2018

Posted August 16, 2018 by Roger Samworth

Having been seriously impressed with this image of the prominence the other day acquired with a Lunt LS152

Sunspot AR2718

http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=147300&PHPSESSID=2m86lk4cf4gr18bhad16c2p4s5

I thought I would have another go at processing my window-sill image. I screwed down the alignment box size (in Registax 6) to 10 pixels and limited the processing to the prominence area. I then added a bit of Lucy-Richardson sharpening in GIMP. I think the extra aperture of the LS152 allows a much faster shutter speed, limiting the blur due to atmospheric wobble. The result is below.

Not as good as the LS152, of course.

There is also the small matter of a factor of 20-30 in the price of the optics of course – – – – Sigh!

Moods of Vesuvius

Posted August 15, 2018 by Andrew Thornett

With so many other planets in the solar system now know to host volcanoes, I wonder if residents on those planets (and on exoplanets with volcanoes) see the range of valcanic moods visible to an observer here on Earth?

Duing our stay in Sorrento, Mount Vesuvius displayed a wode range of moods as seen from our hotel and on our travels around the region.

Andy

Sunspot AR2718

Posted August 15, 2018 by Roger Samworth

The new sunspot has now got a number – AR2718.

Look at what you CAN achieve from the UK! – http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=147300&PHPSESSID=2m86lk4cf4gr18bhad16c2p4s5

This was with a Lunt LS152 – 4+ X the aperture of my LS35 and serious money! (£11500-ish)

New Sunspot – – -14/08/2018

Posted August 14, 2018 by Roger Samworth

A new sunspot has appeared, as yet, un-numbered. (Later – now AR2718)

Why it was worth sending a rover to Gale Crater on Mars – lesson from the Amalfi Coast in Italy

Posted August 14, 2018 by Andrew Thornett

This photos shows erosion in action on this island – like tje central peak in the martian Gale Crater, layers of rock are visible – the lower ones must have been laid down before the higher ones allowing a rover to sample different geological ages as it climbs the central mountain of the crater.

Andy

Island showing layering in rock similar to central mointain in the martian Gale Crater:

Local art on display in Positano, Amalfi coast, Italy, 14/8/2018

Posted August 14, 2018 by Andrew Thornett

We came across this piece of art in art display in Positrano, Amalfi coast, Italy.

Andy

Apprently they are catching the moon:

Positrano:

Perseids-ish – Apologies photos now added!

Posted August 14, 2018 by Neil Wyatt

First an apology – for some reason the system wouldn’t let me upload any pictures, I thought I just gave up, but it’s published the post anyway!

My weekend went a bit pear-shaped so I ended up trying to get some Perseid images last night. I only saw one, and my very last shot of the night picked up a very faint one heading straight from the radiant near the double cluster, please excuse the awful coma, on 10th.

This appears to be an ion trail from a meteor that sneaked through between shorter exposures on the 14th

Having much more luck with the Graves Radar setup, thanks to Peter hill for his inspirational talk which encouraged me to take the plunge!

I ahven’t been as sophisticated in my counting of events – my brain isn’t up to checking several thousand screen gabs, so yes there are multiple counts in there as well missed counts from meteors arriving before the previous one finished, space debris and the ISS on multiple occasions. My assumption is that all these errors are effectively random and don’t affect the overall profile significantly.

These are my hourly counts, all peaking about 6:00am – UTC/GMT.