by VirtualAstro | Jan 21, 2012
Quadrantid meteor Credit Sarah Loughlin
I would like to share one of my Quadrantid meteor showers photographs with Meteorwatch.org. My name is Sarah Loughlin, I live in Oyster Bay, Ny and I have been stargazing ever since I can remember. I took this image on January, 4th at around 4:30 am with my Canon Rebel T2i & 10-22mm Canon lens in Oyster Bay, Ny. The settings were 15.0 s, f/3.5 at 10.0 mm, iso 1600. This first meteor shower of 2012 was spectacular to watch, despite the frigid temperatures. If you consider using my photograph I would be honored.
Sincerely,
Sarah Loughlin
by VirtualAstro | Jan 19, 2012
Orion Nebula 14/01/2012, originally uploaded by purpleface
Originally posted by Sarah Louise Lewis @_purpleface on Purpleface Photogtaphy
The weather over the past few days has been amazing. Lovely crisp blue skies, amazing sunsets & wonderfully clear night skies. And I’ve been using this to my advantage, taking as many photos of the stars as I can.
I had the idea to photograph the Orion Nebula (see above) for a few nights but I was waiting for the sky to become fully clear. I first photographed the nebula when the sky was hazy & the full moon was casting its glow across most of the sky. The photograph I got on that night was amazing (to me, it was amazing, obviously it’s not amazing to those with epic telescopes & satellites deep in space ;p) & it surprised me because I never expected to be able to capture a photograph like this. I thought it was reserved for people with powerful telescopes!
I made a pact with myself that I would go out there again when the moon wasn’t due to rise until 3am & when there was less haze around.
That night happened a few days later. It was -2 & there was frost on the ground so I wrapped up extra warm & took the camera out to cool (tell me if I’m wrong but letting the sensor cool on your camera helps reduce noise…I think). After a little while I started to photograph the nebula using various different settings. Now, you all know that the earth spins, this is what gives us night & day. Therefore, if you set your camera up to expose for 30 seconds, you’re going to get light trails instead of a still (for want of a better word) image. As my camera ISO goes up to 12000, I stepped it right up & I exposed for 3.2 seconds. For me, this is the best way to be able to capture a still shot without using a tracking device. I did, however, find that ISO 12000 was too noisy so I stepped it down to 5000. And that seemed to do the trick. I imported the shot into Lightroom, tweaked around with some settings & this is what I came out with.
I used a Canon 7D with a 90-300mm lens.
I’m pretty happy with it. Next step is to get a new mirror for the telescope (we accidentally knocked it over & the mirror smashed inside) & an adapter for my DSLR. Then we’ll be away! Hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for reading. If you have any questions you can either leave them in the comments box or you can join me on twitter (tweeting as @_purpleface) or facebook (facebook.com/purplefacephotography).
by VirtualAstro | Jan 13, 2012
Stargazing LIVE (co-produced by The Open University) returns for a second three-night series on BBC Two set to encourage everyone – from the complete beginner to the enthusiastic amateur – to make the most of the night sky.
On the 16th 17th and 18th of January Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain will broadcast live from the control room of the Jodrell Bank Observatory, interacting live with the audience and calling on a starry collection of the country’s finest astronomical minds to explore the majestic wonders of the skies above Britain.
In their own unique style, the pair will tackle some of the most intriguing questions in astronomy, such as Why Does The Moon Cause The Tides?, How Do We Know Where Black Holes Are When They Are Impossible To See? and What Will We Actually Say If We Ever Make Contact With An Alien Race?
Closer to home, there will also be hints and tips for getting started in Stargazing and advice on navigating your way around the skies.
And there’s more, with scores of Stargazing LIVE activities across the UK – find out where at Things To Do, the BBC’s activity finder website:
Make sure you check the guides on the Stargazing LIVE website as some were carefully crafted by meteorwatch’s very own VirtualAstro
by Steve Owens | Jan 2, 2012
Originally Posted on Dark Sky Diary by Steve Owens @darkskyman on twitter
Quadrantid Meteor
On the night of 03/04 January 2012 the first meteor shower of the year will take place, the Quadrantids. This shower ranks as one of the best performers of the year, assuming your skies aren’t clouded, as they so often are in winter. If the peak of this shower occurs under ideal conditions – i.e. perfectly clear skies, free from light pollution – then you can expect to see in excess of 100 meteors every hour. The peak for this shower is very brief though, so you’ll have to catch just the right conditions at just the right time to see a display this good. This year’s peak is estimated to occur just before dawn on 04 January 2012. (more…)
by Astroguyz David Dickinsen | Jan 2, 2012
Credit: David Dickinsen
2012 is here, and the world shows no sign of ending as the heavens spin on their appointed rounds high overhead. But the diligent observer may be rewarded with several unique an spurious sights, both natural and manmade…
1st up is everyone’s favorite meteor shower named after an obsolete constellation; the Quadrantids peak the morning of January 4th in what is the first large meteor shower of the year. The peak is very swift, only lasting about 12 hours or so and is centered this year on 2:00 AM EST/7:00 AM UTC. This favors the U.S. East Coast in 2012, as the 79% waxing gibbous Moon will set around 2AM local the morning of the 4th for observers in mid-northern latitudes. The radiant of the shower lies at a declination of 52° degrees north at the junction of the modern constellations of Draco, Bootes and Hercules, and thus activity may be visible pre-midnite local, although the setting of the Moon and the rising of the radiant will raise sighting prospects considerably. Expect swift-moving meteors headed outward from the radiant above the handle of the Big Dipper to appear anywhere in the sky. The Quadrantids have been known since the early 1800’s, but there has been much conjecture as to the source parent body. Astronomer Fred Whipple noted in 1963 that the stream bears some resemblance to the Delta Aquarids, and that the orbital path has undergone alterations by the planet Jupiter in the last few thousand years. In 2003, SETI researcher Peter Jenniskens proposed that the source may be then recently discovered asteroid 2003 EH1, which has been tentatively linked to Comet C/1490 Y1, which approached Earth at a distance of 0.52 Astronomical Units on January 12th 1491. Be sure to keep an eye out for Quadrantids on these chilly January mornings, as we commemorate Quadrans Muralis, a constellation that is no longer! (more…)
by VirtualAstro | Jan 2, 2012
Originally based on Dark Sky Diary by Steve Owens www.twitter.com/darkskyman
The first meteor shower of 2012 is the Quadrantids, the peak of which falls on the night of the 03/04 January 2012. The Quadrantids shower has one of the highest predicted hourly rates of all meteor showers, comparable to the two great annual showers, the Perseids and the Geminids, occurring in August and December respectively. However unlike the Perseids and Geminids, the Quadrantids peak is very narrow, occurring over just a few short hours.
The predicted Zenith Hourly Rate (see my previous post about ZHR and what it actually means here) for the Quadrantids is around 120. The narrow peak is predicted to occur some time between 2100 UT on 3 January and 0700 UT on 4 January 2011, however the radiant of the shower – the now-defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis – is very low in the evening hours, rising higher towards dawn, and so the best viewing times are later in this run, just before dawn. (more…)
by VirtualAstro | Dec 29, 2011
Stargazing Credit: http://twitter.com/VirtualAstro
As 2011 is drawing to a close, the festive season is here and many of us are winding down and looking forward to the holidays. But this is a great time to look ahead to 2012 and pencil into our calendar and diaries the top astronomical events we don’t want to miss next year.
2012 is going to be a great year for astronomy observing, with some rare and exciting things taking place and a good outlook with some of the regular annual events.
So what top wonders should we expect to see and what will 2012 bring? (more…)
by VirtualAstro | Dec 22, 2011
A bright moon halo surrounds the Moon on Dec. 11, 2011. © Jason Major
Have you ever seen a large ghostly disc around the Moon on a cool, calm, hazy night? If so, you have likely seen what is called an “Ice Halo” or “22° Halo.” Not only can the Moon display these ghostly rings of light, but the Sun does so in the day time too.
22° halos are visible all over the world and throughout the year; look for them whenever the sky is wispy or hazy with thin cirrus clouds – even in the hottest countries.
So what are they and why do they appear? (more…)
