Nine-Years Ago Today. Frost covered Common Barberry. Hobler Park, New Jersey. (06-Dec-2015).
Jet Silhouettes Transiting the Sun.
In addition to the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum) I captured two jets transiting the sun using a Vespera Pro telescope fitted with a solar filter.
Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of a jet. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of a jet. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
The comet is getting fainter and the tail shorter. The magnitude is now 10.0. The first image is a composite of 31 images (5 min 10 sec) and the second one is a composite of 90 images (15 min). In the second image there is some movement of the comet head. Also, the comet is moving into a region of the sky with part of the milky way in the background (many more faint stars).
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 31 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 310 sec).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 90 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 900 sec).
Eleven-Years Ago Today. Troll Family Holiday viewing the Northern Lights. Digital Art, New Jersey and Tromsø, Norway. (05-Dec-2013)
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
I missed the comet for the past several nights due to early evening clouds and even some much-needed rain. The comet is getting fainter and the tail shorter. The magnitude is now 9.9. The first image is a composite of 31 images (5 min 10 sec) and the second one is a composite of 59 images (9 min 50 sec). In the second image there is some movement of the comet head. Also, the comet is moving into a region of the sky with part of the milky way in the background (many more faint stars).
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 31 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 310 sec).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 59 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 590 sec).
Six-Years Ago Today. Northern Red Cardinal. (04-Dec-2018, New Jersey).
Sunspot Activity
The solar disk was observed with a Vespera Pro telescope (250 mm, f/5, 1400 microseconds) using a Solar filter. The sun is near the solar maximum period of the 11-year solar sunspot cycle. The image is cropped to 1204 x 1204 pixels with the apparent diameter of the sun a little less than 0.54°. Processing the image using Topaz AI (noise reduction or sharpening) or AutoStakkert4 (image stacking) did not improve the image.
Sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vespera Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 1400 microseconds exposure) and Solar Filter.
Nine-Years Ago Today. Red fox on the side of the road with a road-killed deer. (01-Dec-2015, New Jersey)
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
The camera in the Stellina telescope stopped working. I’ll be contacting Vaonis support to try and figure out what is wrong. So tonight, I only have the Vespera-Pro telescope capturing images of the comet. The magnitude is now 9.6. The first image is a composite of 31 images (5 min 10 sec) and the second one is a composite of 247 images (41 min 20 sec). In the second image there is some movement of the comet head. Also, the comet is moving into a region of the sky with part of the milky way in the background (many more faint stars).
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 31 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 310 sec).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 247 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 2470 sec).
The comet and tail keep getting smaller and fainter. The estimated magnitude of the comet is now +9.52. I am only showing images from the Stellina and Vespera-Pro telescope which were not fitted with filters. The length of the comet tail can be estimated based on the field of view for the telescope’s digital sensors. Stellina (1.0° x 0.7°) and Vespera Pro (1.6° x 1.6°). The jpg images were processed to increase the brightness (Capture One Pro) and reduce the noise (Topaz AI).
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 30 x 10 sec).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 31 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 31 x 10 sec).
