Dell Wifi Issues - Great Dell Support

Only recently, my wifi connection was lost and when trying to reconnect no wifi networks could be found. Only when restarting I could reconnect to my wifi network.  The problem was solved using Dell Support and looking for updates of my drivers. It seems that 5 drivers were   outdated! 

Lecture by Dr. Hans Huybrighs on JUICE Mission

Selfie with Dr. Hans Huybrighs

Together with my Helios collegue Walter I joined an interesting lecture on ESA's JUICE (JUpiter ICy Moon Explorer) mission. The lecture was given at the University of Maastricht as part of Studium Generale by Dr. Hans Huybrighs, Planet Scientist @ Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

Follow the journey of JUICE via this website with some spectacular Earth flybys :

- 20 August 2024 (6561km)
- 28 September 2026 (8645km)
- 17 January 2029 only 4649 km

Even more spectacular will be Europa Flyby in July 2032 with only 400km!!

Boarding Pass Viper

Viper, Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, will be NASA's first robotic Moon rover. This mobile robot will land at the South Pole of the Moon in late 2024 on a 100-day mission. The critical information it provides will teach us about the origin and distribution of water on the Moon and help determine how we can harvest the Moon's resources for future human space exploration.

My boarding pass is ready ...

Bright Moon Halo

 A very bright 360° Moon Halo.

Moon Halo

 Bright Moon Halo.

Solar Eclipse 50 days to go

Solar Eclipse April 8th, 2024.... 50 days to go.

Selfie with Gerald Rhemann, Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022

 

Winning Picture of Comet Leonard

Selfie with Gerald Rhemann

At the recent annual Day of Astrophotograhy, Gerald Rhemann gave a great lecture on Astrophotography and showing his amazing pictures.  At the end of the presentation we met and took a selfie. Thx Gerald.

Gerald Rhemann has been named the overall winner of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022 for his photograph Disconnection Event.

The remarkable image shows Comet C/2021 A1, commonly known as Comet Leonard, which was first discovered in January 2021 by astronomer Greg Leonard. For many astrophotographers this comet was the highlight of the year.

However, it was Gerald Rhemann's photograph, taken on Christmas Day, that really blew the judges away.

Gerald's image captured a dramatic moment in the life of a comet: a disconnection event. This happens when a piece of the comet's tail becomes separated after being hit by high velocity solar particles.

"A piece of Comet Leonard’s tail was pinched off and carried away by the solar wind," Gerald recalls. "I was very lucky that the weather at Tivoli Farm, Namibia, was excellent when I opened the roof of the observatory. I recognized that the comet’s tail looked dramatic in the first image I took, so decided to extend the field of view with a second image and that’s where the disconnection happened."