Differential velocity - H-beta - JSolex

 

Differential Velocity of the Sun - JSolex 4.5 release

With the release of JSolex 4.5, it's now possible to calculate the differential velocity of the sun's disk using doppler effect of H-alpha.

I used some of my better Sol'Ex images and the result is very good compared with the theoretical one.

Rework Barnard's Loop Sh2-278

 

Reworking of the Barnard's Loop following protocol:
* Stacking using APP (H-alpha with Sigma 24mm f/1.8 & Optolong L-Pro Nikkor 23mm f/3.5)
* DeNoise AI

* Layer adjust using CS4

* Starnet ++ and adjusting using CS4

* Combining all in CS4

Barnard's Loop SH2-278

 

I used my new (second hand) Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens for the first time. It was foreseen with a dew heater as ambient temperature was about -5°C.

Objective was capturing Barnard's loop with H-alpha filter and ASI2600MC.

This was my 6th session so far of which one failed. 

Polar allignment failed with SharpCap, so no polarallignment was done. With a 300s exposure time, the scope was pretty well alligned :)

Setting:

ASI2600MC with Signma 18-35mm f/1.8 and H-alpha filter (12nm)

Software: SharpCap, APP, CS4 and DeNoise AI

Stacking:

* Session 4: Nikkor 10-24mm f/3.8 H-alpha 23x300s

* Session 5: Nikkor 10-24mm f/3.8 Optolong L-Pro 6x300s

* Session 6: Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 H-alpha 24x300s

Barnard's Loop or Sh 2-276) is an emisson nebula in Orion. It is part of the Orion molucelar cloud complex which also contains the Orion Nebula and Horsehead. The stars within the Orion Nebula are believed to be responsible for ionizing the loop.

The Barnard's Loop is about 1,400 ly away and 360 ly long. The loop is the result of a supernova about 2 million years ago.

Visit China - Nanchang and Beijing

The cosmology of imperial China is written into the geometry of the Forbidden City, where architecture functioned as a model of the universe. Aligned precisely along a north–south axis, the palace mirrored the celestial meridian, placing the emperor symbolically at the pivot between Heaven and Earth.
At its southern entrance, the Meridian Gate marked both political and astronomical orientation, acting as the terrestrial counterpart to the sky’s central meridian.

Sunrise between Bejing and Nanchang

Bayi Square Nanchang - Second largest square in China

Tengwang Pavilion Nanchang - One of the three famous historical towers

Skyline in Nanchang

Skyline in Nanchang

Temple of Heaven: Imperial Vault

Forbidden City Meridian Gate

Forbidden City Gate of Supreme Harmony

Court rituals timed to solstices and equinoxes reinforced this alignment, embedding governance within celestial cycles.
Beyond the palace, the ritual landscape extended to the Imperial Vault of Heaven, whose circular form echoed the dome of the sky and housed tablets of divine order.
This structure formed part of the wider Temple of Heaven system, where emperors performed sacrifices to maintain cosmic harmony.
To complete the celestial triad, annex shrines honored solar and lunar forces: the Temple of the Sun (incliuding planets and even the stars of the big dipper) in the east and the Temple of the Moon in the west.
Together, these sites formed a sacred map of the heavens projected onto Beijing’s ground plan.
The emperor’s authority thus depended not only on governance but on precise astronomical alignment with cosmic order.

Forbidden City Sundials

Wanshun Pavilion in Jingshan Parc

Eclipse August 12, 2026

 

All my bookings are completed for the Eclipse of August 12, 2026. I will be staying near Burgos in Carrion de los Condes on the Camino de Santiago. I stayed before in this location back in 2017 when I walked the Camino from Burgos to Santiago de Compostella.

MoonSwatch - Omega Speedmaster Mission to the Sun

Since a couple of years I want to buy the Speedmaster of Omega. The Speedmaster is the only watch qualified by NASA. Just three weeks after receiving NASA’s official qualification, the Speedmaster ST 105.003 made its space debut on March 23, 1965. It was worn by astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John Young during the Gemini 3 mission. 

Following Gemini 3, the Speedmaster— and its subsequent evolutions— became an essential piece of equipment for every crewed NASA mission. It gained legendary status when astronaut Ed White wore it during the first American spacewalk later that same year, and again during Apollo 8 in 1968, when its crew became the first humans to witness "the far side of the Moon."As the missions advanced, so did the importance of the Speedmaster. On July 20, 1969, NASA achieved its ultimate goal: Apollo 11 successfully landed on the Moon. As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface, the Speedmaster became the first watch worn on the Moon— a milestone in both space exploration and horological history.

From that moment forward, the Speedmaster continued to accompany astronauts on every Moon landing and remained a trusted tool throughout the Apollo program and beyond.

When a couple of year ago the MoonSwatch was launched, it was my chance to buy this historical watch. But it was only recently when I bought one. I choose the MoonSwatch, a Sun Yellow dial "Mission to the Sun" Speedmaster with Dot over 90!