Results ARISS SSTV Exp 65 event June 21 - 27

The ARISS SSTV "expedition 65" event scheduled between June 21 and June 27 did result in receiving 8 images out of 12. The images reflected past activities on the ISS, MIR and Space Shuttle.

Setting : using Websdr from both Noordwijk (Nl) as Nürnberg (D) and software MMSSTV. 

Results : I was able to receive  8/12 pictures from the ISS. Quality was always poor when comparing with the X-mas event 2020. The reason of the poor quality could be either low orbits of the ISS station and noise due to submitting signals from other sources (signals at 145780Hz and 145820Hz). 

Conclusion: still fun and unique to receive images from the International Space Station. 

Video Compilation of NLC above Belgium

 A compilation of NLC last month. A captured pictures of NLC during 3 nights in June 2021.

Noctilucent Clouds June 23, 2021 seen at the coast

NLC with satellite flare UT21h29

On wednesday evening, June 23 I saw noctilucent clouds above the North Sea. It was the first time I could observe NLC from another location then from my backyard. I was at Oostduinkerke (Koksijde Belgium). NLC were bright with low clouds and the reddisch from sunset made it even more special.

Noctilucent Clouds

Currently NLC over Oostduinkerke (B)

More pictures of NLC on June 18

 

Noctilucent Clouds June 18 above Averbode

Great show yesterday evening (june 18, 2021) above Averbode (B) with bright noctilucent clouds. The NLC reached from west till north and up to 45° above the horizon.

MAI75 Expedition 65 June 9 & 10 : Results and Certificate

 

On June 9 & 10, MAI 75 expedition 65 SSTV took place. I used the 70m Nurberg WebSDR on June 10. Max height of the passing ISS was good, but even then the receiving was poor. I submitted my best picture to the Indonesian Space Explorer which recognized my submission with a certificate.

NEW Upcoming ARISS SSTV Event from June 21 - June 26

Next week, the ARISS team will be transmitting SSTV images continuously from June 21 until June 26. The blog http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/ mentions that the images will be related to some of the amateur radio activities that have occurred on the Space Shuttle, Mir space station and the International Space Station.

The schedule start and stop times are:

Monday, June 21 – Setup is scheduled to begin at 09:40 UTC (transmissions should start a little later).

Saturday, June 26 – Transmissions are scheduled to end by 18:30 UTC. 

The downlink frequency will be 145.800 MHz. Those that recently missed the opportunity during the limited period of MAI experiment 65 transmissions should have numerous chances over the 6 day period to capture many (if not all 12) of the images.

Partial Solar Eclipse June 10

Composition of the partial solar eclipse of June 10.
Setting: Nikon D7500 with TAL200K f/8.5 and solarfilm ND3.8, ISO100 and 1/3200s.

Partial Solar Eclipse in different colors

The partial solar eclipse above Belgium was observed using solar continuum filter, solar filter ND3.8 and Ca-K line filter.

Setting : Nikon D7500 and TAL200K f/8.5. Final editing using CS4.

Some more picture of NLC on June 9, 2021

My first observation of  NLC was about UT21h00. I kept on looking untill UT22h00.

Noctilucent Clouds Above Averbode

This evening some bright noctilucent clouds above north-western horizon. They reached a max of 35° above the horizon.

 

NLC

Currently NLC above Averbode (Belgium). Picture taken with iPhone 11

What is polarization? Event Horizon Telescope

The Radboud University Nijmegen made a youtube video explaining the phenomenon of polarization of light. This video, made by "director" Sara Issaoun,  helps understanding the recent picture from the black hole in M87.

All details about the recent image of the magnetic fields around the black hole in M87 can be found on the webpage of the Event Horizon Telescope.

Sun with Sunspot AR2827

This evening the Sun was photographed with two sunspots (of which one is AR2827). The picture is a combination of two pictures : one with baader astrosolar ND3.8, the other with baader astrosolar ND3.8, solar continuum filter (540nm) and IR/UV blocker filter.

The combination was made using CS4 in DNG format.

This was also a general repetition for next week partial solar eclipse.