Part of Winter Hexagon

The area of Gemini and Auriga are part of the winter hexagon and have some interesting open clusters like M35, M36, M37, M38 and M44. The picture is not that good but it gives a nice overview.

Photokina 2018 : Block Your Agenda

Photokina is the world’s leading trade fair for the photo, video and imaging sectors. More extensive than any other event in the world. And you can join next year 2018 from September 26-29 in Cologne (Koln-Germany). 

The year after, in 2019, the trade fair will be again organised. This time in May which will be start of an annual cycle.

Perfect Observation Sites in the BeNeLux

The Deep Sky Group from the VVS provides the best observation locations in the BeNeLux. - see this link.

ATT Essen : Block Your Agenda

ATT Essen (European biggest Astronmy fair) will take place on May 5th, 2018 in Essen - Germany. 

Electromagnetic Spectrum of the Sun : Microwaves Part 1

Can we observe the entire electromagnetic spectrum of the Sun on Earth?  The answer is no. Once the radiation penetrates through Earths atmosphere some are reflected, absorbed or scattered.  This is shown in below graph provide by NASA.

The common electromagnetic radiation from the Sun observed on Earth are visible light, microwaves and radio waves.  Microwaves are defined as waves with wavelenghts between 1m and 1mm and thus a frequency between 300MHz en 300GHz. This is calculated via

wavelength (m) = phase speed (m/s) / frequency (Hz)  (Phase speed in space equals speed of light)


In a next article I will explain the correlation between Sunspot data and microwaves emitted from the Sun.

Buying Guide Best Cameras : Nikon D7500

DPReview provided their 2017 list of  Best Cameras by Use case and by Price Case.

My Nikon D7500 is picked

- as Best Camera in the category "by Price Case under $1500".
- as Third Best Camera in the category "for parents"
- as Fifth Best Camera in the catergory "for Sports and Actions"

This is the feedback from DPReview :

Nikon D7500 20.9MP APS-C CMOS Sensor | 51-point AF system | 3.2" tilting touch LCD

What we like:
Excellent image quality
Deep buffer and fast burst rate
Impressive AF subject tracking through the viewfinder
Small and light for a DSLR in this class

What we don't like:
Crop factor limits lens choices when capturing 4K video
Snapbridge Wi-Fi system needs improvement
Mediocre video autofocus

The Nikon D7500 is a capable and refined DSLR that produces excellent quality photos from its 20.9 megapixel CMOS sensor and also offers an impressive buffer and reliable autofocus system.

For a twin dial DSLR, it is relatively compact, but is definitely larger than most mirrorless competitors. It has a deeper grip than its predecessor, as well as improved weather-sealing. The flip-out touchscreen is responsive and can be used for focusing, menu navigation or image playback. The optical viewfinder is well-sized and has an eye sensor that turns off the LCD when you're using it.

Autofocus performance from the 51-point AF system is also quite good. The camera subject tracks with impressive accuracy thanks to its 180k-pixel RGB metering sensor. An 8 fps burst rate, coupled with a buffer depth of 50 Raw or 100+ JPEGs, means the D7500 is well-prepared for sports or action.
The camera also tracks with impressive accuracy thanks to its 180k-pixel RGB metering sensor.

Image quality from the D7500 is excellent. JPEG color tends to be pleasing, and noise reduction at high ISOs tends to be well balanced. Raw image quality is exceptional, in terms of both dynamic range and low light noise.

The D7500 can shoot 4K/UHD video but with a 1.5x crop factor (on top of the existing 1.5x APS-C crop factor), which can be pretty limiting. The quality of the 4K footage is competitive, though. The camera is also capable of Full HD video capture at up to 60 fps. Auto ISO can be used during capture and the camera has a built-in mic jack (no headphone). Autofocus during video capture is not very useful, since it's noisy, jumpy and occasionally hunts for focus.

If you're in the market for a DSLR under $1500, the D7500 is strong choice. As one of Nikon's enthusiast-grade APS-C cameras, it offers plenty of controls, customization and impressive performance that should satisfy the most demanding of stills shooters. While it can shoot 4K video, there are plenty of cameras that do so with better autofocus and no crop factor. At the end of the day, for a stills-focused photographer the D7500 an excellent camera - and one that can make use of a vast range of Nikon and third-party lenses going back decades.

Less then a month to go

On december 21 it's again time to set up for your next solargraph. So you have 4 weeks to prepare making your own pinhole camera. DIY Instruction are available via my blog link here.

I will be preparing my next ones as well ... :) and it's not about the beer... it's about the 50cl cans.

On december 21, I will remove my installed pinhole camera's which are out since June 21. It will be my first results of the period June-December. All my previous Solargraph are made in the period Dec-June.  I'm curious about the result and what would be the difference between the periods.

Pinhole Camera Installed Since June - Size of the can 71Cl

Pinhole Camere installad since June - Size 50Cl

Solar Physics Basics - Lectures by SIDC

The Royal Observatory of Belgium has put a series of lectures on the Basics of Solar Physics on Youtube. See this link to the three lectures.
The lectures are made by physicists of SIDC (Solar Influences Data Analysis Center) and covering the phenomenological description of the interior of the Sun and the photosphere. Three lectures covering those basics are available. Have fun.

Space Weather

Source ESA

Space Weather refers to the environmental conditions in space influenced by solar activity.
What kind of  solar activity exist? The best known are coronal mass ejections (CME), flare radiation, energetic protons and energetic radiation belt particles (escaping from earth magnetic field). Beside solar activity we have also cosmic activity, known as cosmic rays.
What's the effect of Space Weather? As seen in the picture above, it seems all kind of "radiation" has potential impact on our day to day life. Impact on electronics, navigation, power distribution, pipe line corrosion, radio communication, but also increased radiation dose during flights with airplanes and  in space. Did you know that flying on an altitude of 10km results in a dose of 10 micro Sievert per hour. Average exposure is about 2 à 2,5 milli Sv/Year or 5 micro Sv/hour, so flying doubles the exposure.

For a live view on space weather see following websites:

* ESA Space Situational Awareness
* SIDC - Solar Influences Data Analysis Center

Timelapse in 8K by Marsel van Oosten

Great Timelapse video made by the Dutch Nature Photographer Marsel van Oosten. The video is shot with the new Nikon D850 using 8K capability.

Some more pictures Cynus connecting to ISS

Cygnus connected to ISS

Spacecaft Cygnus connected to ISS via Canadarm robotic arm.

Cygnus Spacecraft 250m from ISS

View from ISS on Cygnus

Watch Live on NASA TV connection of Spacecraft Cygnus with ISS. At this stage Cygnus is at the holding point of 250m away from ISS (250 miles above earth) and entering orbital night sky. Pictures below from the live view.

View on Cygnus 500m from ISS

View on Cygnus 300m from ISS above Melbourne Australia

View on Cygnus at holding point 250m and entering orbital night sky

Cynus Spacecraft ISS connection now Live

See live on NASA TV for connection of Cygnus Spacecraft (launched on Sunday by Antares Rocket OA8) with the International Space Station ISS.

Sunrise Schaffen

Sunrise Schaffen - November 13th 2017 - UT7h00

Venus Jupiter Planet Display

This morning a clear sky above Schaffen making the observation of Venus & Jupiter possible. About 5° above the eastern horizon both Venus and Jupiter could be observed, only 0,28° (17') from each other (apparent).

The wide field picture was taken using my 18-200 lens. The close up was taken using my TLAPO804 80/480 f/6 telescoop.

Venus Jupiter

Low at the Eastern horizon beautifull view of Venus and Jupiter.

Orbital ATK OA8 succesfull Launch

The Antares rocket with spacecraft Cygnus was succesfully launched from Launch Pad in Virginia.

Orbital ATK mission OA8 now live

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-tv-wallops

Update T Minus 00-01-30-00 AO8

Orbital ATK Antares rocket is getting fueled by now and is still according the plan to be launched today. Target time 13h14 local time with a free launch pad of 5 minutes. See NASA TV as well.

Close encounter between Venus and Jupiter

About 45minutes (or 7AM in the morning) before sunrise on November 12th & 13th you can observe both Jupiter and Venus low above the southeast horizon. Jupiter and Venus will be as close as about 0,3° from each other. Be aware you need to have a good view on the horizon as both planets show up  at a max of 9° above the horizon before sunrise.

Source : Stellarium

 

Orbital ATK Antares OA8 Launch has scrubbed

The launch of Orbital ATK's Antares rocket is postponed for24h and will take place 13h27 local time (MET) on Sunday November 12th. The reason was a airplane within the launch pad.

T minus 00-02-30-00

Still 2h30m to go for lift off for the Orbital ATK Antares rocket. This rocket will be launched from the launchpad in Virginia and will bring Spacecraft Cygnus into space in order to resupply the International Space Station ISS. See the launch live on NASA TV

Collage

Iridescence clouds

Cirrus clouds are responsible for the diffraction of light from the sun (reflected this evening by the moon) resulting in colored clouds.

Sundogs

High clouds are responsible for some nice Sun dogs.

Weather Summary Oktober 2017

Oktober 2017 was warmer then average (+2°C) and rainfall was lower then average (-50l/m2). Rainfall was very low, but we had every two days rainfall. Temperatures did not drop below 0°C. This Oktober 2017 is comparable with Oktober 2014.