Posted in Astronomy, Astrophotography, Moon photos, tagged Astronomy, Cell phone astrophotography, Comet Pan-STARRS, comets, Moon photos, waning crescent Moon on April 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »
7:09 AM CDT April 3, 2013 (12:09 UT). 8″ reflector telescope, 25mm eyepiece, LG VX8360 cell phone camera. Click to enlarge.
Don’t forget to look for Comet Pan-STARRS while it’s close in our sky to the Andromeda Galaxy!
Comet Pan-STARRS Offers M31 Photo Op (Sky and Telescope)
Posted in Astronomy, Astrophotography, Lunar 100, Moon photos, Saturn photos, tagged Astronomy, Cell phone astrophotography, Comet Pan-STARRS, comets, Lunar 100, Moon, Moon photos, Saturn photos, waning crescent Moon on April 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »
6:41 AM CDT April 3, 2013 (11:41 UT), 8″ reflector telescope with 25mm eyepiece.
The splendid crater Copernicus is Number 5 in Charles A. Woods’ Lunar 100 and can be easily seen in the photo above, and even more prominently in the upper center of this closeup from October 19, 2011, at 7:49 AM CDT (12:49 UT):
8″ reflector telescope, 25mm eyepiece, 2x Barlow.
It is a favorable time to view Saturn, as it is approaching opposition on April 28, at which time it will make its closest approach to Earth for this year. Here’s an update:
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5:56 AM CDT April 3, 2013 (10:56 UT) Angular diameter 18.57 arc seconds Distance from Earth 828,198,000 miles (1,332,855,000 km) |
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6:45 AM CST February 21, 2013 (12:45 UT) Angular diameter 17.60 arc seconds Distance from Earth 873,809,000 miles (1,406,259,000 km) |
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7:01 AM CST November 20, 2012 (13:01 UT) Angular diameter 15.49 arc seconds Distance from Earth 992,918,000 miles (1,598,000,000 km) |
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11:42 PM CDT June 7, 2012 (04:42 UT June 8, 2012) Angular diameter 18.15 arc seconds Distance from Earth 847,415,000 miles (1,363,782,000 km) |
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4:38 AM CDT April 12, 2012 (09:38 UT) Angular diameter 18.97 arc seconds Distance from Earth 810,707,000 miles (1,304,706,000 km) |
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6:13 AM CST January 8, 2012 (12:13 UT) Angular diameter 16.82 arc seconds Distance from Earth 913,348,000 miles (1,471,501,000 km) 25mm eyepiece with 2x Barlow, scaled to match the others |
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3:23 AM CDT April 14, 2011 (08:23 UT) Angular diameter 18.97 arc seconds Distance from Earth 810,570,000 miles (1,304,487,000 km) |
Last but not least, I’m happy to report that on Sunday evening I made a clear sighting of Comet Pan-STARRS, which this week is passing right by the Andromeda Galaxy, so don’t miss it, because it’s one of the best times available to use a major astronomical “landmark” to find the comet! I don’t expect to post any pictures, as the comet is too faint for my modest photo equipment. but Nathan P. Hoffman succeeded in capturing it here, and a great place to watch for the latest amateur photos is www.spaceweather.com/.
Almost forgot – my photos are taken with an LG VX8360 cell phone camera, as usual. Gotta love the internet … a guy with no money can aim his pocket camera into a weathered old telescope and turn it into an astronomy site …
Posted in Astronomy, tagged Astronomy, Comet Lovejoy, comets on December 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
A comet (part of it, that is) has survived a visit less than two solar diameters from the Sun, most extraordinary:
In Touch With the Sky 