Animation Partial Solar Eclipse October 25, 2022

 

Animation of Partial Solar Eclipse of October 25, 2022.
Setting: Nikon D7500 with TLAPO80/480 f/6 and filters ND3.8, OIII

Boekbespreking: De Olifant in het Universum van Govert Schilling

 

Titel: De olifant in het universum. Donkere materie, mysterieuze deeltjes en de samenstelling van ons heelal.

Auteur: Govert Schilling

Uitgave: Fontaine Uitgevers, 2021, ISBN 978 94 6404 097 5

De term ‘dark matter’ werd honderd jaar geleden, in mei 1922, voor het eerst geïntroduceerd door de Nederlandse astronoom Jacobus Kapteyn, onder de titel “First attempt at a theory of the arrangement and motion of the sidereal system” in The Astrophysical Journal”.

De echte aard van donkere materie blijft een van de grootste onopgeloste vraagstukken in de kosmologie. Volgens het huidige concordantie LCDM-model bestaat het heelal uit 4,9% baryonische materie, 68,5% uit donkere energie en 26,6% uit donkere materie.

In 25 hoofdstukken geeft Govert Schilling een overzicht van de zoektocht naar deze donkere materie. Een zoektocht naar het onzichtbare mysterieuze spul dat ervoor zorgt dat sterrenstelsels en clusters niet uit elkaar vliegen en ervoor zorgt dat het heelal steeds sneller uitdijt. Wat ik goed vind in dit boek is dat Schilling er zelf heeft voor gereisd. Hij bezocht sterrenwachten, laboratoria en interviewde bekende wetenschappers en Nobelprijswinnaars.

Er wordt een historisch overzicht gegeven over de indirecte bewijzen van donkere materie. Passeren de revue, galactische dynamica, metingen van zwaartekrachtlenzen, supernova-waarnemingen, en baryonische akoestische oscillaties, kosmische abundatie, … Het verhaal van heel wat bekende namen Zwicky, Peebles, Ostriker, Ford, Vera Rubin, de Bende van Vier, Bosma, van Woerden, Milgrom, Aprile, Shostak, Faber, McGaugh, l’Auquila, Ting, Verlinde, ... komt uitgebreid aan bod. Schilling neemt uitgebreid de tijd om belangrijke experimenten in de zoektocht naar donkere materie te beschrijven. Veelal hebben deze experimenten exotische namen: CUPID, XENON, CRESST, IllustrisTNG, Millennium Simulation Project, OGLE, Dragonfly, SNOLAB, ICARUS, EUCLID, COSINE-100, AMS, KATRIN, DES, KIDS, CAST, … Al deze experimenten tonen aan dat 100-wetenschappers intensief bezig zijn met het zoeken naar een glimp van donkere materie met WIMP’s als belangrijke maar zeker niet de enige kandidaat.

De laatste theoretisch oplossingen worden eveneens besproken zoals steriele neutrino’s, axionen, asymmetrische donkere materie, wazige donkere materie, supervloeibare donkere materie en nog veel meer.

Op 13 oktober woonden Walter en mezelf in Maastricht een lezing bij van Govert Schilling waarbij hij op een vloeiende en boeiende manier zijn boek besprak. Trouwens, volgens Schilling zelf, heeft hij al meer dan 90 boeken geschreven. Hij eindigde zijn lezing met de hindoe-fabel “de blinde mannen en de olifant” en waar hij zijn boek is mee begonnen. Een leuk weetje is dat deze hindoe-fabel ook werd gebruikt door Heiko Falcke bij de start van zijn lezing in Leiden op 14 oktober.

Kortom, een boeiend boek dat in 354 bladzijdes de historische en hedendaagse zoektocht naar donkere materie beschrijft met aandacht voor prominente wetenschappers en hun experimenten.

Mars between Orion and Taurus

Nightscape with planet Mars between constellation Orion and Taurus.

Setting: Nikon D7500 with Tamron 10mm, ISO1600 and 10s exposure time.

Limbdarkening during Partial Solar Eclipse

 

Plotting limbdarkening of the Sun.

• black arrow is a crosssection of the limb including the two sunspots; both give a nice drop in the graph
• red line is a crossection into the segment of the eclipse. 

The black line in the graph shows how the intensity is changed from limb to limb. The red line in the graph  has only one "drop" near the limb. The other "dark side" caused by the moon shows a sudden drop which is clearly different then the drop near the limb. 

Images of the Partial Solar Eclipse October 25

 

Picture of the partial Solar Eclipse of October 25, 2022, taken a couple of minutes before the end of the eclipse. The green color is because I'm using an OIII filter on top of a ND3.8 filter.

Partial Solar Eclipse October 25, 2022

Today I could observe a Partial Solar Eclipse. The magnitude (% of solar diameter) is about 0,31 and the moon covers 20% of the sun.

Setting: TLAPO80/480 f/6 with ND3.8 filter and OIII filter

Camera : Nikon D7500, ISO125, exposure time 1/2500-1/3000s

Software : CS4

First image of Partical Solar Eclipse 25/10/2022

A first picture of the partial Solar Eclipse (October 25th, 2022).
Setting: TLAPO80/480 f/6 with Nikon D7500 (ISO125, 1/3200s)
Filter: ND3.8 and OIII

One hour to go: partial solar eclipse

About a minute ago, clouds are breaking open. One hour tongo for the partial solar eclipse.

Reworked image Jupiter with Io October 2, 2022

I reworked my image of Jupiter from October 2nd, 2022 (UT20h30). The image is a combination of stacking Jupiter and the moon Io separately using AS3!.

WinJUPOS Derotation Jupiter

I already was using WinJUPOS to find timings when the Great Red Spot would show up. Now I used WinJUPOS to derotate my Jupiter images.
As a reference I used the instructions from Info-Polaris July-September '22 number 156.:

• choose planet "Jupiter" under Program - Celestial Body
• open image and add coordinates and exact date
• choose adj tab and select outline frame - automatic detection
• save the file - be aware not select LD compensation
• start dereotation sequence by choosing Tools and derotation images
• with edit add new images
• select exact timing for rotation period and select image extention (tiff)
• compile image and your are ready

Editing and compiling  9 Jupiter Ser files from October 2, 2022  UT20h24-UT20h39. LD during derotation set on level 0,01. Final editing using CS4 and DeNoise AI

3 Days to go: Partial Solar Eclipse October 25

On October 25th, 2022, a partial solar eclipse can be seen in Europe. 

At my home, the eclipse starts from UT9h09 till UT11h. The magnitude is about 0.302. 

Some pictures from previous partical solar eclipses:

Auguts 1, 2008

March 20, 2015

June 10, 2021

Space Weather - Petra Vanlommel @ SIDC Ukkel

During the recent Open Doors at the Space Pole (september 25th) It was possible to visit the Space Weather room. I met Petra Vanlommel who is leading this devision. Some interesting and more detailed information can be found via the Space Weather Introductionary Course 

Balancing a telescope & mount using a clamp meter

Balancing your scope and mount is very important. Typically I do this by hand moving the scope from one side to the other side,  trying to find the tipping point. A couple of weeks ago, Walter, my astronomy collegue, send me a video from Cuiv, The Lazy Geek - see the video 

In this video a clamp meter is used (with Ampere DC features) to measure the current (Ampere) when moving the scope up or down. When the current is the same for both directions, the scope would be balanced.  If not, adjust the weight and measure the current again... and again. 

So... does it work?  To test it, I borrowed from Walter a clamp meter. It's a Chauvin Arnoux F205AC/DC. The test was done with my AZ-EQ6 with TAL200K f/8.5 including all camera's.

Results: the clamp meter is able to measure the current when the mount moves. There is a difference in current when the mount move up or down. The deviation is about 0,1-0,2A when the scope is out of balance. The deviation is reduced to 0,03-0,05A for a balanced mount.

Conclusion: it's possible to balance your mount & scope using a clamp meter. There is an error of about 0,03 - 0,05A even when the scope is balanced. For that reason I stay with my current workprocess balancing my scope by hand, finding the tipping point.

The weather today

Rain and Sun today thus... Rainbows and Sundogs.

Heiko Falcke - Black Hole Lecture @ Leiden

After a 3,5h drive both Walter and myself arrived in Leiden. We found a restaurant " De Vriend" which served food within a half hour time window. The staff was very cooperative to get the food served; we even got time for a dessert. Thx!

Lecture by Heino Falcke on black holes in Leiden. Leiden is currently the City of Science 2022. The mystery of black holes is far from solved, but we do have a picture! It was sensational world news: on April 10, 2019, Heino Falcke, international scientist and preacher in his spare time, presented the very first photograph ever taken of a black hole. What does that space have to teach us about the world, and about ourselves, and maybe even about God? 

During the first hour Prof. dr Heino Falcke talked about black holes and how the first picture was made. After a small break, the setting of the room was changed; the chairs were set in a circle. Due to this setting the scientifical lecture felt like a living room discussion. The audience got the chance to ask questions. Not only scientifical questions but also religious questions.  This set up was a very interesting experience.

 

Prof. dr. Heino Falcke Heino Falcke is professor of Astroparticle Physics and Radio Astronomy at the Institute for Mathematics, Astronomy and Particle Physics (IMAPP) at Radboud University Nijmegen. Falcke is known for his research in the field of black holes. We are not talking about just black holes, but about supermassive black holes. In addition, he is engaged in researching the limits of the universe.

Govert Schilling - The Elephant in the Universe

This evening I, together with my astronomy collegue Walter, attended the lecture "The Elephant in the Universe" on dark matter by Govert Schilling at the University of Maastricht.

The existence of dark matter was first suggested in 1922 by the Dutch astronomer Jacobus Kapteyn. Meanwhile, there are many more convincing clues to the existence of the enigmatic stuff. However, it is unknown what kind of particles the dark matter consists of. Future observation programs may change that, but some physicists are also toying with the idea that dark matter doesn't exist at all, and that instead there is something wrong with our ideas about gravity. In this lecture, Govert Schilling gave a fascinating overview of the search for dark matter - one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in contemporary physics and astronomy.

Some notes taken : Jan Oort, the first one measuring the vertical speed parameter of stars which resulted in calculating the mass of our milky way. Fritz Zwicky measured the speed of Galaxies in the Coma cluster. Vera Ruben, seen asthe mother of Dark Matter, found a flat rotation curve when measuring the verlocity of nebulas in the Andromeda Galaxy. Copernicus, the first space telescope, found that all baryonic matter was created during the big bang based on the % deutereum/proton and thus dark matter can not be normal baryonic. Jim Peebles and the cosmic background radiation, WIMP's, Elana Aprile & Xenon, MOND,... and much more. At the end... our universe consist of 5% baryonic matter, 69% dark energy and 26% dark matter. 

The one note I take away is that, maybe there is a correlation between the inflation process which happened during the first moments after the big bang and the current inflation of the universe . 

Sun in H-alpha AR3116

 

The Sun this morning, Oct 9, 2022. Picture taken in H-alpha with lots of activity in the north-eastern part of sun (region AR3116). 

The gif file below shows the activity in detail - time differnce is 6 minutes. 

Setting: SolarMaxIII 70/400f/5.7 DS, ASI290MM, reducer x0,5
Capture: light ser16bit 1000frames (75% stacked), flats

Software: SharpCap4, AS3!, CS4

Sunspot AR3112 More Images

Images of Sunspot AR3112 on October 6th; above an overview of the sunspot region with different spots, below the p-sunspot AR3112.

Setting: TAL200K f/8.5, ASI290MM, Barlow x2, OIII filter, ND3.8 filter

Software: SharpCap4, AS3! (75% frames stacked), CS4, DeNoise AI

Sunspot AR3112 (OIII filter)

 

Image of Sunspot AR3112 on October 6,2022.

Setting: TAL200K f/8.5, ASI290MM, Barlow x2, OIII filter, ND3.8 filter

Software: SharpCap 4, AS3! (750frames), CS4, DeNoise AI

Jupiter GRS October 2, 2022

A clear sky and exactly one week after Jupiter's opposition. Seeing was moderate and the great red spot (GRS) was visible all evening.

Setting: TAL200K f/8.5, ASI224MC, Barlow x2 and ADC
Software: SharpCap 4, AS3!, CS4, DeNoise AI
Polarallignment with ASI290MM, SharpCap 4 and guidingscope 60x240

Reworked Jupiter with GRS

 

A clear sky and exactly one week after Jupiter's opposition. Seeing was moderate and the great red spot (GRS) was visible all evening.


Setting: TAL200K f/8.5, ASI224MC, Barlow x2 and ADC
Software: SharpCap 4, AS3!, CS4, DeNoise AI
Polarallignment with ASI290MM, SharpCap 4 and guidingscope 60x240

Jupiter and GRS - One week after opposition

A clear sky and exactly one week after Jupiter's opposition. Seeing was moderate and the great red spot (GRS) was visible all evening.

Setting: TAL200K f/8.5, ASI224MC, Barlow x2 and ADC

Software: SharpCap 4, AS3!, CS4, DeNoise AI

Polarallignment with ASI290MM, SharpCap 4 and guidingscope 60x240

Nucleosynthesis: Book release by Prof Claude Doom

Selfie with the auteur, Prof. Claude Doom

Yesterday I could pick up my ordered new book "Nucleosynthese, het onstaan van de elementen in het heelal". The auteur, Prof. Claude Doom did sign the book and was willing to make a selfie. 

The book was created as a result of a series of 5 leasons on Nucleosynthesis which I online attended in 2020-2021 at the astronomyclub, Beisbroek in Brugge.  (see my certificate)

Lecture by Huib Jan van Langevelde : Zooming Into Black Hole Sagitarius A*

Selfie with Prof. Huib Jan van Langevelde

Dutch astronomer Huib Jan van Langevelde is working at the JIVE in Dwingeloo, professor of galactic radio astronomy at Leiden University and director of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) consortium. The EHT is a project in which some 350 scientists from 18 countries work together. The EHT bundles the large ALMA telescope in Chile with other (sub)millimetre telescopes and published the first image of a black hole in 2019 and the black hole Sagitarius A* in our Milky Way in 2022. 

At the JVS/VVS weekend of Oct 1,2022, Prof. Huib Jan van Langevelde gave a lecture on zooming into a black hole using milimeter telescopes.

Some really good video's: 

Zooming into the black hole at the centre of our galaxy
Zooming into Sagittarius A* black hole (radio imaging)
Photon rings around a black hole