Our Sun by Honor Wheeler

Three superb images of our active Sun by Honor Wheeler taken on the 27th October 2024 and 11th August 2024 from Dartford.  All 3 images consist of a Solar H-alpha image and a White light image overlaid.  The 2 images on the 27th are the same; the 1st has just been processed in colour.

27th October 2024

27.10.2024 White light settings:
Canon  M6II , ISO200, exp 1/2500sec
Skywatcher ED80 Refractor with Baader White light filter & 2x Barlow.
EQ3 Synscan mount.
H-alpha prominence settings:
Canon M6II & 2x Barlow,  ISO200, 1sec
Coronado PST

 

11th August 2024

11.08.2024 White light settings:
Canon M6II, ISO200, 1/2500sec
Skywatcher ED80 Refractor with Baader White light filter & 2x Barlow.
EQ3 Synscan mount.
H-alpha prominence settings:
Canon M6II & 2x Barlow,  ISO200, 1/1sec
Coronado PST

Hunter’s Supermoon – by Honor Wheeler

This is a lovely image of the largest and brightest Full Moon of 2024 that lit up the skies of Earth on the 17th Oct, taken by member Honor Wheeler from Dartford whilst waiting for the comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas to made an appearance. This Full Moon is also known as the Hunter's Supermoon.  October's full Moon is called the Hunter's Moon because it occurs when hunters would traditionally have been most active. 

''People in the Northern Hemisphere spent October preparing for the coming winter by hunting, slaughtering, and preserving meats, giving this Full Moon its Anglo-Saxon name Hunter’s Moon. The name was added to the Farmer’s Almanac in North America and is used widely today.

Native Americans named this Full Moon after things that happen in the fall, including Drying Rice Moon, Falling Leaves Moon, and Freezing Moon. The Celts used Seed Fall Moon in the same way.

The names Pagan Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon have also been used for this Full Moon. However, these names should not be confused with a Blood Moon—another name for a total lunar eclipse.'' Ref:https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/hunters.html

October's Full Moon was also a Supermoon too.

''Supermoons happen because the moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle around Earth but is instead an oval, or ellipse. That means that sometimes our lunar companion is closer to Earth, reaching its closest point to us in what is known as perigee. Other times, it is further away, during what is known as its apogee. When the Moon is close to perigee during a Full Moon, that's a Supermoon.  On Thursday 17th Oct, as the Full Moon rose, the Moon arrived at its closest point to Earth, sitting at just 221,938 miles (357,174 km) away. There have been two Supermoons in 2024 thus far, in August and September, and there will be another in November, but October's Hunter's Supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of 2024. That's because this is the closest occurrence of a perigee to a Full Moon.'' Ref:https://www.space.com/hunters-moon-supermoon-2024-photos

Moon – 24th Oct 2024 by Neil Webster

A stunning image of a waning gibbous Moon by Neil Webster taken at 6.45am on the 24th Oct 2024.  The Moon was 51.0% illuminated and 21.46 days old.

 

Neil acquired the image by using a AA115 Apo, EQ6 R, ZWO ASI 290MM, and Astronomik R/IR Filter.

Check out Neil's flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/54090033889/in/photostream/ to see a higher resolution photo of this image.

Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (IC1396A) – Oct 12th 2024 by Neil Webster

A super image of the Elephant's Trunk Nebula (IC1396A) taken by member Neil Webster on Oct 12th 2024.  The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region called IC 1396 which is located in the constellation Cepheus; about 2,400 light years away from Earth. The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is a small part of the much larger IC 1396 emission nebula and can be found on the Western side of the main object.

Neil acquired the image by using a WO GT71 Apo, EQ6 R, ZWO ASI 294MC, Optolong L Enhance filter, Astro Essentials 50mm Guide Scope, and ZWO ASI290MM guide camera.  Processed using APT, PHD, Nebulosity, PS (Camera Raw), and Star X Terminator.

22 x 240s Subs, 12 x Darks, 45 x Flats/Bias.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/54064512908/in/photostream/

Comet C2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS by Honor Wheeler – 12th Oct 2024

Four members of CMHASD; John Archer, Gary Hunt, Jo Southgate and Honor Wheeler met up at Top Dartford Road at around 18:30 to see if they could spot comet C2023 A3 Tsuchinshan - ATLAS on the 12th Oct 2024.  The rain cleared just in time and the sky was clearing of cloud as they set up. It took about 25 minutes looking but in the end they spotted the comet nucleus with a pair of 8x42 binoculars in the orange glow of the sunset i.e. in the Western sky approx 10 to 20° above the horizon :-)

Below are some fantastic images of the comet taken by Honor.  These images were also the 1st ones of the comet to be put on the British Astronomical Association (BAA) website - well done Honor!

 

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) by member Jim Burchell – 15th May 2024

A great image capturing Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) by member Jim Burchell from Swanley. 
Jim said ''I took this image on the evening of 15th of May when the Comet was in the constellation of Virgo with my Seestar S50. As you see the Comet is showing a small tail....''

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is a comet from the Oort cloud and was discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China on 9 January 2023 and independently found by ATLAS South Africa on 22 February 2023.

Jim was the 1st member of CMHASD to image the comet - Well done Jim!

Image acquired using a Seestar S50: 48 X 10 second stacked images.

The Sun by Jim Burchell on the 4th October 2024

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

 

A super image of our Sun taken by member Jim Burchell on the morning of the 4th October 2024.  As you can see the Sun was very active with many sunspots including sunspot AR3842. The 2nd photo has the sunspots labelled.

Jim wrote ''The images show Sunspot AR3842 which released two X-class solar flares (X7.1 and X9.1) and a series of M-class flares.'' 

This means Sunspot AR3842 has produced the strongest solar flare of Solar Cycle 25 so far. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the X9.1-category blast.

Jim acquired his image using a Pentax KP body attached to a 102 mm F11 refactor; 1/320 sec; iso 100 and a Baader Astrosolar Safety film was used.

Perseid Meteor Watch – 10th/11thAugust 2024

When you sit back to watch the Perseid meteor shower, you're actually seeing pieces of comet debris heat up as they enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up in a bright burst of light, streaking a vivid path across the sky as they travel at 37 miles (59 kilometers) per second, according to NASA.  The Perseids result from Earth passing through debris (bits of ice and rock) left behind by the Comet Swift-Tuttle.

Comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered independently by two astronomers, Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, in 1862.  Comet Swift-Tuttle is the largest object known to repeatedly pass by Earth; its nucleus is about 16 miles (26 kilometers) wide. It last passed near Earth during its orbit around the sun in 1992, and the next time will be in 2126. 

In 2024 the Perseid meteor shower was active between 17 July and 24 August, with the number of meteors (also known as shooting stars) increasing every night until it reached its peak, after which it then tailed off.  This year the peak was on the night of the 12th and before dawn on 13 August when Earth travelled through the densest and dustiest part of this debris.

So not wanting to miss this annual meteor shower several CMHASD members met at the Pavilion on the night of the 10th/11th August to watch the Perseid meteor shower (The night of the 12th/13th was not chosen simply because of members work commitments on the morning of the 13th).  Members stayed at the pavilion for around 3 1/2 hours (9.30pm to 1am) and during that time around 17 visual sightings were spotted by members.  

Below are some photos taken by member Honor Wheeler of the meteors she caught on camera that night, with another member helping her out by pointing to the 1st meteor that was spotted!

It was a very good night, not too cold, great company and lots of banter & chit chat amongst members.  Some members even took the opportunity to do some deep sky imaging too.

 

There's one........

Camera settings:  Canon M6II, Rokinon 14mm lens, ISO1000, f/2.8, exposure between 4sec and 10sec.

Plus; while we were busy watching the meteors at the pavilion the meteor camera was busy too and below is a summary of the meteors the camera picked up on the night of the 10th/11th Aug 2024 which you can download.

Perseids Night of 10-11 August 2024 (1)

For more information about the Perseid Meteor Shower check out https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/perseid-meteor-shower-guide-uk-when-where-to-see

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