The Far Side

 

The Far Side of the Moon. NASA APOD based on Lunar Prospector mosaic imagery from 2011 onwards.

" I decided to post this NASA mosaic because it shows how different the Lunar far side is from the near side, which we gaze upon from Earth. Also we will never be able to image it from the Jodrell Plank Observatory because the Moon is tidally locked to present the same face to Earth (more or less and other than at the limbs). - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Autumnal treats await!

 

The Pleiades and crane jib juxtaposition. Google Pixel 8a smartphone handheld. Handshake compensation by AI.

" Beautiful night last night in Oulton Broad. Jolene, our engineer, captured this rather unusual view of the Pleiades" - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Stickney Crater on Phobos

 

Credit: NASA APOD

Explanation: Stickney Crater, the largest crater on the martian moon Phobos, is named for Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, mathematician and wife of astronomer Asaph Hall. Asaph Hall discovered both the Red Planet's moons in 1877. Over 9 kilometers across, Stickney is nearly half the diameter of Phobos itself, so large that the impact that blasted out the crater likely came close to shattering the tiny moon. This enhanced-color image of Stickney and surroundings was recorded by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as it passed within some six thousand kilometers of Phobos in March of 2008. Even though the surface gravity of asteroid-like Phobos is less than 1/1000th Earth's gravity, streaks suggest loose material slid down inside the crater walls over time. Light bluish regions near the crater's rim could indicate a relatively freshly exposed surface. The origin of the curious grooves along the surface is mysterious but may be related to tidal stresses experienced by close-orbiting Phobos or the crater-forming impact itself. - NASA

"Unfortunately, our Director Kurt during his recent holiday in Sicily, contracted the latest version of Covid, which bearing in mind his ongoing  chronic immune system illness, has knocked him for six. Consequently, posts to the blog have rather dried up. I was very interested in this close up view of the Martian Moon Phobos posted by NASA as a APOD and thought I would share on the blog " ,- Joel Cairo CEO Jodrell Plank Observatory 

Moon-Pleiades conjunction

 

Late September and the Waning Moon casts moonlight and washes out M45 - Seestar S30

"A bit cloudy with light pollution in Giardini Naxos tonight - not altogether different to Lowestoft! I noticed that the Moon was quite close to the Pleiades in the night sky" _Kurt Thrust current Director of the JPO- (The UK's most easterly Astronomical Observatory)

Harvest Moon

 

Harvest Full Moon. Seestar S30 captured from Sicily.

" The Harvest Moon heralding the changing seasons Summer to Autumn" - Kurt Thrust on holiday in Sicily.

Solar Disc 29_09_2026

 

The Solar Disc in white light. Seestar S30 3d printed combination filter Green and Baader Astro Solar film ND50.

" Very little solar activity showing in white light today. Two small sunspot groups and thermal cell granulation.". - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Image Credit: SOHO solar Observatory.

Mu Cephi

 

Mu Cephi, Cepheus. PIRATE robotic telescope BVR filters. Tenerife. Data credit: Open Observatories, Open University, telescope.org.

" Mu Cephei (Herschel’s Garnet Star) is a bright red supergiant with spectral type M2 Ia. Its line profile spectrum is heavily dominated by low-temperature molecular absorption bands and neutral metal lines, featuring a red-dominated continuum profile.

Key Spectral Characteristics

• ​Molecular Bands (Titanium Oxide - TiO): The most prominent features are deep, sawtooth-shaped TiO absorption bands (especially near 4954 Å, 5167 Å, 5448 Å, 5847 Å, 6158 Å, and 7054 Å). These create sharp flux drops toward shorter wavelengths with gradual recoveries toward the red.
• ​Neutral Metal Lines: Numerous absorption lines of neutral and weakly ionized heavy elements, including Fe I, Ti I, V I, Na I (D doublet at 5890/5896 Å), and Ca I.
• ​Hydrogen Balmer Lines: The H alpha line (6563 Å) typically appears as a complex, asymmetric absorption profile that can show weak variable emission or circumstellar wing distortion due to ongoing mass loss and chromospheric pulsations.
• ​Infrared Continuum Peak: Energy output shifts strongly into the red and near-infrared consistent with its low effective temperature approx 3,750 K.
• ​Infrared Dust Features: Mid-infrared line profiles show silicate emission features arising from a cool, expanding circumstellar envelope of dust." - Gary Gemini Coms Manager at the Jodrell Plank Observatory.