100 days to go

Total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024.... 100 days to go.

Reworking Sol'Ex H-Alpha Images using IMPPG

I reworked my Sol'Ex images from Oct 1 & 14, 2023 using IMPPG 1.9.1 beta. CS4 was used to add false colours. 

140.000 Visitors

Since the start of my blog on December 2012, I'm counting an amazing number of 140.000 visits to my blog. Thanks for visiting my blog and hopefully I have managed to convey my passion for astronomy, solargraphy and related sciences.

Astronomical Highlights 2023

Again an interesting astronomical year "2023" with some amazing "wow" moments and again great learnings. I had to limit the list but these are my astronomical highlights:

#1 Comet C/2022 E3(ZTF) with 3 tails
#2 Saturn at opposition
#3 Sol'Ex images of the Sun in H-alpha and CaK
#4 Jupiter
#5 Circumscribed halo and parhelic circle

Worth mentioning:

#6 Sun in HeI (D3) spectrum
#7 Moon halo, Moondogs and paraselene circle
#8 Supernova SN2023ixf in M101
#9 M81
#10 Visit Radio Astronomy Center Humain
#11 Venus, Mercury and Pleiades

Lacerta Herschel Wedge - Brewster Angle

TLAPO80/480 with Lacerta Herschel Wedge and ASI290MM

Some information about my new Lacerta Herschel Wedge. According reviews a Herschel wedge or Herschel Prism would provide more details then the use of Solar film.

My objective is to get more details of the photosphere and the more specific on the granulation itself. Another objective is to use the wedge with my Sol'Ex. 

The Herschel Wedge is equipped with a neutral density filter ND3. On the back of the wedge it's noted that the total light reduction with ND3 filter us ND4.07.

This means that the wedge itself has a light reduction of  4.07 - 3 = ND1.07 . For both visual and photografic observation a value of ND1.07 is too low and even dangerous. To compare with my Solar film ND3.8 I would need to install a filter ND2.7 or  ND2.8. on the wedge. But for now I will keep using the ND3filter.

A value of ND1.07 means a transmission of :  T= 10 exp (-ND) = 10 exp (-1.07) = 0.0851 or 8.51%.

Another interesting one is Brewster Angle.The Brewster angle, named after the Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster, is the angle at which the reflected light rays from a non-metallic surface are fully polarized. In other words, the light waves that strike a surface at the Brewster angle are reflected in only one specific direction (polarized light), while the perpendicular light waves are absorbed.

The Brewster angle can be calculated with the following formula:

tan⁡(θB​)=n2/​n1​​

where θB​ is the Brewster angle,

n1​ is the refractive index of the medium from which the light comes (e.g., air),

n2​ is the refractive index of the medium in which the light is reflected (e.g., glass or water).

At the Brewster angle, the resulting reflection of light for a particular polarization direction is minimal, which can be useful in various optical applications such as my use of the Sol'Ex.

Air typically has a refractive index of approximately 1 (as an approximation), while the refractive index of glass (like in the Lacerta Herschel wedge) is typically between 1.4 and 1.6, depending on the type of glass.

Let's assume a refractive index of 1 for air and a refractive index of 1.5 for glass for simplicity. So, in this example, the Brewster angle for air and glass is approximately 56.31. According the website the Brewster Angle is 56.6°.

Above picture is taken with TLAPO80/480 f/6, ASI290MM and Herschel Wedge. Editing using new beta release of IMPPG and CS4 after stacking with AstroSurface Urania V1.

My Blog Statistics - Blogposts and Visits

A visual presentation of my @blogposts and #visits of my Astro Page blog. This year, blogpost number 2000 was posted. 

First light with Lacerta Herschel Wedge

The sky cleared unplanned so I could set up my mount with my new Lacerta Herschel Wedge.
With the set up I was not able to capture the entire solar disk. I tried to use my reducer but this was not succesful.

I'm not sure but the exposure time was almost at it's minimum. Need to follup this next time and for sure when the Sun climbes higher in the sky.

Setting:

TLAPO80/480 with ASI290MM

Herschel Wedge with ND3 filter

Exposure time 0.059ms, binning 1x1, 16bit, gain 0

Software: SharpCap 4.1, AstroSurface V1 Urania, IMPPG, CS4

Sunspots at the far side seen from Mars rover Perseverance

The Sun rotates on its axis once in about 27 days. This rotation can be seen by observing sunspots. This also means that Sunspots at the far side of the Sun can not be seen from Earth. With help from Helioseismology it's possible to create images of the far side and it's sunspots. Another interesting source is coming from Mars. The Mars rover Perseverance uses it's MastCam Z camera to take pictures of the Sun. Those pictures are not perfect but huge sunspots are visible and this can be interesting at the moment planet Mars is positioned towards the "far side" of the Sun.

For Mars Perseverance Images see this link.

I made a comparison between an image from the rover and the far side using helioseismology. The images are both made on December 22, 2023. We will see a week from now what it will bring.

Updates available SharpCap, APP, JSol'Ex, ASIStudio

As the year ends, I made some time to update my astrosoftware :

ASIStudio : 1.9.5

AstroPixelProcessor APP : 2.0.0 beta26
SharpCap : 4.1.11536 

JSol'Ex : 2.0.0

Still need to retest the new Stellarium and N.I.N.A. together with my EQ6.

Have fun. 

Sol'Ex Presentation at VVS Capellla Hoegaarden

At the request from astronomyclub VVS Capella Hoegaarden my collegue Walter and myself (collegue Johan was excused) gave a lecture on our project Sol'Ex. The title of the lecture was "DIY The Solar Explorer".

We arrived quite early, so early in fact that we were the first. Plenty of time to settle in and explore the place. A little later Joost, chairman of the club, arrived and treated us to a drink. The room slowly filled up and Henk ensured that online streaming could take place. The lecture could begin, a bit awkward at first, but after the first of the many questions were asked it went much more smoothly. Walter supplemented well and provided additional explanation where necessary. Ultimately, the lecture lasted an hour and a half and the feedback from those present was good. The conversations at the bar continued with satisfaction.

The online recording is available and can be viewed via this youtube link.

The presentation (PDF version) itself is available via Google Drive  via this link. 

Sol'Ex Presentation @ VVS Capella Hoegaarden

 

Together with my collegue Walter, I wll be talking our Sol'Ex project next thursday December 21, 2023 @ VVS Capella in Hoegaarden. 

Latest Solar Maps and images on the internet

The latest Solar images and maps with all kind of information can be found on the internet. But where?

I made an overview of some interesting websites (but without being complete).

Spaceweather 

Spaceweatherlive   

NOAA Spaceweather Prediction Center

Solar Influences Data Analysis Center SIDC

Solarmonitor

Helioviewer - create your own images or movies with all available images 

Student Helioviewer

Facebook Struve Solar Society

NSO Gong H-alpha Network 

My blogpost number 2000! Celebrating with a Halo

Yes, this is my 2000nd blogpost since I started back in december 2011! And I'm celebrating with a halo around the Sun. 

Spectral Lines of Hydrogen, Calcium II H&K and Helium I (D3)

In astronomy ionization of atoms are noted different then in chemistry

Neutral Hydrogen : H I
Neutral Helium : He I
Neutral Calcium : Ca I
Ionized Calcium : Ca II or Ca+ (noted in chemistry)

Clarification of spectral lines of Hydrogen (H I)

 

Spectral lines can be explained due to electron transitions between energy levels.

For neutral Hydrogen or H I :  

Lyman series : transition to groundlevel
Balmer series : transition to energy level 2; all transitions are within visible wavelenght
Paschen series : transition to energy level 3
Brackett series : transition to energy level 4
Pfund series : transition to energy level 5
Humphreys series : transition to energy level 6
Hansen-Strong series : transition to energy level 7

The H-alpha line is due to an electron making a transition between energy level 3 to energy level 2.

Clarification of  Helium I (D3) lines

He I (D3) line - 587,572nm via Ortho Helium 1s3d to 1s2p but more in detail :

587,5545nm 1s3d 3D1 – 1s2p 3P2

587,5561nm 1s3d 3D2 – 1s2p 3P2

587,5562nm 1s3d 3D3 – 1s2p 3P2

587,5571nm 1s3d 3D1 – 1s2p 3P1

587,5588nm 1s3d 3D2 – 1s2p 3P1

587,5913nm 1s3d 3D1 – 1s2p 3P0

Clarification of  Ca II H and K line

Calcium electron configuration : 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s1

Ca II H line :  396.847nm

Ca II K line :  393.366nm

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks

It's been a while since I set up my telescope for DSO. This evening I took my chance and made some images of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is a Halley-type periodic comet that was first discovered by Jean-Louis Pons on July 12, 1812 and then independently rediscovered by William Robert Brooks in 1883. It's period is about 71.3 years. Maximum brightness is foreseen during the month of April with the potential to see the comet during the solar eclips of April 8th 2024.

Setting: 

TLAPO80/480 f/6 with ASI2600MC

Filter Optolong L-Pro

Exposure: 5x60s & 2x180s

Software : SharpCap4, APP, CS4, Denoise AI

Cardinal Librarian de Zelada @ Vatican Museum - Time the Sun takes to pass across the Sundial

Pair of shutters in Vatican Museum (Pascal Hilkens)

This pair of painted shutters pertaining to the original windows of the "Sundial Gabinet" show a list of days, months,sun diameter and the time the sun takes to pass across the sundial in seconds and minutes.

This of course took my interest and I started to make my own calculations in order to compare with the data on the shutters. The easiest formula I found :

Time (seconds)  to pass across the meridan line = 128 / cos(delta)
    delta = declination of the sun at a specific day = cos ((360/365)*(N+10))*-23.7333
    N = day of the year starting at january 1

The results of both my calculation as of the shutters are shown in the graph below and are quit comparable.

The below marble sundial with bronze inlays was originally embedded in the pavement of the Vatican "Sundial Gabinet" which was the apartment of Cardinal Librarian Francesco Saverio de Zelada (1717-1801) who live here from 1780 till 1798. Only this piece did survive.

Marble Sundial Vatican Museum (Pascal Hilkens)

Cardinal de Zelada by Anton Raphael Mengs (source wikipedia)

My name with Europa Clipper to Jupiter's Icy moon Europa

My name will fly on the Europa Clipper spacecraft as it travels 2.89 billion km on its voyage to Jupiter’s exploring the Icy moon.

See also https://europa.nasa.gov/

Sun H-alpha Sol'Ex

Image of the Sun in H-alpha using my Sol'Ex. Conditions were not good due to clouds, wind and some issues with stability. My tilt was very good with a value of 0.5°

Setting: TLAPO860/360 with ASI290MM and Sol'Ex

Area : 1936x276; Gain 118; 4.07ms;mono16; binning 1x1

Hoya 16

Actual fps = 244

Software : SharpCap 4, SHG-Main, CS4

Jupiter

 

Jupiter 10days after opposition. Conditions were good which resulted in fine details.

Setting
TAL200K @f/22 with ASI224MC
ADC and IR/UV blocker
14,5ms - 3000frames
SharpCap4, AstroSurface U4 (Best 300), CS4

Jupiter 10 days after opposition

I didn't got the chance to capture Jupiter during opposition. So, this picture is made 10 days after opposition. Some wind made it difficult to capture the images.

Setting

TAL200K @f/22 with ASI224MC

ADC and IR/UV blocker

14,5ms - 3000frames 

SharpCap4, AstroSurface U4 (Best 300), CS4