Swansea Astronomical Society Blog

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Solar sketches

Using a modified PST and a 15mm eyepiece

Click on a sketch to get a closer view

Jim Startup

posted by astroimager  # 8:34 PM 0 Comments

Friday, June 29, 2018

Jupiter and Moons

Europa, Ganymede, Io and GRS
Celestron 9.25 SCT AVX, ZWO ASI120MC-S, 5038 images captured in Firecapture 2.5x64, 750 stacked and aligned in AutoStakkert!3, wavelets in Registax 6, then edited in Adobe Elements 11

Click on an image to get a closer view

Io and GRS
Celestron 9.25 SCT AVX, ZWO ASI120MC-S, 8759 images captured in Firecapture 2.5x64, 30% stacked and aligned in AutoStakkert!3, wavelets in Registax 6, then edited in Adobe Elements 11

Colin Miles

posted by astroimager  # 11:47 AM 0 Comments

Thursday, June 28, 2018

The Sun in H-alpha light

The images were captured with an Altair GPcam and a modified PST H-alpha scope. Frames were stacked in Autostakkert!3, sharpened in IMPPG then surface and prominence images combined and coloured in PS3.

Anne Startup

posted by astroimager  # 7:56 PM 0 Comments

The Night Sky in July 2018

By
Martin Griffiths BSc (Hons) MSc FRAS FHEA
Astronomer, Science Presenter
Dark Sky Wales
Director, Brecon Beacons Observatory

Now that the lighter nights have peaked, July brings a little more darkness toward month’s end. The Milky Way and the summer constellations are a glorious sight in the warm summer night, though seeing can affect your enjoyment of the night sky wonders

Moon in July:

New: 13^th July

First quarter: 19^th July

Full: 27^th July

Last Quarter: 6^th July

Total Lunar Eclipse 27^th July

Planets in June:

Mercury: is at greatest eastern elongation on the 12^th of July and can be seen as an evening object low on the western horizon. It joins the crescent moon on the 15^th July

Venus: is a bright object in the western sky after sunset in the constellation of Cancer and is the most glorious planet of all this month shining at magnitude -4 and setting around 21:00 by the middle of the month.

Mars: has moved to Capricorn and rises after 21:00, shining brightly at magnitude -1.8 and is easily visible most of the night. Its features may seem smeared by the current dust storms ravaging the surface. It is at opposition on the 27^th.

Jupiter: has past opposition and is visible after sunset all month shining at magnitude

-2.4. The detail in the bands and belts is exquisite, but the planet is low in the sky. It sets around 3:00am

Saturn: is just past opposition and is visible as a pale yellow magnitude 0.1 orb low in the sky from the UK but still showing the beautiful rings for which it is famous.

Uranus: is visible in July after its conjunction with the Sun, rising in the early hours.

Neptune: rises just before midnight 8 and can be found in Aquarius, rising just before midnight.

Meteor showers in July.

The Perseid meteor shower becomes active after the 13^th July and moves to its peak in the middle of August. The meteor numbers steadily increase throughout the later half of July before their famous large ZHR on the 12^th August.

The delta Aquariids are also at a maximum this month, but the full Moon blots out the fainter meteors and the shower is not at its best this year. The maximum falls on the 27^th July. The ZHR is around 10 meteors per hour so watch out for some bright stragglers during the Lunar eclipse.

Click on the image to get a closer view

M57 the Ring Nebula

posted by astroimager  # 7:34 PM 0 Comments

The Sun sketched in H-alpha using a modified PST

A Modified H-alpha PST was used with a 15mm eyepiece to make these sketches of the Sun.

Click on an image to get a closer view

Jim Startup

posted by astroimager  # 5:33 PM 0 Comments

99.9% Moon with AstroDMx Capture for Linux and an ELP-USB130W01MT-SFV

An f/4.5, 102mm, ED refractor was mounted on a Celestron AVX EQ mount. An ELP-USB130W01MT-SFV low light surveillance camera was fitted with a ND13 neutral density filter. AstroDMx Capture for Linux was used to capture two, overlapping, 1000-frame SER files of the 99.9% Moon. The best 90% of the frames in the SER files were stacked in Autostakkert! 3, wavelet processed in Registax 5.1 and stitched in Microsoft ICE, all running in Wine. The final image was processed in the Gimp 2.9.

Steve Wainwright

posted by astroimager  # 1:34 PM 0 Comments

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

The Sun in H-alpha

Images captured with a Hypercam 178 and a Lunt 50THA solar telescope. 25% of 1000 frames were stacked in Autostakkert!3, sharpened in IMPPG then surface and prominence images combined and coloured in PS3.

Anne Startup

posted by astroimager  # 7:42 PM 0 Comments

Sketching the Sun with a modified PST H-alpha scope

A modified PST was used with a 7mm eyepiece to make the sketches.

Click on the image to get a larger view

Jim Startup

posted by astroimager  # 7:35 PM 0 Comments

Monday, June 25, 2018

The Moon with AstroDMx Capture for Linux a Bresser Messier 102mm, f/4.5 ED refractor and a QHY 5L-ll-M

A Bresser Messier 102mm, f/4.5 refractor was mounted on a Skywatcher AZ, GOTO mount. AstroDMx Capture for Linux and a QHY 5L-ll-M camera was placed at the prime focus. Two, overlapping, 2000-frame SER files were captured of the 90% waxing Moon. The best 40% of the images in the SER files were stacked in Autostakkert! 3, stitched in Microsoft ICE and wavelet processed in Registax 5.1, all running in Wine. The final image was processed in the Gimp 2.10

Click on the image and click again to get a closer view

A Teleview 3x Barlow was added to the optical train and a 1000 frame SER file was captured of the Tycho region of the Moon. The best 90% of the frames were stacked in Autostakkert! 3 and wavelet processed in Registax 5.1, both running in Wine. The final image was processed in RawTherapee and the Gimp 2.10.

Click on the image and click again to get a closer view.

Steve Wainwright

posted by astroimager  # 10:35 AM 0 Comments

Saturn with AstroDMx Capture for Linux, a Skymax 127 and a QHY 5L ll C

A QHY 5L-ll-C camera kindly loaned by Derek Francis, was connected to a Skymax 127 Maksutov fitted with a Teleview 3x Barlow.
AstroDMx Capture for Linux was used to capture a 3000 frame SER file of Saturn. The best 40% of frames in the SER file were stacked in Autostakkert! 3 and the resulting image wavelet processed in Registax 5.1, both running in Wine. The final image was processed in the Gimp 2.10 and Neat Image.

Steve Wainwright & Nicola Mackin

posted by astroimager  # 2:48 AM 0 Comments

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Crater Copernicus

Celestron 9.25 SCT AVX, 2xTelevue Barlow, ZWO ASI120MM camera, 5000 images captured in Firecapture 2.5 x 64, 750 stacked and aligned in AutoStakkert!2.3, wavelets in Registax 6, then edited in Adobe Elements 11.

Copernicus

Colin Miles

posted by astroimager  # 10:31 PM 0 Comments

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