Waxing gibbous Moon at 12:04 AM CDT June 29, 2012 (05:04 UT), 8″ reflector telescope with 25mm eyepiece (65x magnification).
Northern portion of the Moon at 12:02 AM CDT 6-29-12 (05:02 UT), with the crater Plato very prominent, one of my perennial favorites. Magnification doubled to 130x with 2x Barlow.
Viewing the Venus transit got me in gear for sunspot observation, and at an apt time, since the Sun is now quite active as it approaches a solar maximum:
The Sun at 8:40 AM CDT June 30, 2012 (13:40 UT), 60mm refractor telescope with 17mm eyepiece via projection. The Sun is getting spotty indeed! Clockwise from upper right, the three conspicuous sunspots are 1512, 1514, and 1513 respectively. According to Spaceweather.com, “Sunspots 1512 and 1513 pose a threat for M-class solar flares,” and the effects have recently been felt across Europe especially.
LG VX8360 cell phone camera. Click to enlarge.
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