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 clouds until near midnight. The waining gibbous moon is getting brighter (99% illuminated). I programed the “Plan my Night” sequences on the Vespera telescopes to wait until after midnight before starting to observe 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. It looks like I could have programed telescopes to start observing a bit earlier. One of the telescopes, the Vespera 2 shut down early when its battery charge went below 5%. This happened despite being plugged into a USB-C power source. I am not sure if there was a problem with the USB-C connection, or if the battery was not getting charged because the outside temperature was below 32°F/0°C. 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.
