Tuesday (24-December-2024) — New Jersey
Eight-Years Ago Today. The troll family on Christmas Eve. (24-Dec-2016, New Jersey)
Monday (23-December-2024) — New Jersey
Sixteen-Years Ago Today. Osprey in flight with a fish. Fort DeSoto Park. (23-Dec-2008, Florida).
Stellina has Returned from a round trip to France.
The Vaonis Stellina automated telescope arrived back today after a trip to France to repair the camera sensor. The instrument was still under warranty so the only cost was a getting shipping fly case so the telescope would be protected while in transit. I dropped the package off at a local UPS store on the 11th and it arrived back today. The sun was shining so I set it up on a tripod and tested it with a solar observation. Clouds are forecasted for tonight, so I will need to wait to check it out at night. Hopefully, the comet will still be visible.
Silhouettes of Jets and Geese Transiting the Sun.
Today, I captured images of a flock of geese and several jets transiting the sun while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum). I was viewing the sun with a Vespera Classic and Vespera Pro automated telescope using solar filters. One of the jets had a trailing condensation trail that continued in front of the sun for 12 additional images (~15 seconds)
Jet with condensation trail passing in front of the sun. Images captured with a Vespera Classic telescope fitted with a solar filter. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery
Sunday (22-December-2024) — New Jersey
Ten-Years Ago Today. Poppies and Lupines at Christ Church Cathedral, Stanley. (22-Dec-2014, Falkland Islands)
Silhouettes of an Airplane and Jets Passing in Front of the Sun.
Today, I captured images of an airplane and several jets transiting the sun while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum). I was observing the sun with a Vespera Classic and a Vespera Pro telescope each fitted with a solar filter. The exposure time for solar observations with the Vespera Classic telescope is 250 microseconds (1/4000 sec) and with the Vespera Pro telescope is 1400 microseconds (1/714 sec). The Vespera Classic takes 51-52 solar images per minute and the Vespera Pro takes 8-9 solar images per minute.
Images taken with a Vespera Classic or Vespera-Pro telescope. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
The comet is getting fainter and the tail much shorter. You may need to look closely; the comet is in the center of the frame. The magnitude is now 10.9. The slideshow displays the 32nd, 64th and 96th stacked composite image (5 min 20 sec, 10 min 40 sec, 16 min). In the last two images there is some movement of the comet head.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Images taken with a Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, composites of 10 sec exposures). Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery
Saturday (21-December-2024) — New Jersey
Ten-Years Ago Today. Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) on New Island. (21-Dec-2014, Falkland Islands)
Winter Solstice Walkabout after the Snowstorm.
The snow ended and the sky cleared soon after sunrise. I set up the telescopes to observe the sun then went for a walkabout around the yard. The snow was a light powder that I was able to easily clear the driveway with a leaf blower. The tractor and the snow blower are ready but weren’t needed this time.
Images taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
The comet is getting fainter and the tail much shorter. You may need to look closely; the comet is in the center of the frame. The magnitude is now 10.9. The slideshow displays the 32nd, 64th, 128th, and 256th stacked composite image (5 min 20 sec, 10 min 40 sec, 21 min 20 sec, 42 min 40 sec). In the last two images there is some movement of the comet head.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Images taken with a Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, composites of 10 sec exposures). Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery
Friday (20-December-2024) — New Jersey
Fifteen-Years Ago Today. Rainbow over Maui. (20-Dec-2009, Hawaii).
Trolls Out Celebrating the Winter Solstice.
I set up a camera looking out the backdoor window to take images for a time-lapse video of the snow accumulating on a set of Trolls. The prediction was for 2 inches. By morning there was between 4 and 6 inches of accumulation. The snow was light and fluffy. I didn’t need to start up the snow blower to clear a path to the driveway. I just used a battery powered leaf blower.
Apple-Cranberry Crisp
I had some Cranberries and Apples remaining from the last Fairgrown Farm CSA delivery. I used them to make a Crisp using a recipe modified from making an Apple-Pomegranate Crisp.
