Near occultation of ZC797 by Helios is published in magazine Heelal

The observation by Helios (Bart, Lieven and Myself) of the near occultation of SAO77121 by the Moon is published in Magazine Heelal of July 2026.The description of this observation can be found in my blog via this link 

 https://pascalhilkensastropage.blogspot.com/2026/03/near-occultation-of-sao77121-by-moon-on.html

Supernova SN2026fvx published in magazine Heelal

My observation of Supernova SN2026fvx is published in Magazine Heelal of July 2026
See my blog: https://pascalhilkensastropage.blogspot.com/2026/04/sipernova-sn2026fvx-in-ngc4205.html

Sun Sol'Ex June 28

 

Active sun in different wavelenghts using Sol'Ex by James R on TLAPO80/480 and ASI678MM.

Noctilucent Clouds June 29

Finally, I could capture noctilucent clouds. The last time I could observe them was back in 2024.

Noctilucent Clouds (NLC) June 28

Some NLC "behind" low clouds.

Filament 109km/s AR4478 Solex

Filament eruption near AR4478 on June 25. I repaired my Sol'Ex by James R and I completed a try out together wtih Lieven, a Helios colleague.

After taking the first scan, a filemant showed up in Ha2cb. Using JSolex, the speed is abt 109km/s

A made a couple of gif images to show the dynamics across different wavelengths; from 0,5 till 2,5A and -0,5 till -2,5A from the centre of the H-Alpha line.

Setting

- Sol'Ex by James R, 2nd Gen Slit, TLAPO80/480 and ASI678MM

- Herschel Wedge

- tilt -2,6° and Sx/Sy=1

- Software : SharpCap, Inti, CS4, JSolex

Reworked Sunspot AR4478

Reworked Sunspot AR4478 using AstroSurface with IMPPG and CS4.

Sunspot AR4478

Sunspot AR4478 (size 650MH) captured using my TAL200K f/8.5 and barlow x2.

Use of ND3.8 filter, OIII and IR/UV filter.

Software: SharpCap, AstroSurface and CS4

Sun June 24 with flare in AR4475

Temperature slightly above 30°C but seeing is good. I could capture a flare near sunspot AR4475 and in CaIIH line.


Setting: Solex Pro on TLAPO60/360 and ASI290MM
ND Filter

Tilt:0,6° Sx/Sy:1

Software: SharpCap, Inti, JSolex, DeNoise AI, CS4

Sun June 22 Sol'Ex and JSolex setting

Day 6 of the second* heat wave in Belgium so far this year. So conditions are moderate with temperatures above 25°C this morning and moderate seeing. I added extra protection with Aluminum foil on the camera and parts of mu Sol'Ex Pro version to protect for heating.

I spend time to a sharp apture aswell a good Sx/Sy. 

But more important was the time I spend on editing the images using JSolex. The slit contains some dust and previous images didn't show them. So went back to the basics and changed JSolex settings with some good results. 

* the first heat wave end May is not official as measured in Uccle but was registrated locally at my hometown.

E-Corona woth Sol'Ex

Last year I tried a couple of times to capture the E-Corona of the Sun. This time, the Sun was higher in the sky and a UT noon time about 62°. Most of the time a blue sky with sometimes very dim high clouds. 

Setting:

TS/TLAPO 80/360 with ND filter and ASI290MM camerea

AZ/EQ6 mount

Solex Pro version with tilted continuum filter 

Camera temperature : 46°C

Seeing: moderate to poor

ROI Capture Area 1936x68

Tilt:-0,17°

Sx/Sy: 5,82

Binning 2x2

Exposure time: 1,79ms Gain 116

Frames per second : 550

Total scans : 105

Software: Sharpcap

Editing: Inti, JSOLEX, CS4, DeNoise AI

ImageMath by JSolex; setting by Cedric aswell as by Olivier. Below images are made using setting by Olivier.

Conclusion:

- use of tilted continuum filter makes it easy to find the area of interest (Fe XIV)

- impact of seeing conditions

- almost One hour of scanning, resulting in 105 images

- sky not all the time blue and transparent

- Sx/Sy to high; rate should be x32 in stead of x16

- some signal in the image but still to weak to really make the link with the E-corona

Solex H-Alpha and CaIIH

My Solex by James R is still under repair and therefore I'm using my Solex Pro version with ASI290MM camera and ND filter on the TS/TLAPO60/360 scope.

I'm not sure what the rootcause is but the image show a kind of movement; could be seeing but I'm not sure. Anyway the focus was getting the E-corona imaged (see other blogpost) and finding the sweet spot for sharpness. 

Some smaller sunspots are visible aswell as a flare on the western limb resulting in a nice sharp prominence. 

Nancy Grace Roman Boarding Pass

The new Hubble Space telescope, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is planned to be launched in August 2026. The aperture is the same as the Hubble Telescope but it will over a larger field of view. In the mean time I got my boarding pass :)

Supernumerary and double rainbows and a drone image of rainbow

Last week I could capture some special rainbows: double rainbows and supernumerary rainbows.

I took aswell a picture using my DJIO Neo2 drone.... really promising. 

Very rare 9° Halo

On June 11, 2026 I could capture a very rare halo. Beside the 22° Halo, there was aswell a 9° halo. I send my picture to Beglium Weather group  which confirmed the 9° halo. The 9° halo finds it's origin in pyramid chrystals. See aswell this website : https://www.meteoros.de/themen/halos/haloarten/ee31

Comparing MgI B2 and CaIIH line and magnetic canopy

When observing the sun through the MgI B2 line, we are looking at the absolute base of the solar atmosphere—specifically within the transition zone from the high photosphere to the low chromosphere (the temperature minimum) at an altitude of approximately 600 to 700 kilometers above the visible solar surface. At this specific height, the gas pressure is still relatively high, causing the churning gas to powerfully push the magnetic fields aside and tightly compress them along the edges of the giant supergranulation cells. As a result, a MgI B2  image reveals supergranulation as a sharp, thin, and geometric 'spiderweb' of bright magnetic lines, interspersed with relatively quiet, dark cell centers where the normal, smaller granulation of the photosphere still faintly shimmers through. This yields a pure and undistorted view that lays bare the exact roots and foundation of solar magnetism.

Comparing MgI B2  with CaII H.

When we compare these images with observations in the CaII H line, we ascend several floors up into the active chromosphere, reaching an altitude of 1,000 to 1,800 kilometers. Because the gas pressure drops exponentially at this great height, the crushing force that compressed the magnetic fields below completely vanishes. Consequently, the sharp, thin lines from the magnesium image transform into broad, fluffy, and cloud-like structures in the calcium image; the magnetic fields flare out in a funnel-like shape, forming the so-called magnetic canopy that partially drapes over the dark cell centers.

Furthermore, the entire texture of the sun changes completely: the crisp, geometric appearance of the magnesium line gives way to a chaotic and 'hairy' landscape in the calcium line, filled with fibrils (magnetic gas streams shooting upward like blades of grass) and bright flashes from acoustic shock waves. Finally, due to intense heating higher up in the chromosphere, active regions around sunspots light up as gigantic, brilliant magnetic clouds (plages) in the calcium line, whereas those very same regions remain highly compact and sharply bounded in the lower magnesium line.

Concretely, we see the emergence of supergranulation in Mg I B2, which then further develops and expands in CaII H. I  dived into my archives and reprocessed my images from December 28, 2025. The results clearly showcase the sharp, crisp definition of the supergranulation in MgI B2 versus the fluffy, chaotic magnetic field boundaries in CaII H. According to solar physics papers, the phenomena we observe in MgI B2 can only be explained if we assume they occur in an NLTE (Non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium) environment. This stands in contrast to LTE (Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium), which is typically much easier to calculate and model.

Setup & Processing Details:

Equipment: SOLEX by James R with a 2nd Gen Slit, mounted on an AZ-EQ6, using an ASI678MM camera.

Capture & Initial Processing: Captured in SharpCap and processed via Inti.

MgI B2 Image: Created from a stack of 3 exposures using AstroSurface, with final editing done in IMPPG and Photoshop CS4.

CaII H Image: A single-exposure capture, processed and enhanced using Photoshop CS4 and Topaz DeNoise AI.

Reversed images

Sodium tail of Mercury

Not a good sky at all but good enough to do a test to catch the sodium tail of Mercury.

Set up:

- AZEQ6 Mount

- Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 lens

- Sodium Filter

- ASI2600MC

Software : SharpCap 4

Stacking : AstroSurface and editing CS4

So, weather was not good with poor transparency resulting in no tail at all. Next time focal point will be increased aswell.

Sol'Ex Pro fine adjustments

The Sol'Ex Pro version has an adjustment ring for the collimator block. It works better then version 1 but still it's difficult to get a sharp image. Christian Buil provided an exact number for the distance of the collimator block: 88,5mm. This setting is explained in below.  Be aware this distance is for H-Alpha. I asked the question about CaII H/K line and this was Christian's response:

Regarding a question I was asked: the 88.5 mm value I recommend is optimal for H-alpha and, more generally, for the visible spectrum. For the Ca II H & K lines, it is preferable to aim for 88.8 mm. This corresponds to about 0.3 turn of the adjustment ring when switching from H-alpha to Ca II directly on the telescope, without having to disassemble the instrument.


So te difference between H-alpha and CaII H/K is according to Christian 0,3mm. 

I''m using the distance of the opening in the collimator block to adjust for H-alpha and CaII H/K.

As a base this is about 6,24mm and will be 6,54mm for CaII H/K

Sun with SolarMaxIII Double Stack and 678MM

The Sun this afternoon with SolarMaxIII Double Stacked and first time using my ASI678MM. I used a reducer x0,5 and made flats using SharpCap. Also the seeing monitor of SharpCap was used to capture only the 2% best images. Exposure time 0,294ms and 2000 frames. AstroSurface completed stacking and keeping 1000 frames for editing.

The sun was very active with a relative H-alpha number of 184.