On July 5th, the Belgian astronomy association VVS organized its annual National Solar Observation Day. Our local astronomy club, Helios, was proud to take part in this nationwide event. The activities were held at Het Moment, located on the beautiful grounds of Averbode Abbey, providing a wonderful setting for a day dedicated to astronomy.
Despite the less-than-ideal weather, we were delighted to welcome around 200 visitors throughout the day. Many came hoping to observe the Sun through our specially equipped solar telescopes and to learn more about our nearest star.
Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. Thick clouds covered the sky from morning until evening, preventing us from showing the Sun to our visitors. While this was disappointing for both the public and our volunteers, the enthusiasm of those who attended never faded.
Instead, we spent the day explaining how solar observations are carried out safely, discussing the features that can normally be seen on the Sun—such as sunspots and prominences—and answering many questions about astronomy and our observing equipment. Although the Sun remained hidden behind the clouds, it was still a rewarding day filled with interesting conversations and a shared passion for astronomy.
We hope for clearer skies next year so we can give our visitors the spectacular solar views they came to see.
Written by Pascal and rewritten by AI
Pascal Hilkens Astro Home Page
Showing posts with label Blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog. Show all posts
Friday, July 10, 2026
Thursday, July 2, 2026
Near occultation of ZC797 by Helios is published in magazine Heelal
The observation by Helios (Bart, Lieven and Myself) of the near occultation of SAO77121 by the Moon is published in Magazine Heelal of July 2026.The description of this observation can be found in my blog via this link
Supernova SN2026fvx published in magazine Heelal
My observation of Supernova SN2026fvx is published in Magazine Heelal of July 2026
See my blog: https://pascalhilkensastropage.blogspot.com/2026/04/sipernova-sn2026fvx-in-ngc4205.html
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Averbode abbey after dark - facebook coverpage
After our meeting with astronmical club "Helios" I took the time to image the abbey of Averbode. Even though it was late, the darkness offered a unique opportunity. The abbey was beautifully lit, and because the air was completely still, the large pool transformed into a black mirror. Not a single ripple in sight. It felt like a technical tribute to our club meeting: the perfect interplay of light and architecture.
The image was taken with my iPhone 16 and edited using CS4.
It was posted on facebook "Passie voor fotografie" and within 24hours more then 100likes were received and my picture was put as the coverpage of the facebook page. Nice recognition!
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Thursday, January 1, 2026
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
My Astronomical & Blog statistics
My astronomical and blog statistics.
- Same blogposts as the last two years
- Same blogposts as the last two years
- Increase visits and now above 240.000 visits
- My project "Herschel 400" is not progressing
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Thursday, December 26, 2024
My Blog Statistics 2024
My Blog Statistics 2024:
A total of 134 blogposts and more then 45.000 visitors this year. This brings the total blogposts to almost 2150 and total visitors to 188.000.
Saturday, September 7, 2024
180.000 Visitors
Reaching 180.000 visitors since the start of my blog. Thank you all for visiting and reading my blogposts.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
150.000 Visitors and Comet 12P/Pons Brooks
Celebrating 150.000 visitors since the start of my blog and I'm doing this with my picture I took this evening of Comet 12P/Pons Brooks.
Setting: TLAPO80/480 f/6 with Nikon D7500
Filter:Optolong L-Pro
Mount: Manfrotto
Exposure : ISO16000, 2x2s
Software: DNG converter and CS4
Monday, January 1, 2024
Friday, December 29, 2023
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.
Thursday, December 28, 2023
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.
Sunday, January 8, 2023
130.000 Visitors
Since the start of my blog on December 2012, I'm counting an amazing number of 130.000 visits to my blog. Thank you all for those visits in which I made a small contribution to promote astronony, solargraphy and related sciences.
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Saturday, December 17, 2022
My blog name changed
I changed the name of my blog from Orionxt to Pascalhilkensastropage.
As from now, this is the link to my renamed blog : https://pascalhilkensastropage.blogspot.com
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