Swansea Astronomical Society Blog
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturn last night
Saturn was imaged with a DBK21AS camera fitted with a 2.5x Barlow and an 11" SCT.
The storm is clearly visible.
Keith Davies
The storm is clearly visible.
Keith Davies
Afocal Saturn and the Moon
Images were captured with a 90mm refractor fitted with a digiscoping adapter and a compact camera:
Click on an image to get a larger view.
Ken Shepherd
Click on an image to get a larger view.
Ken Shepherd
Monday, May 30, 2011
The active Sun today in H-alpha
A DMK21AS camera fitted with a short nosepiece and the lens assembly from a x2 Barlow was used with a H-alpha PST. Seven overlapping regions of the Sun were imaged by capturing 3000 AVI frames that were processed in Registax. The assembly was on a Merlin Altazimuth mount.
The image mosaic segments were derotated and merged in Photoshop to produce the final image. Click on the image to get a larger view:
The disk is crackling with activity in several active regions and there is a high probablilty of a resulting auroral display.
Steve Wainwright
The image mosaic segments were derotated and merged in Photoshop to produce the final image. Click on the image to get a larger view:
The disk is crackling with activity in several active regions and there is a high probablilty of a resulting auroral display.
Steve Wainwright
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday Sun
A DMK21AS camera was fitted with a short nosepiece and the lens assembly from a x2 Barlow. It was attached to a H-alpha PST. 3 x 1000 frame AVIs were captured in 9 overlapping regions of the Sun. The AVIs were processed with Registax and the resulting images were stitched together to produce a whole disk image. The image was colourised to represent the wavelength of light used to capture the image:
Click on the image to get a larger view.
The active regions and filaments are clear in this image.
Steve Wainwright
Click on the image to get a larger view.
The active regions and filaments are clear in this image.
Steve Wainwright
Monday, May 23, 2011
Deep sky sketches and Mintron images recorded on a mobile phone camera
Deep sky objects were sketched from Mintron real-time displays
A 5", f/5 Newtonian was used with the MIntron video camera at the prime focus.
An 8" f/5 Newtonian was used with a Mintron video camera at the prime focus
A mobile phone camera was used to capture images of the objects shown on the 5" CRT monitor displaying the Mintron image:
M57
The central star is visible
M3
M82
Chris Playle
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Saturn on Friday the 13th
A DBK21 camera was used with a 2.5x Barlow and an 11" SCT to capture this image of Saturn:
Evidence of the storm is visble in this image.
Keith Davies
Friday, May 13, 2011
SAS representatives attend the opening of the Usk Astronomical Society new observatory
Swansea Astronomical Society senior observers, Gaynor Thomas and Steve Wainwright represented the SAS at the official opening of the Usk Astronomical Society Observatory.
The observatory is a Canadian built Skyshed Pod with two additional extension pods to house desks.
The scope housed in the dome is an 8" Meade SCT on an equatorial mount:
The funtion was well attended and a small exhibition was held in a marquee in which a buffet with drinks was provided:
Usk members set up telescopes through which visitors were able to view the Moon:
The event was attended by civic dignitories and an inspiring speech was given by Prof. Mike Edmunds of Cardiff University on the relationship between amateur and professional astronomers.
Prof Mike Edmunds
The ribbon was cut by Dr Paul Roche, the Schools Astronomer with the Faulks Telescope Project.
This observatory is an example of something sadly lost to Swansea, where civic authorities and an astronomical society work together to form something of value to the culture and education of the community. Usk astronomical society have an outreach program at least as ambitious as the one that was brought to a shameful end in Swansea with the loss of the Marina Towers Observatory which now stands derelict, where it used to inspire local school children to pursue science. Usk have spawned another astronomical society at Abergavenny and are proving that when they have civic cooperation, they can add much more value to the local culture and education than they take out.
The new Usk observatory is called the 'Alfred Russel Walace Observatory'. It is so named for the man, born in nearby Llanbadoc. Wallace independently developed the theory of Evolution and prompted Charles Darwin to publish his findings and ideas in 'The Origin of Species'.
The observatory is sited in accessible grounds in a very friendly environment in Usk. Usk AS will go from strength to strength now that they have a fine observatory in which to make their observations and in the grounds of the building where they hold their meetings.
Congratulations USK
Steve Wainwright and Gaynor Thomas
The Moon at Midnight on May 12th
A 9 day, 17h Moon in Lunation 1093 with a 73% phase was imaged through a 5", F/10 Maksutov with a Pentax K-x DSLR fitted with a light-pollution filter. Images of two overlapping fields were captured, stacked in Registax and then the resulting two images were merged into a single, mosaic image:
Click on the image to get a larger view
Steve Wainwright
Thursday, May 12, 2011
May 11 Moon
A Pentax K-x DSLR fitted with a 1.25"nosepiece, a light-pollution filter and the lens assembly from a x2 Barlow was used with a 5", f/5 Newtonian on a GOTO AZ mount. The camera was set to ISO 400 and 1/100th s. Two images were captured and stitched together into a mosaic of the lunar disk:
Click on the image to get a larger view.
Steve Wainwright
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Solar activity
The Sun was imaged in H-alpha light using a PST and a DMK camera fitted with the lens assembly from a x2 Barlow on a long adapter. Five 5000 frame AVIs were captured of each of 12 overlapping regions of the Sun. They were processed in Registax, and the resulting images stitched together into a mosaic:
Click on the image to get a larger view.
This image shows a 'filaprom', a filament reaching the limb of the Sun and becoming a prominence:
Note that the brightness of the filament remains the same when it becomes a prominence.
The active zone of the Sun was then imaged in Ca K-line light with a CaK PST
The sunspots AR1203 and 1204 are joined by a small, spot near the eastern limb.
Steve Wainwright
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