Birds and planes passing in front of the sun with sunspots
Today it was silhouettes of a turkey vulture, some other birds, and partial silhouettes of a jet and a small plane passing in front of the sun. I’ve also added the time-lapse video if you want to look for other objects passing in front of the sun. There are several sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum) that are constant across the video. When viewing the individual images there are some with small dots (satellites?) and blurs (blowing autumn leaves).
Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of a bird. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of two birds. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of a jet. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of an airplane. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
The comet is still visible to the telescopes with an estimated magnitude of +6.8. The tail is fainter and shorter than yesterday. The Vespera II telescope was fitted with a CLS (city light suppression) filter causing the tint to the image. 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°), Vespera Classic (1.6° x 0.9°), Vespera Passengers (2.4° x 1.8°), Vespera II (2.5° x 1.4°), 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 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 30 x 10 sec).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera Passengers Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 30 x 10 sec).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera II Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 30 x 10 sec) using a CLS (city light suppression) filter.Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 30 x 10 sec).
Jets and birds passing in front of the sun with sunspots.
The sky started out clear and sunny with clouds coming in later in the day. The Stellina telescope was fitted with a solar filter and set to observe the sun and sunspots. While reviewing a time-lapse video of the 18500 images (7h 45m compressed down to 10m 15s) I noticed the silhouette of a couple of jets and a bird (Turkey Vulture). Let me know if you see anything else (other than clouds) passing in front of the sun. It was windy with leaves falling from the trees. Even though it is Halloween, I didn’t catch a silhouette of a witch on a broom flying past the sun. By evening, the sky clouded over, so no images of the comet or other night sky objects.
Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of a jet. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of a jet. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of a bird. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.
Even though it didn’t rain Tuesday night, the sky was too overcast for any observations of the comet (or any other objects). Today it was clear and sunny most of the day with some high-level clouds appearing towards evening. During the day, the Stellina telescope was fitted with a solar filter to observe the sun and sunspots. The images were used to create a time-lapse video.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
I wasn’t sure if it would clear up again in time for the telescopes to observe the comet. Whether doing single observations or automated observation plans, initialization of the Stellina and Vespera telescopes require clear enough sky to see some stars to run the automated initialization routine (sky alignment and focus).
My workflow for doing observations of the comet goes as follows. First, I use the Stellarium software package to look up the RA (right ascension) and Dec (declination) data for Comet C/2023 A3 for my location and time of the observation (19:00 to 20:30). The RA/dec data is used to create manual observation targets in the Vaonis Singularity application. The manual observation targets are then used to create an observation plan. Since the comet is moving relative to stars, I set up a sequence of 15-minute observations from the point it is dark enough for the telescopes to initialize until the comet falls behind the trees toward the western horizon (~19:00 to 20:30). The observation plan is saved and uploaded to the telescope.
Once the plan is started the device does not need to remain connected to the telescope. The telescope waits until it is dark enough to initialize, then runs the observation plan. The observation data is collected and stored in temporary memory within the telescope. When the observation plan is complete (and before the sun comes up) the telescope closes and shuts down.
As long as the device running the Singularity application is connected to the internet, the manual targets and observation plans are stored in the cloud (within your Singularity account). I make use of this so I can share and run the same manual targets and observation plans on multiple Stellina and Vespera telescopes. Note that you need share the information before making the ad hock WiFi connection between the device running Singularity and the telescope. (Note: I use separate devices for each telescope).
I set up the telescopes and started the observation plan, still not sure if the sky would clear. After dinner when I checked the telescopes (~20:00), four out of five initialized and started observations of the comet even though there still were some clouds. During an observation, the telescopes only saves and stacks images when the view is not obstructed. So, in this case when the comet was blocked by clouds the telescope stopped collecting images until the sky was clear again. I am not sure why the Vespera Passengers telescope didn’t initialize. The comet is getting fainter, and the tail shorter.
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 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 30 x 10 sec).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera II Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 30 x 10 sec) using a CLS (city light suppression) filter.Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 30 x 10 sec).
After the comet dropped below the tree line, the telescopes were set to continue or start multi-night mosaic observations of the Veil Nebulae (NGC 6960 and NGC 6992), the Heart and Fish head Nebulae (IC 1805 and IC 1795), and the Horse Head and Flame Nebulae (IC 434 and NGC 2024). Three of the telescopes (Vespera Classic, Vespera Passenger, and Vespera Pro) were fitted with dual narrow band Hα/OIII (hydrogen alpha/oxygen III) interference filters. The CLS filter remained on the Vespera II telescope, and no filter was used on the Stellina telescope.
Combined Heart and Fish Head Nebula (IC 1805)
Four nights of observation data from a Vespera Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 10 sec exposures) using a Dual band H-alpha, O-III filter. The composite mosaic (2.4° x 2.4°) was created from 3541 images (9h 50m 10s) using the new multi-night capability of the instrument. I am not sure if the green streak near the Fish Head Nebula is a meteor. The slideshow shows the progression of the image
The sky was partly cloudy during the day. The Stellina telescope was fitted with a solar filter to observe the sun and sunspots. After the system locks onto the sun, it takes about 40 images a minute. I believe each exposure is 1/4000 second. In the past I have captured silhouettes of birds or planes passing in front of the sun. 15-September-2023 Since we are in a solar maximum period there are lots of sunspots. In the time-lapse video clouds and jet contrails pass in front of the sun.
Sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec).
By evening, the sky clouded over so no observations of the comet tonight. We really need some rain.
With the sky clear, I set up the Vespera Observation station with a solar filter during the day to observe sunspots. When I reviewed the images, I found one with a silhouette of a bird (Turkey Vulture?) flying in front of the sun. In the past I have capture images of planes, and sometimes satellites transiting the solar disk. While on Semester at Sea voyages, we had an informal contest to capture images of ships at the horizon passing in front of the sun at sunset (or sunrise).
Silhouette of bird flying in front of the Sun. Image taken with a Vespera Observation Station (50 mm lens, 200 mm focal length, f/4, 1/4000 sec) fitted with a solar filter. Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. (David J Mathre)
Once it got dark out, I set up both the Vespera and Stellina observation stations to observe deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, star clusters). The Vespera was fitted with a dual band (H-alpha and O-III) filter. The Vespera captured images of NGC 6960: Western Veil Nebula, Witch’s Broom Nebula; IC 1396: Elephant’s Trunk Nebula; and IC 1795: Fish Head Nebula. The final one didn’t go to completion due to condensation on the lens.
NGC 6960: Western Veil Nebula, Witch’s Broom Nebula. Composite of 407 10 second exposures taken with a Vespera Observation Station (50 mm lens, 200 mm focal length, f/4, 4070 sec) using a dual band (H-alpha, O-III) filter. Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. (David J Mathre)
IC 1396 Emission Nebula (Elephant’s Trunk Nebula). Composite of 623 10 second exposures taken with a Vespera Observation Station (50 mm lens, 200 mm focal length, f/4, 6230 sec) using a dual band (H-alpha, O-III) filter. Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. (David J Mathre)
IC 1795 Emission Nebula (Fish Head Nebula). Composite of 175 10 second exposures taken with a Vespera Observation Station (50 mm lens, 200 mm focal length, f/4, 1750 sec) using a dual band (H-alpha, O-III) filter. Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. Note: Observation did not run to completion. (David J Mathre)
For the Stellina, I used the “Plan My Night” option to collect images of Messier 29 Open Cluster (M29, NGC 6913); NGC 6946 (Fireworks Galaxy); NGC 7331 Spiral Galaxy (Caldwel 30); Messier 31 Spiral Galaxy (Andromeda Galaxy, NGC 224); Messier 74 Spiral Galaxy (M74, NGC 628, Phantom Galaxy); Messier 110 Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (M10, NGC 205); IC 342: The Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis. The system was set to collect images for about an hour for each object. For some reason, the telescope did not automatically close at the end of the collection. I am not sure if the external Anker Power USB power supply ran out. The lens was covered with dew. The Stellina system has a lens heater that is supposed to prevent condensation so may be the reason the power bank ran out. The Vespera system does not have the lens heater option installed.
Messier 29 Open Cluster (M29, NGC 6913). Composite of 131 exposures taken with a Stellina Observation Station (80 mm lens, 400 mm focal length, f/5, 1310 sec). Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. (David J Mathre)
NGC 6946 (Fireworks Galaxy). Composite of 220 10 second exposures taken with a Stellina Observation Station (80 mm lens, 400 mm focal length, f/5, 2200 sec). Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. (David J Mathre)
NGC 7331 Spiral Galaxy (Caldwel 30). Composite of 143 10 second exposures taken with a Stellina Observation Station (80 mm lens, 400 mm focal length, f/5, 1430 sec). Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. (David J Mathre)
Messier 31 Spiral Galaxy (Andromeda Galaxy, NGC 224). Composite of 601 10 second exposures taken with a Stellina Observation Station (80 mm lens, 400 mm focal length, f/5, 6150 sec). Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. (David J Mathre)
Messier 74 Spiral Galaxy (M74, NGC 628, Phantom Galaxy). Composite of 203 10 second exposures taken with a Stellina Observation Station (80 mm lens, 400 mm focal length, f/5, 2030 sec). Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. (David J Mathre)
Messier 110 Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (M10, NGC 205). Composite of 367 10 second exposures taken with a Stellina Observation Station (80 mm lens, 400 mm focal length, f/5, 3670 sec). Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. Located near the Andromeda galaxy (bottom right corner). (David J Mathre)
IC 342: The Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis. Composite of 239 10 second exposures taken with a Stellina Observation Station (80 mm lens, 400 mm focal length, f/5, 2390 sec). Image processed with Topaz Photo AI. (David J Mathre)
Daily Electric Energy Used (46.5 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (51.7 kWh) from Sense. Sunny. Surplus of 5.2 kWh.
