f/5.6 @ 1/320 sec and ISO 800.''