Moon and Venus with my Weatherstation

A beautiful alignment of the Moon, Venus and my weatherstation.

Heat waves 2025 and 2026 (so far)

A heat wave is an extended period of anomalously high atmospheric temperatures driven by synoptic-scale anticyclones, where sinking air warms adiabatically and suppresses cloud formation. This allows uninterrupted solar radiation to directly heat the Earth's surface, creating a thermal feedback loop amplified by dry, low-specific-heat sandy soils like those in Averbode. In Belgium, the official threshold requires at least five consecutive days reaching 25 Celsius or higher, with at least three of those days exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. The localized environmental and thermodynamic impacts of these specific atmospheric events in Averbode are outlined below with a comparison of the official data of KMI Uccle.

For Averbode we have more heat waves then official registrated by KMI in Uccle. Also the lenght of the heat waves are longer. 

Data is measured using weather station:  Levenhuk - WU ISCHER75 or EcoWitt EasyWeatherPro-16ACFC

Sun July 15 different wavelengts

The Sun in different wavelengths.

Setting: Sol'Ex by James R on TLAPO80/480 and ASI678MM

Herschel Wegde, 2nd Gen Slit and IR Cut Filter

Tilt <0,5° and Sx/Sy=1

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

Sun July 14

Very good seeing this morning. Mount was polar aligned and Sol'Ex was foreseen with an IR Cut filter.

Setting: Sol'Ex by James R, Herschel Wedge and IR Cut filter

TLAPO80/480 with ASI678MM Camera

Sx/Sy = 1 and tilt 0,2°

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

 

MgIb2 (-1 pixel or 0,06A)

July 11 Prominences

Images of the Sun and it's prominences. Images are inversed.

Solar Observation Day

On July 5th, the Belgian astronomy association VVS organized its annual National Solar Observation Day. Our local astronomy club, Helios, was proud to take part in this nationwide event. The activities were held at Het Moment, located on the beautiful grounds of Averbode Abbey, providing a wonderful setting for a day dedicated to astronomy.

Despite the less-than-ideal weather, we were delighted to welcome around 200 visitors throughout the day. Many came hoping to observe the Sun through our specially equipped solar telescopes and to learn more about our nearest star.

Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. Thick clouds covered the sky from morning until evening, preventing us from showing the Sun to our visitors. While this was disappointing for both the public and our volunteers, the enthusiasm of those who attended never faded.

Instead, we spent the day explaining how solar observations are carried out safely, discussing the features that can normally be seen on the Sun—such as sunspots and prominences—and answering many questions about astronomy and our observing equipment. Although the Sun remained hidden behind the clouds, it was still a rewarding day filled with interesting conversations and a shared passion for astronomy.

We hope for clearer skies next year so we can give our visitors the spectacular solar views they came to see.


Written by Pascal and rewritten by AI

Amazing Prominence July 4th

 

Observation of an amazing prominence on July 4th. The image was made using my Sol'Ex on TLAPO80/480 with ASI678MM.

Editing using Inti, DeNoise AI and CS4.