Fireball 7964-2020 Heralds the Great Conjunction

Here are a my conjunction images.  

12/20/2020 note great red spot showing on Jupiter

Great Conjunction 12/21/2020
day of closest approach

You'll note that Jupiter (which has four bright moons) appears to have 5 moons in the first image, but only 3 on the day of closest approach!?  In the first, a background star is in disguise as a moon, while in the second, Ganymede is attempting to hide from view as it crosses the surface of the planet (see annotated versions below).  

12/20/2020

12/21/2020

The event was heralded by a fireball (bright meteor) seen by thousands.  It ocurred at 5:11 PM pacific, less than 30 minutes after sunset with the southern sky still bright blue, making this the brightest I've ever seen.  It looked like a firework with sparkles.  Scott Young from our astronomy club put it better: "I was looking directly at the planets and the fire ball came from the north and traveled south.  It burned up just after falling below the planets.  Long streak with lots of fragments and a burst just before the burnout.  I'm sure it was an Ursid".  About 10 minutes after seeing it, I made a quick sketch as it was hard for me to describe the direction:

you can see why i take pictures :)

There were documented sightings from Santa Barbara to San Diego:

very tall astronomers

It has been labled as event 7964-2020 by the American Meteor Society.  More info at links below:

American Meteor Society log of event 7964-2020 -includes video
december meteor forcast
ursid meteor shower

Image Details:

Imaging rig including telescope for telescope for telescope. 
hedge obstructs low southern horizon :(

The conjunction images are composites of multiple exposures: short tight crops at high frame rates for each planet.  a combined image of the two planets with saturn much more faint relative to jupiter than in the composite.  a longer exposure for the jovian moons, still longer for titan, and longest with a stretch for the faint moons of saturn.  

Takahashi FS 102 at 820 mm, ZWO ADC, Baader IR/UV block filter, ZWO ASI 290 MC
captures ranged from 0.34 ms exposures at 400 fps to 100 ms at 8 fps
Eastbluff, CA 12/20/20 and 12/21/20

Gas giants 2020 including disturbance in jupiter's NEZ with methane filter

 Taking a break from conjunction processing to post these larger images of the gas giants:

Saturn 9-25-2020 03:49 UTC RGB

Saturn 9-25-2020 03:49 UTC RGB

Jupiter 9-25-20 03:23 UTC
note white dot in the upper band, a disturbance in the northern equatorial zone noted this past summer

Jupiter 9-25-20 03:23 UTC Methane filter
enhancing disturbance in upper atmosphere of NEZ
(white dot upper half)

Methane RGB

Jupiter 9-25-20 03:23 UTC Methane filter as red, green, blue
enhancing disturbance in upper atmosphere of NEZ

Previous post with more information on jupter images with a methane filter:

https://astrowhw.blogspot.com/2019/10/jupiter-methane-filter.html

image details:

celestron 11" Edge HD

ZWO ASI 290MM

zwo RGB filters

Baader methane 889 nm 8 nm bandwidth

sharpened in registax

combined in winjupos

Jupiter: 9-25-20 03:23 UTC

Saturn 9-25-2020 03:49 UTC

no sign of the hex :(

fair seeing

Eastbluff

Southern California

winter is coming...a geminid

Here a few wide fields and my attempt at imaging the classic winter meteor shower, the geminids (night before peak which was clouded out).  

Orion Rising...winter is coming.  when you see orion rising in the early evening, winter is on the way.  note Betelguese (red "shoulder" upper left) no longer faded:

Orion rising 12/12/20
have to do something about that fence :(

here are a few hours worth of star trails.  only one sad meteor, can you find it?

Star trails 12/12/20

close up:

a geminid

Localized:

a geminid 12/12/20

image details:
12/12/20, eastbluff, CA

Bortle white skies
nikon D850
Sigma 15mm F/5 EX DG fisheye
30 sec, iso 200

Uranus 12/1/2020 07:15 UTC

Uranus 12/1/2020 07:15 UTC IR(685)-RGB
Planetary north up

Image details:

camera ZWO ASI 290MM

ZWO RGB, Baader IR pass 685 nm filters

celestron 11" Edge HD

East Bluff, CA

12/1/20 07:15 UTC

fair seeing 3/5 on clear dark sky clock

120 second captures, 2x each color filter, 3 sets of 3 for IR 685

gain 456 , exposure ~12 ms red, 5 ms green, 8 ms blue, 31 ms IR 685 30% histogram

upsampled x2 in autostakkert, derotated in winjupos.

initial wide field capture with moons key to alignment in winjupos.  

oriented planetary north up.  

color balance-eyeballed ;)

tried a methane filter...not enough signal

RGB only:

Uranus 12/1/2020 07:15 UTC RGB

Random moon pics

Here are a few random pics of the moon. i'm not much of a lunatic, can't really name craters etc.  just grabbed a few pics when it caught my eye while setting up image sessions.  

lunar halo 11/29/20

lunar halo close up composite 11/29/20

a nice crescent captured with my deep sky camera on a 4" refractor while imaging hickson 68.  single shot, no stacking:

Moon 4-26-2020-03:30-UTC

Next a moon walk on the terminator during a waxing gibbous with a high magnification planetary set up:

Moon 9/25/2020 03:05 UTC (click for full size)

mosaic, 9/25/2020 03:05 UTC (click for full size moon walk)

image details:

lunar halo

nikon D850

wide field: Sigma 15mm F2.8 EX DG fisheye

close up: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm F3.5-5.6G ED VR 16 mm

11/29/20 east bluff, CA

crescent
FS102 OLV @ 627.8 mm,
Starlight Xpress Trius 694, 1.49"/Pixel
ASA DDM60

4-26-2020 03:30 UTC

east bluff, CA

close ups:

camera ZWO ASI 290MM
Baader IR pass "685" nm
celestron 11" Edge HD

ASA DDM60

9/25/2020 03:05 UTC

east bluff, CA

Mars opposition 2020

 Here's mars shortly after 2020 opposition:

Mars RGB 10/14/2020 0758_5-UTC

Mars IR-RGB 10/14/2020 0758_5-UTC

Note that the bottom image, which uses IR as luminance gives sharper detail and contrast for the dark surface structures, but loses the detail at and around the southern polar cap as well as the bight bluish cloud? near the northern pole (upper right, which was visible in the eyepiece)

This year's opposition was much better than 2018 visually, as there was no dust storm obscuring the surface and it occurred at higher elevation for northern hemisphere observers.

https://astrowhw.blogspot.com/2018/07/mars-closest-approach-7312018.html

Image details:
10/14/2020  07:48-08:09 UTC
celestron 11" Edge HD
televue 2x barlow
ZWO ASI 290MM
ZWO RGB filters, Baader IR pass "685" nm
2x120 second captures each filter, 200 FPS
gain 351, exposure ~1 ms, 30% histogram
firecapture, autostakkert, winjupos, maxim, photoshop
elevation ~60 degrees
Eastbluff
Southern California

Compact Galaxy Group Hickson 68 and a supernova

Hickson Compact Galaxy Group 68 is a tight group of galaxies 100 light years away in the constellation Canes Venatici visible in late spring (click on image for full size):

Hickson 68 5/2020

Brighter version with more faint galaxies and more noise (click on image for full size):

Hickson 68 5/2020

the lower two "bright fuzzies" in the image are interacting, surrounded by a faint glow of stars being traded:

Hickson 68 5/2020

the bright galaxy to the left is NGC 5371, also 100 million light years away.  it's likely gravitationally related to the group.  

100 million years or so ago, a star went supernova in NGC 5371.  the photons reached us in January 2020.  the supernova remains detectable in this image

NGC 5371 with SN 2020bio 5/2020

my first supernova capture, totally by accident.  

nebulae in the outer arm of NGC 5371 are emitting red light due to hydrogen emissions--the hydrogen alpha line.  my initial Ha images failed to show any Ha enhancement.  it occured to me that the redshift of the receding galaxy shifted the Ha emissions out of the range of my 5 nm filter. so i switched to a 12 nm filter to capture nebula.  

Ha image showing bright nebula in the lower right spiral arm of NGC 5371:

Hydrogen alpha enhancing nebula in the lower right right arm of NGC 5371

many tiny background galaxies and quasars:

i imaged this group back in 2006 with a larger scope (click on image for full size):

Hickson 68 5/2006

the field was too narrow to include NGC 5371 so it was on my reshoot list.  

didn't really plan on shooting it this spring, but after creating a pointing model with a refractor on my mount, the sky was relatively dark (possibly related to covid lock down) and the group ideally situated.  started this during peak covid lock down in April. my bortle white skies seemed about .5 mag darker, which i attribute to less particulate from car traffic.  

image details:

FS102 OLV @ 627.8 mm, 

Starlight Xpress Trius 694, 1.49"/Pixel

astrodon LRGB E-series filters

switched from astrodon 5nm Ha, to astronomik 12 nm Ha 

ASA DDM60

L 125x30 sec RGB approximately 90 x 90 seconds each channel

Ha 36x5 min, RGB 20x1 minute each channel

4/24-5/27/2020

Bortle white skies

Eastbluff, CA

2006 version 

C8, SX H9C

on the red shift of NGC 5371:

z=0.00853 

so Ha emissions will be shifted 656.28 nm * .00853 = 5.6 nm, to 661.88, potentially out of the range of a 5 nm bandwidth filter centered at 656-ish (656+5/2=658.5), and even at the edge of a 5 nm NII filter centered at 658 (658+5/2=660.5), not far enough for my wide 12 nm SII filter centered at 672 (672-12/2=666😈).  a shopping opportunity! now it's right at the edge of my new 12 nm band width Ha filter centered at 656 (656+12/2=662) 😎

references:

webb deepsky.com 

NED database entry for NGC 5371

saturn and jupiter, preparing for the great conjunction

a late start on the gas giants this year due to comet neowise hoopla, here's my first of the year, a quick shot thru my smaller SCT:

Jupiter 8/26/20 6:01 UTC

Saturn 8/26/20 6:15 UTC

A GREAT CONJUNCTION of jupiter and saturn this december is getting hyped.  every 20 years or so, jupiter laps saturn in it's orbit, which means for a brief period they are very close together visually.  This year, on December 21, they will be separated by only 6 arcminutes--the closest conjunction in 400 years.  this means the two can be seen in the same telescopic field.  Their moons will almost overlap.  

OK realistically speaking, the planets will both be very low in the sky at this time of year. therefore, the seeing will be poor, limiting the ability to get fine detail.  furthermore, the field of view required to capture all the objects will be too large to portray fine detail.  that being said, the juxtaposition will probably look pretty cool to veteran astronomy buffs who are not used to seeing the two objects in the same field.  

Visually, you can "prepare" for the conjunction, by watching the two planets grow closer together in the evening sky.  photographically, i'll have to work to get a planetary imaging system with a large field of view.  i may actually use a refractor ;)

More information:

Great conjunction at EarthSky

Wikipedia link

Image details:

nexstar 8 GPS (altazimuth)

ZWO ASI120MC

90 seconds

eastbluff, CA 8/25/20

a perseid

back in eastbluff i decided to try out my D850 on the perseids on 8/11/20.  an extremely bright meteor streaked like lighting across the sky as i set up my camera at round 10 or 11 pm...only caught one with the camera over the next 3 hours:

Perseid 8/11/2020

close up

image details:

8/11/20, eastbluff, CA

nikon D850

Sigma 15mm F/5 EX DG fisheye

30 sec, iso 200

focusing the D850 with live view zoomed in and super high iso was a joy, giving tight stars on close up (though distorted by the fisheye) compared to the D60

this contrasts with my dark sky neowise images with twice the aperture and 100x greater ISO.  the image would be solid white if i tried that under polluted skies.  

our galaxy

the milky way has been on my to do list for a while. here's a shot from the desert:

Milky Way 7/21/2020, Sheep Hole Valley Wilderness,  Mojave Desert

my best to date, though somewhat anticlimactic as it was a 20 second afterthought while shooting comet neowise

another edge on galaxy for comparison:

NGC 3628 35 million light years away
2007

previous attempts:

Hetch Hetchy, stacked images, dark skies old out of focus DSLR
2019

wide field stack from light polluted skies
2018 webcam

first ever 2004.  the faint "smoke" coming out of the chimney is the milky way, totally by accident

image details:

sheep hole valley wilderness, mojave desert, CA

7/21/20 10:00 PM pacific

nikon D850

wide field: Sigma 15mm F2.8 EX DG fisheye

20 sec ISO 25,600

NGC 3628

4/12-17/07

los alamitos, CA

N8 GPS, F/6.3 FR @~1280mm, SX AO @~4Hz, IDAS LPR, H9C

45x20 minutes

7/7/19 

Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite National Park, California

Nikon D60

stock lens (18-55) @18 mm f/3.5

sky watcher star adventurer mount (tracking stars)

88x30 sec ISO 400

even with dark subtraction, there was significant amp glow, hence the desaturation.

8/12/18 to 4 AM 8/13/18 AM PDT (until clouded out)

Eastbluff

Southern California

ZWO ASI 290MC

stock fisheye lens with home made cardboard dew shield and kendrick dew heater

Shutter=20.0s

Gain=100 (16%)

20 second exposures continuously

2004

Canon digital rebel

stock lens

NEOWISE C/2020 F3 from the desert

Here are my NEOWISE images from the Mojave.

First, a starlink photobomb (a/k/a) Elon plays space invaders:

comet NEOWISE C/2020 F3 animation, series of 3 second exposures 7/21/20

close up stacked image (removing star, comet, satellite and plane trails):

wider view with a bonus early perseid:

still wider (fisheye):

Thanks to OC astronomers member and renowned astrophotographer Wally Pacholka for the inspiration:

"Gents With a comet like Neowise dropping by only every 20 years or so, can I encourage folk to see and photograph it from a dark location so you can enjoy it’s true beauty. Do whatever is necessary to leave Dodge and get out of town."

his NEOWISE images are available here:

https://astropics.com/comet-neowise/

Observations/Travelogue 

taking a tip from wally, i headed out to amboy crater, in the Mojave desert 

Amboy Crater

an ideal location due to the absence of light pollution in the northwest where the comet would be setting:

lightpollutionmap.info

after a bit of reconnoitering, i opted for a location a bit south of the crater then made a few minor adjustments for local wild life:

snake spoor

 

visually, the comet was spectacular, spanning 5 degrees of sky (10 degrees with binoculars) almost as bright as the milky way, though more focal.  

photographically, saturday night (7/18/20) was a bust.  it seemed my 10 year old nikon D 60 which was fine in light polluted skies was not up to dark skies in 100 degree heat (but it was dry heat)

A rare case where the camera is less sensitive than the eye (or cellphone):

Nikon D60 stacked and processed

cellphone:

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 single frame

having flailed with my Nikon D60 Saturday night, i went back out to the desert Tuesday night to try again, armed with a better camera (rented nikon D850) and more glass. 

 

This time at the sheep hole valley wilderness (south east of amboy) just north of eastern joshua tree.  
the sheep hole mountains on the left of the widefield are shielding the barstow (and 29 palms) light dome which i assume can be seen from much of joshua tree when looking NW:

Image details:

sheep hole valley wilderness, mojave desert, CA

7/21/20 ~9:20-11 PM pacific

nikon D850

close up AF-S NIKKOR 85mm 1:1.4G 

10x stack 3 seconds ISO 25,600!

stacked in deep sky stacker

intermediate: AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G at 18 mm

30 sec ISO 25,600

wide field: Sigma 15mm F2.8 EX DG fisheye

20 sec ISO 25,600

lens distortion correction in photoshop

spent too much time stacking images which wound up worse than single shot except for the close up.  

super high ISO, blew out the star colors, but stacking with lower ISO images didn't work out for me.  

NEOWISE 7/21/20 5 sec ISO 6400, better star color and green at comet core