Does size really matter?

 

" The top image is of part of the Rosette Nebula in the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. It was captured using the 16 inch (400mm.) aperture PIRATE robotic telescope located at altitude on the extinct volcano Mount Teide, Tenerife. The lower image is of all of the Rosette Nebula captured with our 30mm aperture Seestar 'smartscope' at Sea-level from the JPO in Lowestoft. Apart from the orientation they are remarkably similar in their resolution of detail.  

Clearly, the research grade telescope located under a dark sky at altitude in Tenerife has provided the better image but how much better is a matter for debate. Having access to both sets of data is definitely a bonus for the JPO imaging team and we remain grateful to Open Observatories, the Open University and telescope.org.

For astronomers who like to capture their own data and in terms of value for money, mobility and ease of use, the Seestar S30 is an incredible piece of kit for the use of beginners and seasoned astro-imagers alike!" - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Messiers 27 and 76 on the comparative method.

 

Messier 27 'The Dumbbell Planetary Nebula  captured by Kurt Thrust from the Jodrell Plank Observatory with the 127 mm Meade 500 series apo refractor and a Canon 600d DSLR. Reprocessed data - to show finer detail in the nebulosity.

" Kurt is definitely becoming obsessive in his old age and is reprocessing more old data whilst he can. More concerning, he is showing a rather morbid interest in planetary nebulae 'the end of days' for stars of a certain size, like our own planet Earth". - Joel Cairo CEO of the JPO the UK's most easterly astronomical observatory.

Messier 27 and Messier 76: Scientific Description

By Gary Gemini Coms Manager at the JPO.

The image depicts Messier 27 (M27), commonly known as the Dumbbell Nebula—a classic, highly evolved planetary nebula situated approximately 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula.

Technical & Physical Morphology

• Gas Ionization and Composition: The central region glows in vibrant blue-green tones, indicative of high-energy, doubly ionized oxygen ( emission around 501 nm), excited by intense ultraviolet radiation emitted from the hot central star. The outer envelope and peripheral rim show intense red and deep orange hues, corresponding to lower-ionization transitions, primarily hydrogen-alpha ( at 656 nm) and ionized nitrogen (N II).

• Structural Geometry: M27 exhibits an oblate prolate spheroidal structure tilted at a shallow angle relative to our line of sight. The characteristic "dumbbell" or "apple core" appearance is created by an equatorial concentration of denser gas (the thick central bar/waist) paired with broad polar outflows that extend outward, forming a faint outer halo.

• Microstructure and Instabilities: Detailed throughout the interior is a complex, cellular network of dark and illuminated filaments. These are cometary knots—dense globules of neutral gas and dust being ionized and eroded by high-speed stellar winds and photoevaporation driven by the central star.

Planetary Nebulae M27 on the left M76 on the right.

Comparison: M27 vs. M76 (The Little Dumbbell Nebula)

Feature	Messier 27 (Dumbbell Nebula)	Messier 76 (Little Dumbbell Nebula)
Morphological Type	Elliptical / Prolate Spheroid	True Bipolar Planetary Nebula
Viewing Angle	Pole-on to intermediate inclination	Edge-on equatorial torus
Structure	Broad, filled central volume with subtle polar caps	Distinct central bar/ring with two extended outer lobes
Stellar Dynamics	Ejected mainly by a single evolving star	Sculpted likely via interaction with a binary companion

Fate of the Sun and the Solar System

M27 provides a direct preview of the ultimate death of our Sun in roughly 5 billion years:

1. Fuel Exhaustion: Once the Sun exhausts its core hydrogen, it will expand into a Red Giant, fusing helium in shell-burning phases (Asymptotic Giant Branch stage).

2. Mass Ejection: Thermal pulses will cause the Sun to shed its outer envelope into space via stellar winds, creating a glowing shell identical to the nebula shown here.

3. Core Remnant: The exposed, superheated carbon-oxygen core will become a white dwarf (visible at the centre). Its intense UV radiation will energize the surrounding gas for ~10,000–50,000 years before the gas expands into the interstellar medium and fades away.

4. Solar System Destruction: Mercury and Venus will be engulfed; Earth will either be consumed or reduced to a scorched, lifeless rock orbiting a cooling white dwarf remnant.

" Always good to finish on an upbeat note"  - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

M35 and NGC2158 - two open star clusters apparently side by side in the Constellation Gemini.

 

M35 and NGC2158 - two open star clusters apparently side by side in the night sky but
Ngc 2158 is light years further away than Messier 35. Image captured with the Seestar S30 'smartscope'. The lower image is a 'crop' of the one above and shows more detail particularly that associated with the fainter Ngc 2158.

                                                         

 " Kurt decided to re-work the data produced by our Seestar S30 of M35 and Ngc 2158 in the constellation Gemini" - Joel Cairo CEO of the JPO.

Messier 35 and NGC 2158: Scientific Description

By G.Gemini Coms Manager at the JPO.

An analysis of the visual field reveals a classic astronomical dichotomy: the open star cluster Messier 35 (M35)—which is identical to NGC 2168—appearing alongside the smaller, more compact open cluster NGC 2158 visible in the lower-right quadrant. Note that M35 and NGC 2168 refer to the same primary, widely scattered cluster. The comparison below evaluates the physical parameters that characterize M35/NGC 2168 in contrast to its line-of-sight companion, NGC 2158.

Key Physical Dynamics & Visual Morphology

Spatial Distribution & Density: M35 (NGC 2168) spans a physical diameter of roughly 24 light-years, presenting a broad, low-density distribution of bright blue-white massive stars across the field. Conversely, NGC 2158 appears extremely dense and visually resembles a globular cluster due to its vast distance, compact stellar packing, and smaller apparent area.

Evolutionary Differences: The blue-dominated light from M35 reflects its young stellar population, where massive main-sequence stars have not yet exhausted their nuclear core fuel. NGC 2158 is more than ten times older; its high-mass blue stars have long since evolved off the main sequence, leaving behind lower-mass main-sequence stars and red giants that give the cluster a distinctly yellower hue and higher interstellar extinction.

Perspective & Geometry: Though visually adjacent in the constellation Gemini, the two clusters do not form a gravitationally bound binary pair. NGC 2158 sits roughly 4 to 5 times deeper in the Milky Way plane, far beyond M35.

Comparative Astrophysics Analysis

Characteristic	Messier 35 (NGC 2168)	NGC 2158
Cluster Type	Loose Open Cluster (Trumpler III3r)	Highly Compact Open Cluster (Trumpler II3m)
Apparent Angular Diameter	~28 arcminutes	~5 arcminutes
Visual Magnitude ($V$)	+5.3 (Naked-eye target)	+8.6 (Telescopic target)
Distance from Earth	~2,800–2,970 light-years (~850–912 pc)	~11,000–16,500 light-years (~3.3–5.0 kpc)
Estimated Age	~100–175 million years (Young open cluster)	~1.0–2.0 billion years (Intermediate/Old open cluster)
Stellar Population Color	Dominantly blue-white (hot B-type main-sequence stars)	Dominantly yellow-orange (evolved giants, low-mass stars)

The California Nebula Ngc 1499

 

California Nebula captured with the Astro -modded Canon 200d DSLR, Altair Astro narrow band tri filter, 135mm Samyang lens all on a Star Adventurer EQ mount.

" The California Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation Perseus  . Pip Stakkert  found some old data, which we had posted before but had not done justice, when post processing. Consequently, he decided to re-process  the data to bring out finer detail in the nebula." - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

The California Nebula: Scientific Description

By G.Gemini Coms Manager at the JPO.

The image, a wide-field astronomical photograph, captures a vast, irregular cloud of deep red nebulosity extending diagonally across the left and center of the frame. This structure, which shows an elongated shape resembling the outline of the US state of California, is the California Nebula, also cataloged as NGC 1499. The nebula's distinctive deep red color arises from H-alpha emission, where a powerful ultraviolet radiation source, located to the left and just outside this specific field of view, ionizes the hydrogen gas. As the ionized electrons recombine with protons, they emit a specific wavelength of deep red light.

The nebula exhibits a complex, multi-layered texture. Near its "northern" edge, within the main body, is a significantly brighter, mottled region of denser plasma and dust, showing more varied, complex structure and lighter tones of orange and gold compared to the diffused, darker red tail extending further into the lower-right, suggesting variation in gas density and temperature across the cloud.

This deep red nebula contrasts sharply with the background, a dark, star-filled void. Thousands of stars of varying sizes, brightnesses, and subtle colors are scattered across the image. Several prominent foreground stars, many exhibiting cross-shaped diffraction spikes, are particularly striking. One exceptionally bright, star is located in the top-right, with others scattered across the field, like those in the top-center and near the nebula’s edge. Dust filaments and patches create subtle, non-red variations in the interstellar medium, adding depth to the cosmic landscape. The entire scene is set against a dark field with countless distant background stars.

The wide-field astronomical image, a 16:9 view, presents the large emission nebula NGC 1499, known as the California Nebula, a vast complex of interstellar gas and dust located approximately 1,000 to 1,500 light-years away from Earth. Spanning an extensive physical diameter of about 100 light-years, the nebula is situated within the boundaries of the constellation Perseus.

The image is a stack of a number of long-exposures, which reveals the faint, elongated structure that stretches diagonally across the left and center, mimicking the outline of the US state of California. Its primary constituent is ionized hydrogen (H II), which, upon recombining with electrons, emits the characteristic deep red light (H-alpha emission) that dominates the nebula's core and is evident in this coloured view. This nebula is ionised by the intense ultraviolet radiation from a very hot, nearby O-type star, likely Xi Persei (also known as Menkib), which is located in the vicinity.

Within the nebula, a bright, textured core, appearing more golden-orange, suggests denser regions and complex dust structures, while the outer, diffuse "tail" fades into a darker red against the star-filled cosmic background. Several prominent foreground stars, many exhibiting added cross-shaped diffraction spikes, provide a sense of scale and depth to the field, particularly a bright star in the upper right. The entire scene is set against a dense tapestry of distant stars of varying magnitudes, including a few prominent double-star systems and smaller groups.

Perseid Meteor Shower 12th August 2026

 

3 no Meteors captured over two hours of 30 second exposures with a fixed tripod mounted Canon 600d DSLR at ISO 1600 with Sigma widefield lens at f=15mm. Image credit Kurt Thrust.

" After a full on day at Southwold Marshes 'eclipse chasing', the team returned to the Jodrell Plank Observatory tired but keen to see a few Perseid meteors. Kurt, being the trooper he is, set up a camera to try and capture an image of at least one meteor. As is always the case with imaging meteors, you see a lot more than you capture on a small camera sensor. The above image is a compilation of the three meteors Kurt managed to net over two hours of 30 second exposures. Whether any of those captured were 'Perseid Shower Meteors' or 'sporadic meteors', which fall randomly each night, is open to debate. Kurt used a very wide angled lens to maximise the size of his 'meteor catch net' but this makes tracing them back to their apparent point of origin, near Perseus, more difficult"  - Joel Cairo CEO of the JPO the UK's most easterly astronomical Observatory.

A grain of dust from the shower ablated by friction to create radar reflective plasma somewhere over the Mediterranean area. Here displayed on the dedicated LVST screen as a small red orange and white peak in reflected signal amplitude above the blue background noise.

Partial Solar Eclipse from Southwold Marshes Aug 12th 2026

 

The Moon covering approximately 90% of the solar disc at 17.11 BST
as viewed from Southwold Marshes. Seestar S30 Alt Az mode. 
A sunspot group can be seen close to the Lunar limb (left side).

A close up showing the Lunar limb in black
against a white solar photosphere.
The lunar limb can be seen to be irregular.
This is created by crater walls  on the limb.

]

The Moon having moved away from maximum eclipse. 
The Solar photosphere processed to show granulation,
traces of faculae and one large sunspot towards the bottom.

 "Kurt and the whole JPO Team plus sponsors and family assembled on the Marshes at Southwold to witness the fantastic spectacle of partial solar eclipse. They were not disappointed! The weather was superb and the Moon turned up in the nick of time. The equipment, which included the Seestar 30, solar white light filters, a Canon 600d DSLR, a pinhole camera and even a kitchen colander all  performed  well"  - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory

Sequence of eclipse after maximum.
The image on the left captured just after maximum,
with time advancing as images to the right.

" I believe that the movement of the Moon in front of the Sun is the most  impressive feature of a solar eclipse. The transit  for me is a majestic proof of Kepler's Laws and math. It is an awe inspiring event, that in my opinion is best represented by a time lapse video." - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory

Time lapse video from first contact to maximum.

Created with the Seestar S30. 

Images were captured every 30 seconds.

"As one of the JPO sponsors, I decided to use my time creating an arty composite image which sum up how I witnessed the event from our vantage point in beautiful Suffolk by the sea." - George Roberts. 

Sun Dog over Oulton Broad

 

" Multi coloured 'Sun dog' to the left of the Sun over Oulton Broad, observed whilst the team was enjoying a pint or two at the Wherry Hotel" - Joel Cairo CEO of the JPO the UK's most easterly Astronomical Observatory".