Silhouette of Jets Transiting the Sun.
Today, while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum) I captured images of a jets transiting the sun. This was with a Vespera Classic automated telescope fitted with a solar filter.
Slideshow of Jets Passing in Front of the Sun. Individual images are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Cold Winter Night Sky.
The forecast for the night was for the night sky to be clear, then intermittent clouds, then clear before morning. The waning gibbous moon is reducing in brightness but still very bright (97% illuminated). I programed the “Plan my Night” sequences on the Vespera telescopes to start soon after dark with several objects away from the moon and will see what I get depending on the clouds. During part of the night, I have the telescopes looking at the moon. I also set up the 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. You can see the night starting out clear, then clouds, a brief clearing, then clouds again, and finally clearing before dawn. 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.