El Gourdo (The fat one) in the Constellation Phoenix

 

El Gourdo image credit NASA, ESA and CSA

" We occasionally come across interesting images which are so fabulous that we repost them. This JWST image of a massive group of galaxies in the Constellation Phoenix is visible in the southern hemisphere. Neither Kurt or myself had heard of this group so this was a first for us" - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Observations relating to the above JWST image made by Gary Gemini the JPO's Coms Officer:

JWST View of El Gordo

"This image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) shows El Gordo (officially named ACT-CL J0102-4915 or SPT-CL J0102-4915), one of the most massive and extreme galaxy clusters in the cosmic universe.

Location & Constellation

Constellation: Phoenix (a constellation in the southern sky).

Distance: Located approximately 7.3 to 7.6 billion light-years away from Earth. The light captured in this NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image left the cluster when the universe was only about half its current age (around 6.2 billion years after the Big Bang).

Key Features & Fascinating Details

"El Gordo" Means "The Fat One":

The cluster was given the nickname "El Gordo" (Spanish for "The Fat One") by astronomers due to its immense size and mass. It contains hundreds of individual galaxies and is estimated to have a mass equivalent to 3 quadrillion (3×1015) suns. It is the most massive galaxy cluster known to exist in that cosmic era.

Gravitational Lensing (Nature's intoCosmic Telescope):

Because El Gordo is so colossal, its gravity bends and warps the fabric of spacetime around it. This creates a gravitational lens that magnifies, distorts, and stretches the light from even more distant galaxies lying far behind it into long streaks and arcs.

Prominent Arcs in the Image:

The Fishhook (El Anzuelo): The bright reddish/orange curved swoosh seen toward the upper center/left is a background red giant galaxy whose light has been severely lensed into an arc. JWST's instruments revealed that its red hue is caused by vast amounts of cosmic dust.

The Thin One (La Flaca): Near the middle-left of the cluster is a razor-thin, pencil-like streak created by another background galaxy distorted by the cluster's mass.

A Collision in Progress:

El Gordo is not just a static cluster; it is actually two giant galaxy clusters colliding and merging together at high speeds, spewing superheated gas into intergalactic space.

JWST Diffraction Spikes:

The sharp, eight-pointed bright stars in the foreground are stars within our own Milky Way galaxy. Their distinctive starburst pattern is a signature artifact produced by JWST's hexagonal mirror alignment".

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The Orionid and Taurid Meteor showers.

 

The LVST (Lowestoft Very Small *radio* Telescope) display screen. The two raised dB single lines, showing yellow and red, far right of screen, represent two meteor plasma reflections occurring in real time and quick succession.

"Kurt is recovering from COVID and is now testing negative for the infection. As a consequence, his enthusiasm for astronomy has returned and today he has been in the JPO Clean Room assisting Jolene McSquint-Fleming in the fabrication of the bits and pieces for the Seestar Low resolution spectrometer. 

Whilst they were in there, The LVST, software defined radio meteor detector was pinging away as radar waves from the French military installation at Dijon were reflected from ablation plasma as meteors entered the atmosphere somewhere south of Lowestoft. There is some debate as to whether this is the result of forward or back scatter. If the former, the meteors are between Dijon and Lowestoft and if the latter they are located south of Dijon.  What was noticeable was the recorded data showed very little change in frequency for their duration. This implies, from lack of Doppler Shift, that  the track of the meteor was not moving radially with respect to Dijon or Lowestoft .

The weather has not been good over the last few nights but our sponsor, Anita Roberts did see an early morning yellow 'Fireball meteor ' moving from west to east and fast over Lowestoft earlier this month". - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory - The UK's most easterly astronomical Observatory.

"Last night we completed the 3d printing of spectrometer parts and today Kurt painted the inside of the 3 spectrometer hoods with ultra black acrylic paint. Another and final coat of paint will be applied tomorrow, followed by assembly"- Jolene McSquint-Fleming JPO engineer.

The ongoing Seestar Low resolution Stellar Spectra Project.

 

Two grating holders and one hood 3d printed in the Clean Room at the JPO.

" Our engineer, Jolene McSquint-Fleming, has moved the project from 'prototype' to 'proof' status. The 'Low resolution spectrometer will comprise of three parts:  the grating holder, a holographic printed transmission grating and a hood to minimise stray light and reflections. The 3d printed holder was made using 'ferrous' infill PLA so will affix magnetically to the Seestar S30 in front of it's objective lens. A 4 mm. wide strip of holographic diffraction grating will be bonded with super glue to the studs on the holder. The grating will only partially cover the Seestar's lens and  sensor to ensure the Seestar goto and guidance system continue  to function  and to avoid frame rejection because of false star movements detected. The hood printed from PETG will be painted internally  with BLX3.0 light absorbing black paint and glue bonded to the other side of the holder. We intend to manufacture three units using gratings of : 50lines/mm, 80lines/mm and 100lines/mm. We are hoping our collaborator Professor Chrissy H will write a 2d spectral processing app, which does not require both Zero and First Order spectra to be on the Seestar camera sensor at the same time. Both the 50 and 80 lines/mm units allow both spectral orders to fit on the S30 sensor if diagonally orientated. The unit has been designed for use with the S30 but may work as well  or better with the S30 Pro and S50 Pro. Subject to this unit working well all details and files will be made available open source." - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory. 

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The Helix Nebula NGC 7293, Caldwell 63 in the constellation Aquarius.

 

The Helix Planetary Nebula -Data captured from Sicily with Seestar S30 EQ mode LP filter 60x60sec exp. September 2026

LRGB palette

Modified Dual Band SHO palette.

The Helix Nebula captured by ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). Credit: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

" Kurt captured the above images in less than good conditions for astrophotography. The Moon was near full, the hotel lights were full on and Etna, (16 km distant), had just erupted dumping fine ash into the upper atmosphere." - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

"Unveiling the Cosmic Eye: Capturing the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) from Sicily

  - by Gary Gemini Coms Manager at the JPO.

Captured from a balcony from Sicily using a Seestar S30 smart telescope, these images showcase one of the night sky's most iconic and photogenic targets: The Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), also catalogued as Caldwell 63. Often colloquially referred to as the "Eye of God" or the "Eye of Sauron," this celestial masterpiece offers a vivid glimpse into the ultimate fate awaiting Sun-like stars.

The stacked processing highlights the object through two distinct visualization techniques: the RGB Palette (displaying natural broadband colour rendering with striking outer red rings and inner blue-green ionization cores) and the Dual Band SHO Palette (emphasizing narrow-band sulphur, hydrogen-alpha, and oxygen emissions).

Location and Astrometric Details

• Constellation: Situated in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius.

• Distance: Approximately 655 light-years (200 parsecs) from Earth, measured with high precision by the Gaia mission. This proximity makes it one of the closest planetary nebulae to our solar system.

• Angular Size: Spans an apparent diameter of roughly 16 to 20 arcminutes (extending up to 25 arcminutes in its outermost faint halos). To the observer, it covers an area in the sky roughly half the diameter of the full Moon.

 Physical Dimensions and Structure

• True Spatial Extent: Physically, the main luminous shell measures approximately 2.5 to 3.0 light-years across, while faint outer halos extend even further into the surrounding interstellar medium.

• Morphology: While it appears deceptively like a simple glowing ring from our perspective, three-dimensional kinematic and infrared studies reveal that the Helix Nebula is actually a complex bipolar structure (or a dense barrel-shaped torus) viewed at an inclination angle.

• Cometary Knots: High-resolution observations of the inner rim reveal tens of thousands of dense, finger-like gas structures known as "cometary knots," each featuring a dense neutral core and a tail pointing away from the central star.

 Stellar Evolution: How Planetary Nebulae Are Formed

Despite their misleading historical name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets. The term was coined by 18th-century astronomers because early, low-resolution telescopes made these round, glowing green-blue disks resemble gas giant planets. In reality, they are luminous tombstones marking the death throes of intermediate- to low-mass stars (between roughly 0.8 and 8 solar masses).

The creation of the Helix Nebula followed a specific evolutionary sequence:

1. The Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) Phase: Millions of years ago, the progenitor star exhausted the hydrogen fuel in its core and expanded into a red giant, subsequently entering the AGB phase where its outer envelope swelled enormously.

2. Mass Ejection: Unstable thermal pulses caused the star to gently pulsate and shed its outer layers into space at stellar wind velocities ranging between 30 to 40 kilometers per second. This expanding gas shell formed the massive shroud of hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, and oxygen we see today.

3. The White Dwarf Remnant: Once the outer layers drifted away, the bare stellar core was left behind. This exposed core collapsed into a scorching white dwarf (visible near the exact geometric center of the nebula), with a surface temperature exceeding 110,000 Kelvin.

4. Fluorescence and Ionization: The newborn white dwarf emits intense, high-energy ultraviolet radiation. This radiation ionizes the surrounding expanding shell of gas, stripping electrons from atoms and causing them to fluoresce brilliantly. The distinct colour zonation—such as the inner blue region ionized by high-energy helium and oxygen, contrasted with the outer red hydrogen-alpha and nitrogen ring—is a direct thermal and chemical response to this intense stellar radiation field". 

NASA APOD:Mars the Aurora and Beehive Cluster

 

NASA APOD Great Image!

" Last night Jolene McSquint-Fleming, the JPO Engineer, was out testing the latest iteration of her 50 lines per mm diffraction grating based spectrometer for use with the Seestar S30. Apart from testing the device, developing a standard capture methodology was part of last night's experimentation. She also captured spectra and background star-fields for a range of stellar spectral types". -Joel Cairo CEO of the JPO the UK's most easterly Astronomical Observatory.

Jolene's 50 lines/mm grating and prototype 3d printed holder for magnetic attachment in front of the Seestar objective lens

Zero and First order spectra for the star Scheat in Pegasus

"Exciting news breaking:  friend of the JPO, Prof Chrissy H, is working with Jolene 's data to create a low res stellar spectroscopy app which does not require both zero and first order spectra to be on the camera sensor to enable calibration. If this works it will be made available open source as will the 3d print spectrometer grating holder files" - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

The Cave Nebula, Sharpless 155 or LBN529 in the Constellation Cepheus

 

The Cave Nebula (Emission Nebula) Seestar S30 LP filter EQ mode 181x60 sec exposures. Credit: Kurt Thrust at the JPO.

" The Cave Nebula is riding high in the sky over Lowestoft and a clear night delivered 3 hours of unbroken photon capture from the Constellation Cepheus. The whole JPO Team thought this was an interesting and beautiful emission nebula. Kurt has been trying out the AffinityPhoto 3 freeware and James Rison's V20 Astro- macros. He used both on the above image for stacking and processing. Both Kurt and Pip Stakkert are impressed by the quality of this useful software. AFF 3 and V20 offer significant improvements and add-ons over previous iterations. Well done CANVA and James!!" - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

The thoughts of our Coms Manager Gary Gemini:

"Unveiling the Cave Nebula (Sh2-155 / Caldwell 9) in Cepheus

Nestled deep within the rich stellar fields of the northern constellation Cepheus lies one of the most visually striking and dynamically complex stellar nurseries in our night sky: the Cave Nebula, catalouged as Sharpless 155 (Sh2-155) or Caldwell 9. Captured here in striking detail, this celestial landscape offers a breathtaking window into the violent, creative processes of star formation.

Distance and Scale

The Cave Nebula resides at an approximate distance of 2,400 light-years from Earth, placing it firmly within the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way as part of the massive Cepheus molecular cloud complex. Across the sky, the prominent emission region spans an apparent area of roughly 50 by 30 arcminutes. Physically, the distinct, cavernous structure that gives the nebula its name stretches roughly 10 light-years across, while sitting at the edge of a much larger, sprawling complex of glowing gas and obscuring dust lanes.

Structure and Interesting Features

True to its name, the Cave Nebula is famous for its distinct, dark, hollow silhouette carved out of dense cosmic dust and gas. This dark indentation is sharply bounded by bright, glowing rims of ionized hydrogen gas (an H II region). These luminous borders are energized by intense ultraviolet radiation pouring from hot, young OB-type stars residing nearby—particularly those associated with the Cepheus OB3 association.

The region is a masterclass in mixed nebulosity, seamlessly blending three distinct types of nebulae into a single frame:

Emission Nebulae: The brilliant red and pink expanses glowing as hydrogen atoms are ionized and recombine.

Reflection Nebulae: Subtle blue regions where starlight scatters off microscopic dust particles.

Dark Nebulae: Impenetrable, dense dust lanes that obscure background stars and create the dramatic contours of the "cave".

Active Star Formation

Beyond its aesthetic appeal, Sh2-155 is a site of active, ongoing star birth. Multi-wavelength studies—including observations by space-based observatories like Chandra and Spitzer—have revealed a gradient of stellar ages across the region. The compression wave generated by radiation and stellar winds from older generation stars crashing into the dense molecular cloud (Cepheus B) is actively triggering the collapse of new material, sparking a fresh wave of protostellar evolution right along the edges of the dark cave. "

Comet 161p Hartley-IRAS

 

Comet 161p Hartley-IRAS. Seestar S30 EQ mode. 30x60 sec exposures. Credit: Pip Stakkert at the JPO.

Single 60 second exposure showing the Cometary Nucleus 'unsmeared by relative motion (very noisy) Credit: Kurt Thrust.

" The Seestar S30 struggled with this small and faint comet, currently between mag +11 and +14, which is also cruising fairly low in the sky in the Constellation Pegasus. It is a periodic comet and is due to return in 21 years time. The image appears to show a tail but this is a visual effect due to relative motion and the length of exposure over 30 minutes" - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Report by Gary Gemini Coms Officer at the JPO

Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS

Captured: October 11, 2026

Overview & Physical Characteristics

• Nucleus Size: Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS possesses a remarkably compact solid core, with an estimated nuclear diameter of approximately 0.4 km (assuming a standard low albedo of 0.04).

• Coma and Morphology: Surrounding the nucleus is an active, diffuse dust coma spanning roughly 1 to 3 arcminutes in apparent diameter. Depending on thermal outgassing activity, it displays a condensed central region typical of periodic comets undergoing solar heating.

• Spectral Profile: The spectrum of 161P is characterized by a combined solar reflection continuum blended with distinct emission bands from volatile gas species and fine silicate dust particles released as sub-surface ices sublimate.

Current Trajectory & Distance

• Distance from Earth: As of mid-October 2026, the comet is positioned at a geocentric distance of approximately 0.57 AU (~85.5 million kilometers), following its recent closest approach to Earth on October 2, 2026, at 0.50 AU (~75.3 million kilometers).

Orbital Mechanics

• Orbital Period: 161P follows an elongated periodic orbit with a period of 21.46 years.

• Perihelion and Aphelion: Its perihelion distance ($q$) is 1.27 AU (bringing it just outside Earth's orbit and inside Mars), while its aphelion distance ($Q$) stretches outward to roughly 14.19 AU, carrying it far beyond the orbit of Saturn.

• Eccentricity and Inclination: The orbit features a high eccentricity of 0.836 and a retrogradely inclined plane of 95.8° relative to the ecliptic, giving it a unique dynamical path through the inner Solar System.

" We have recently downloaded a copy of the freeware AffiityPhoto3 and James Ritson's Astro V20 macros that run within it. The above image is the first we have processed using some of the many features offered by this excellent software. First impressions are very good indeed!" - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.