Nine-Years Ago Today. Feral Rooster at Kualoa Regional Park on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. (12-Jan-2016, Semester at Sea)
Silhouettes of Jets and Birds Passing in Front of the Sun.
Today while viewing the sunspots (currently at or near the solar maximum) with a Stellina and Vespera Classic automated telescope, I captured images of jets and birds passing in front of the sun.
A simulation view created by the Stellarium application of the Mars Occultation by the full Moon tomorrow evening. The difficulty will be the significant difference in the light levels between the full Moon and the planet Mars. The forecast for tomorrow night at the time of the occultation is for a Clear Sky.
Nine-Years Ago Today. Brown Booby flying beside the MV World Odyssey as we crossed the Pacific Ocean. (11-Jan-2016, Semester at Sea).
Cold Winter Night Sky.
The forecast for the night was mostly clear, cloudy, and then clear again. The waxing gibbous moon is getting brighter (94% illuminated). For the first of the night, I programed the “Plan my Night” sequence on the Vespera telescopes to first observe the moon, then later as the moon moves to the west picked some deep sky observation targets in parts of the sky away from the moon. While the sky is cloudy, the telescopes won’t add any images to the multi-night image stacks. Then when it clears up again, the telescopes will resume with the observation plan. I also set up a Nikon D9 camera with a 8-15 mm fisheye lens to take a sequence of images of the night sky with the full Vespera family of telescopes in the foreground. These images were then used to create the following time-lapse video. The moon is the bright object. You can watch the Orion constellation travel across the sky. Some jet trails, and lots of fast-moving clouds during the middle of the night. A little before dawn the sky cleared up again for the telescopes to resume observation of the last target of the night. The telescopes automatically close before the sun rises. The time-lapse video is best viewed in the dark and expanded to full scale. Images captured by the telescopes to follow.
Nine-Years Ago Today. Brown Booby hunting for fish. Viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey crossing the Pacific Ocean. (10-Jan-2016, Semester at Sea).
Silhouette of a Jet Transiting the Sun.
Today, while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum) I captured an image of a jet transiting the sun. This was with a Stellina automated telescope fitted with a solar filter. There was a lot of turbulence in the air today.
Silhouette of a jet transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5) with a solar filter
Nine-Years Ago Today. Brown Booby hitching a ride on the MV World Odyssey as we cross the Pacific Ocean. (09-Jan-2016, Semester at Sea Spring Voyage)
Silhouette of a Jet Transiting the Sun.
Today, while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum) I captured an image of a jet transiting the sun. This was with a Stellina automated telescope fitted with a solar filter.
Sun with sunspots with the silhouette of a jet transiting. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) fitted with a solar filter.
Cold Winter Night Sky.
The forecast for the night was mostly clear. The waxing gibbous moon is getting brighter (79% illuminated). For the first of the night, I programed the “Plan my Night” sequence on the Vespera telescopes to first observe the moon, then later as the moon moves to the west picked some deep sky observation targets in parts of the sky away from the moon. I also set up a Nikon D9 camera with a 8-15 mm fisheye lens to take a sequence of images of the night sky with the full Vespera family of telescopes in the foreground. These images were then used to create the following time-lapse video. The moon is the bright object. You can watch the Orion constellation travel across the sky. Lots of jet trails, and almost no clouds. Best viewed in the dark and expanded to full scale. Images captured by the telescopes to follow.
Nine-Years Ago Today. Crepuscular rays from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Semester at Sea. (08-Jan-2016, Pacific Ocean)
Silhouette of a Jet Transiting the Sun.
Today, while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum) I captured an image of a jet transiting the sun. This was with a Stellina automated telescope fitted with a solar filter.
Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of a jet. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5) with a solar filter.
Time-lapse video of tree getting in the way of the sun. Images taken with a Stellina automated telescope fitted with a solar filter.
Cold Winter Night Sky.
The forecast for the night was mostly clear. The waxing gibbous moon is getting brighter (69% illuminated). For the first of the night, I programed the “Plan my Night” sequence on the Vespera telescopes to first observe the moon, then later as the moon moves to the west picked some deep sky observation targets in parts of the sky away from the moon. I also set up a Nikon D9 camera with a 8-15 mm fisheye lens to take a sequence of images of the night sky with the full Vespera family of telescopes in the foreground. These images were then used to create the following time-lapse video. The moon is the bright object. You can watch the Orion constellation travel across the sky. Lots of jet trails, a few passing clouds, and a couple of meteors. Best viewed in the dark and expanded to full scale. Images captured by the telescopes to follow.
Time-lapse video of the Vespera family of telescopes viewing the winter night sky over New Jersey.
