Christmas Observing at Jodrell Plank

Canon 600D Widefield Camera 30 second exposure at ISO1600 EOS lens at f=18mm. View roughly North East - 24 Dec 2018 - Credit Kurt Thrust

"All the observatory staff are out tonight studying the Comet 46P Wirtanen as it passes close to the bright star Capella (Alpha Auriga). Whilst the team was beavering away under transparent clear skies I managed to obtain the above unusual image.

It has been a busy week here in Lowestoft and for the last two days you could not walk through the extensive grounds of the  Jodrell Plank Observatory for fear of tripping over Robins. This eve, the Jodrell Plank stargazers were very excited and before commencing the night's observing session, we hung-up our thick wool stockings under the Meade 127mm Apo Refractor. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that we have been assessed as 'nice' rather than 'naughty' astronomers. Mrs Thrust is handing out steaming mugs of mulled wine so there is no knowing what we might discover tonight.

 A very merry Christmas to all stargazers worldwide" - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Comet 46P Wirtanen

Comet 46P Wirtanen at perehelion on the 16th December 2018 and 7,220,000 miles from Earth

"Weather has been very poor here on the coast and consequently there has been little astronomical action at the Observatory. Thankfully Mrs Thrust, being both hawk-eyed and ever vigilant, noticed a 'window' of clear sky through the observatory kitchen door at 2:00 UT on the morning of the 16th of December. Dragging on my dressing-gown I raced to assemble a 'Heath Robinson' collection of kit to obtain a photograph however poor. The above two images are the best accomplished on a night of high drama, before the clouds once again dominated the sky." Kurt Thrust - acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

" 46P Wirtanen is a short period comet that returns to our skies every 5.4 years. The comet is thought to have a nucleus of only 1.2 Kilometers in diameter and therefore it is quite surprising that 46P displays such high activity. The comet was first discovered in 1948 by Carl A Wirtanen.  46P was the original target for ESA's Rossetta Mission but because of launch delays, it was redirected to the comet 67P/Churymov-Gerasimenko . During December, 46P might grow in apparent brightness as it travels into the constellation Auriga. On Christmas Eve the comet should be close to the bright star Capella and may be visible to the naked eye". Archie Mendes - theoretical astrophysicist and mathematician.

" I do hope I didn't wake our neighbour, Mr Shrodinger, when I inadvertently tripped over his cat in the dark" sincere apologies Kurt Thrust

Leonid Meteor Shower 2018

A lone 'Leonid Meteor' moving across the Eastern Sky towards the Constellation Auriga. Canon 600D DSLR mounted on a Star Adventurer Equatorial mount. EOS 18-55mm. zoom lens at f=18mm. and F4.5. 30sec exposure at ISO1600. Background star field from a large number of 30 sec RAW exposures stacked using DeepSkyStacker freeware. Credit : Kurt Thrust

 " The Leonid Meteor Shower was predicted to reach it's peak activity in the early hours of the 18th of November. As this years shower was not expected to show high hourly rates I decided to give the Observatory staff the night off and man the camera myself. The night of the 17th and early hours of the 18th of November this year were exceptional for meteor watching. The skies were clear of cloud and by 1:00am. the Moon was out of the way in the far west. After setting up the mobile wide-field imaging rig and programming the intervalometer to take a long series of sequential 30 sec exposures, I settled down in a chair under a blanket to commence my lone meteor watch vigil. I sat waiting and watching for 4 hours and spotted only 4 fast moving Leonid meteors. In fact during the same period I saw five Taurid meteors which in every way were more beautiful to observe. One of the Leonids however, was quite spectacular and left a trail drifting in its wake. Unfortunately my camera's FOV (field of vision) was not sufficient to capture this 'fireball'. Over the four hours our Canon 600D camera captured 480 x 30 sec exposures and on only one was a Leonid meteor recorded" - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory. 

For more information on the Leonid Meteor Shower follow the link:
Leonid Meteor Shower

Mars

Mars 13 November 2018 now spinning away from Earth on its orbit. 127mm. Meade Apo- refractor - x3 Barlow and QHY5-11 planetary camera 9 minutes of AVI consolidated into one still frame using PIPP , AS!2 and Registax 6 software - Credit: Pip Stakkert

"A very mixed night of cloudy and clear skies over Lowestoft when this image was captured. Mars has been very low in the southern sky from our latitude of 52 degrees North and below the skyline from the Observatory earlier in the year when Mars was much closer to the Earth. Anyway, as soon as it appeared above the roofs, we managed to image the planet before it got too far and too small to be photographed effectively. Nice view of the southern polar cap and is that a white cloud on the limb"? - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

The Andromeda Galaxy - a work in Progress

Messier 31 - The Andromeda Galaxy with attendant galaxies M32 (above and left) and M110 (below and right) Credit: Pip Stakkert 

"The Andromeda Galaxy was directly overhead the Jodrell Plank Observatory when the series of images were taken using the 127 mm. Meade Apo-refractor with a 0.6 focal reducer and field flattener. The 3 and 1 minute exposure images at ISO800 were obtained, using an unmodded Canon 600D DSLR, early last month in October 2018. The images were stacked using DeepSkyStacker software. This is an image in progress as many more exposures will be required to bring out the considerable detail that can be obtained with good weather and patience. It is incredible to think that this galaxy, at a distance of 2.5 million light years from Earth, may be seen with the unaided eye. After the street lights go out at midnight in Lowestoft and on a clear moonless night the Andromeda Galaxy can be seen as a faint smudge of light.  Messier 31 contains an estimated one trillion stars and is moving towards the Milky Way at approximately 300 km/second. It is predicted to collide and combine with the Milky Way in about 4 billion years time. Due to the great distances between stars there is little chance of actual collisions but there is a small probability that gravitational disturbance could lead to the ejection of the solar system from the Milky Way. It is thought that when the two spiral galaxies interact they will combine to create on giant elliptical or large disc galaxy". Kurt Thrust - acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

"The Andromeda Galaxy has a retinue of Globular Star Clusters that can be seen through amateur and professional telescopes. Some of what appear to be very faint stars in the above image are in fact globular star clusters similar to those which are, through gravitation, associated with our Milky Way".
Archie Mendes - theoretical physicist and mathematician.

The amazing American amateur astronomer and astro-imager, Robert Gendler, has created annotated mosaic images showing the globular star clusters associated with M31 - follow the link:

http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/M31NMmosaicglobs.html

IC 5146 - The Cocoon Nebula

IC 5146, The Cocoon Nebula  - Credit: Telescope.org - The Open University- COAST Robotic Telescope.- SHO filter set - 1 x 3 min exp - Credit:  Pip Stakkert

" The above image was enhanced by adding infra-red information obtained by COAST to the luminosity layer of the combined SHO image."  Pip Stakkert.

" The Cocoon Nebula lies some 4000 light years distant in the constellation Cygnus 'The Swan. At its centre is an open cluster of young stars. The stars are located in a mixture of dark and bright nebula. Emission and reflection nebula are associated with this interesting object. The nebula is approximately 15 light years across and is lit by the central star which formed only 100,000 years ago. IC 5146 is a stellar nursery where star birth is ongoing". - Kurt Thrust - acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory

IC 5146, The Cocoon Nebula  - Credit: Telescope.org - The Open University- COAST Robotic Telescope.- Infra-red 'Heat Map' - Credit:  Pip Stakkert

Messier 37- Open star cluster in the Constellation Auriga

Messier 37 - Combined image - stack of 10 x 30sec lights with the Altair 66mm Doublet wide-field scope  from the Jodrell Plank Observatory (Credit: Archie Mendes) and  1x 180sec light with the PIRATE robotic telescope (Credit: telescope.org - Open University) - combined using Registar Software -(Credit: Pip Stakkert)

"Open star clusters are collections of up to a few thousand stars loosely bound by mutual gravitational attraction. The stars in an open cluster form from the same giant molecular cloud of gas and dust. More than 1100 open clusters have been found in the Milky Way. Open clusters are  found  only in spiral and irregular galaxies where active star formation is occurring. They generally survive for a few hundred million years before the stars disperse as the result of galactic migration and disturbance in close encounters with other clusters. Massive clusters may stay together longer surviving for a few billion years.
Messier 37 is the richest open star cluster in the constellation Auriga and is approximately 4500 light years distant. So the light we collected the other night from M37 set off from the cluster when on Earth the Pyramids were being constructed. The cluster has an estimated combined mass of 1500 suns and angular diameter of 24 arc minutes which corresponds to a dimension of 20 to 25 light years. Messier 37 is somewhere between 350 and 550 million years old - in cosmic terms quite young - younger than the Hyades but older than the Pleiades". - Kurt Thrust - acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner (updated image 19th September 2018)

Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner - 13 September 2018- Altair 66mm Doublet on Star Adventurer Mount - 30 sec exposures at ISO3200 stacked. Canon 600D DSLR with 0.8x field flattener and reducer. Stacked and drizzled FOV at x2.- then combined with images taken of Messier 35 several years ago utilising the 127mm.Meade Apo refractor. Credit Pip Stakkert and Kurt Thrust

"The 'periodic' comet 21P/Giaciobini-Zinner has an orbital period of 6.5 years and is currently sailing past the constellation Gemini and in particular the open star cluster Messier 35. I had located the comet the night before through the observatory's large binoculars but was unable to follow up with one of our telescopes. Thankfully, a good weather window opened up around 2:00 BST and we were able to bring our widefield rig into action. The little 66mm scope certainly punches above its weight" - Pip Stakkert - Imaging Team Leader - Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner - 13 September 2018- Altair 66mm Doublet on Star Adventurer Mount - 30 sec exposures at ISO3200 stacked. 28 stacked widefield image .Canon 600D DSLR with 0.8x field flattener and reducer. 

"All the observatory staff were awake until 5:00 BST to ensure an image of the comet was obtained before it disappeared into the dawn. The sky above the observatory was remarkably transparent and we all enjoyed the wonderful sight of the Milky Way stretching from horizon to horizon. Four bright meteors and binocular views of Messier 33 were an added bonus.. On a domestic note -friend of the observatory Beth Harman and her dog Bertie stayed over night at the Jodrell Plank Observatory Visitors Centre, unfortunately, Bertie and Mr Shrodinger's cat - Comet didn't get on so well. Clearly not everyone likes comets with tails!" - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

" Bye and see you in 2025"

Autumn Nights en Provence

The Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy - photographed from Etoile St Cyrice using a Tripod Mounted Canon 400d DSLR - 30 sec exposures stacked

"The autumnal weather in Lowestoft has been very poor and so very little astronomy has been possible at the Jodrell Plank Observatory. I was reminded of the wonderful dark and clear skies in France and some images I managed to capture en Provence. - Quite frankly the sky was a sea of starlight" - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Our Sun

Sunset outside the Jodrell Plank Observatory

Sunset over the harbour at Wells next the Sea Norfolk

"The other night I watched from the quayside at Wells next the Sea , as the magnificent Milky Way climbed over the North Sea and the sky was awash with starlight. Even though Norfolk County Council does not turn off the street lighting as in Suffolk, the sky was inky black with the dust clouds in the Milky Way, in and around Cygnus, sharp and defined.  I even think I managed to observe with averted vision through my small 10x40 binoculars,  the spiral galaxy Messier 33.  It occurred to me that we spend much of the time at the Observatory imaging distant stars whilst largely ignoring the G2V star (our Sun) on our doorstep. Now as we come to the end of our summer here on the UK's east coast I like to watch our life giving star set in the west" - Kurt Thrust - acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory

The Summer Triangle

The Asterism - 'The Summer Triangle'- Canon 600d DSLR with EOS 18-55mm lens at f=18mm - mounted on a Star Adventurer Equatorial mount.(stacked images) - credit Kurt Thrust

"An asterism is a word used to describe a pattern of stars visually recognisable from the Earth. An 'asterism' although similar to a 'constellation' differs in that a 'constellation' is an officially recognised area of the sky. asterisms come in all shapes and sizes from small to large. The 'Summer Triangle' is a very large asterism,  a triangular pattern of three 'alpha stars' taken from three separate constellations:  Deneb from Cygnus the Swan,Vega from Lyra the Lyre and Altair from Aquila the Eagle. In the 1950s the 'Summer Triangle' was popularised by the American author Hans Augusto Rey and the British astronomer, author and television presenter Sir Patrick Moore". - Archie Mendes - visiting theoretical astronomer at the Jodrell Plank Observatory - Reydon University - 'School of Computer Modelling and Difficult Sums' 
 .

The Milky Way running through Cygnus and Messier 31-the Andromeda Galaxy - Canon 600d DSLR with EOS 18-55mm lens at f=18mm - mounted on a Star Adventurer Equatorial mount.(stacked images) - credit Kurt Thrust

"The above images were taken on the 13th August 2018 from beside Windermere in the Lake District. I was trying to photograph Perseid Meteors but although I managed to see  10 or more over three hours of observation, none were evident on the the many frames captured by my camera. The night skies in the Lake District were very dark but the weather and levels of condensation I experienced made me very happy to return to Lowestoft on the East Coast". - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

More Aurora

Aurora over Reykjavik Fjord October 2017 - Credit Kurt Thrust -Tripod mounted 600d Canon DSLR -ISO1600 - 3 sec RAW exposure

" A happy memory from last year -out and about from the Jodrell Plank Observatory chasing astronomical events world wide." - Kurt Thrust - acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

NGC1964 Spiral Galaxy in Lepus the Hare

NGC1964 Barred Spiral Galaxy Credit : COAST automatic autonomous telescope - telescope.org - Open University - image by Kurt Thrust

Heat Map -NGC1964 Barred Spiral Galaxy Credit : COAST automatic autonomous telescope - telescope.org - Open University - image by Kurt Thrust

"NGC1964 is the main galaxy in the NGC1964 Group. It is approximately 100,000 light years across and is some 65million light years distant in the constellation Lepus the Hare. At the centre of the galaxy is a super massive black hole with an estimated mass of 2.5 x 10^7 the mass of our Sun.
The galaxy has two tightly wound inner spiral arms within a disk with high surface brightness and two outer, more open spiral arms that originate near the inner ring. The outer arms have a few small H11 areas." - Kurt Thrust -acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

NGC2403 Spiral Galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis

NGC2403 Intermediate Spiral Galaxy Credit : COAST automatic autonomous telescope - telescope.org - Open University - image by Archie Mendes

Heat Map NGC2403 - Credit : COAST automatic autonomous telescope - telescope.org - Open University - image by Archie Mendes

 
"Also known as Caldwell 7, NGC2403 is an outlying member of the Messier 81 Group of Galaxies. It is approximately 50,000 light years across and is some 8million lightyears distant in the dim constellation Camelopardalis. NGC2403 contains numerous star forming regions. According to our neighbour Mr Shrodinger, NGC2403 is visible in 10x50 binoculars but I have been unable to spot it in 11x80 binoculars from the Jodrell Plank Observatory. This galaxy is strikingly similar to Messier 33 in the constellation Triangulum". - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory
 

M33 Spiral Galaxy in Triangulum - taken from Les Granges - France - Credit :Olly Penrice and George Roberts

 

NGC 2207 and IC2163 Interacting Galaxies in Canis Major

NGC2207 and IC2163 80million light years away in the constellation Canis Major. Credit : COAST automatic autonomous telescope - telescope.org - Open University - image by Pip Stakkert

" The two barred galaxies in this image are in the early stages of colliding and merging. Both galaxies are recognizably separate . NGC2207 is in the process of tidally stripping IC2163 and in about one billion years from now they are expected to merge and form an elliptical galaxy or possibly a disk galaxy. Both galaxies contain massive amounts of gas and dust and as a result of the gravitational impact upon each other there is evidence of rapid star formation. Four Supernovae have been observed in NGC 2207 since 1975.  The collision of these two galaxies is of particular interest as it is thought to reflect the probable fate and merger between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy." - Archie Mendes - visiting theoretical astronomer at the Jodrell Plank Observatory - Reydon University - 'School of Computer Modelling and Difficult Sums' 

Fantastic Image by the Hubble Space Telescope of NGC2207 and IC2163 -Credit:By NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI) - http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo9941a/http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/41/image/a/ (direct link), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3603786

Supernova in spiral galaxy NGC2525

Supernova 2018gv in NGC2525 constellation Puppis - taken on the 28th January 2018 -
Credit : COAST automatic autonomous telescope - telescope.org - Open University - image by Pip Stakkert

Supernova 2018gv in NGC2525 constellation Puppis - taken on the 28th January 2018 - Heat map Credit : COAST automatic autonomous telescope - telescope.org - Open University - image by Pip Stakkert.

"This Type 1a supernova was discovered by Koichi Itagaki on the 15th. of January 2018.  Pip Stakkert pointed the COAST autonomous telescope at the spiral galaxy NGC2525 and the above images were taken seven days later on the 28th of January. Type 1a supernova occur in binary star systems in which at least one star is a white dwarf. These enormous explosions are so large they can be seen in distant galaxies across the universe." - Kurt Thrust - acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Spiral Galaxy IC342

IC342 or Caldwell 5 in the constellation Camelopardalis -  Credit : COAST automatic autonomous telescope - telescope.org - Open University - image by Pip Stakkert - 28 January2018 - 3 minute exposure using BVR filters (and heat image also incorporated in luminosity layer.)

"IC342 is an 'intermediate spiral galaxy' that is a galaxy which sits between the classifications of a barred and unbarred spiral. It is not an easy galaxy to observe as it is hidden behind dust and stars that reside in the disc of the Milky Way. The galaxy is approximately 10 million light years distant and is not part of our 'Local Group' but is instead part of the nearby Maffei Group". - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Saturn at Opposition

Saturn at Opposition June 2018 in amongst the stars of Sagittarius - Meade ETX 90Ra with QHY5-11 planetary camera on Star-Adventurer mount. 

"This year and because Saturn is so low in the sky, we have been unable to use the big Meade refractor here at the Jodrell Plank Observatory to capture images of Saturn. 'The Boss - Kurt' therefore asked me to undertake minor alterations to stabilise the tripod we use for 'widefield imaging' away from the Observatory. Clearly a  planet, even a 'gas giant', requires imaging at a relatively high F ratio and this asks significant questions of the mount and equatorial mount. Kurt decided to utilise the old ETX 90Ra Mak telescope at F12.5 mounted on the 'Star Adventurer. I was pleased to brace the tripod's thin aluminium hollow legs with a piece of plywood and a number of steel bolts"  - Jolene McSquint - Instrumentation Engineer.

The Meade ETX 90Ra Mak mounted on the Star Adventurer Equatorial Mount on the recently braced tripod

" Although the weather in the UK has been exceptionally warm and stable, here on the East Coast the nights have been mixed to say the least. We managed to image Saturn over two nights around the time of opposition. The first night was difficult because of intermittent cloud, the second however, was clear. Strange enough the best image captured on the first night is much better than those obtained on the second. Presumably the atmosphere was more stable on the first evening." - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Image obtained with the Meade ETX 90Ra and QHY5-11 planetary camera on Star-Adventurer mount on the first night - 29-06-2018

Image obtained with the Meade ETX 90Ra and QHY5-11 planetary camera on Star-Adventurer mount on - 30-06-2018

Image obtained on with the Meade ETX 90Ra and QHY5-11 planetary camera on Star-Adventurer mount on - 30-06-2018

Quite new

Nice crescent Moon Composite of several images taken with the Canon 600d DSLR in still and movie mode. - Pip Stakkert

" Interesting day, after our Pip realised whilst looking through a bedroom window last night, that Saturn was not going to get high enough above our southern horizon here at the Jodrell Plank Observatory. Usually we use the pier mounted 127mm. Apo Refractor for planetary work but sadly not this year. Jolene McSquint has been working flat out all morning to upgrade the Observatory's mobile rig to take the 90mm. Maksutov Cassegrain scope out and about and get an image of the ringed planet however poor." - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

" Some more and detailed images of the moon  taken back in April of this year which I overlooked at the time" Pip Stakkert

Summer Skies

Taken from an elevated position looking out over the site of the Jodrell Plank Observatory- Lowestoft - Tripod mounted Canon 600d DSLR at f=18mm. - Composite image - 2 stacks of 10 images at 15 sec exposure ISO1600 - Kurt Thrust

"The staff holidays coincided with some indifferent weather in Lowestoft during the last month here on the East Coast of England.  Long  light nights and British Standard Summertime are no friends of astronomers and so there has been little time for any astro-imaging at the Jodrell Plank Observatory. On a more positive note, our Facilities Manager, May Fleming  has been using this time wisely and effectively- replacing worn-out equipment parts and greasing nipples, cogs and bearings.

Last night we were able to capture a few widefield images of the summer Milkyway, the red-giant star Antares in the Constellation Scorpius and the gas giant planets Saturn and Jupiter, Such fun!" -  Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

 

Earth-shine

New Moon in April 2018 - The Crescent Moon directly illuminated by the Sun and the remainder of the nearside illuminated by sunlight reflected by the Earth - 127 mm. Meade Apo Refractor and the Canon 600D DSLR. credit: Pip Stakkert

"Each month for a few days the Moon presents as an illuminated crescent and the remainder of the Moon's nearside is illuminated by Earth-shine - sunlight reflected by our planet. Although this can be viewed without any optical aid, photographing this effect is difficult because of the vast difference in luminance between the crescent and the disc". - Kurt Thrust, acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Jupiter 2018

The Planet Jupiter + GRS - Meade 127mm. Apo Refractor with Barlow lens at F 22.5 - QHY5-11 Colour Planetary camera - 19th-20th April 2018 - credit: Pip Stakkert 

" The weather in Lowestoft had been rather good for a number of days so Pip Stakkert, our Imaging Team leader at the Jodrell Plank Observatory, pointed the 127mm. Refractor at Jupiter. Sadly, Jupiter is very low this year and near the southern horizon from our location of Latitude 52.4833 North. The images he therefore obtained obliquely through our atmosphere are detrimentally affected by chromatic dispersion, atmospheric heat instabilities and pollution. However blurry the view, keeping an eye on the 'king of the planets' is always a priority at the Jodrell Plank Observatory". - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Wide-field view showing the innermost Galilean moon Io

"Io is pulled and pushed by the the gravitational tidal forces exerted by Jupiter and its other Galilean moons, this imparted energy creates constant and violent volcanic activity in and on this small moon." - Archie Mendes visiting mathematician and astrophysicist. 

More Information about the moon Io

Wide-field view showing  Galilean moons Io and Callisto

The Planet Jupiter + GRS - Meade 127mm. Apo Refractor with Barlow lens at F 22.5 - QHY5-11 Colour Planetary camera - 19th-20th April 2018 - credit: Pip Stakkert 

The Rosette Nebula in Monoceros

The Rosette Nebula or NGC 2237 and the open star cluster NGC 2244 - Altair Astro 66mm. Doublet Refractor - 0.8x focal reducer and field flattener, Canon 600D DSLR  - Credit Pip Stakkert

The Rosette Nebula in a wide-field context - Altair Astro 66mm. Doublet Refractor - 0.8x focal reducer and field flattener, Canon 600D DSLR  - Credit Pip Stakkert

NASA composite image of the Rosette Nebula

"On his return from Berlin, Pip Stakkert has taken time out from his busy work schedule to rework some data captured by the Jodrell Plank Observatory in autumn 2017. The Rosette Nebula and the open star cluster NGC 2244 are located 5000 light years distant from Earth in the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. The Rosette is an example of an emission nebula in which young hot stars excite hydrogen atoms in the nebula causing them to emit radiation themselves. The nebula is approximately 130 light years in diameter and is just one part of a much larger molecular cloud. The nebula is an active stellar nursery and the stars which make up the open cluster NGC 2244 were indeed formed from the gravitational collapse of nebula matter. The young and very hot stars have, through their intense radiation, cleared a central 'bubble' in the nebula. The open cluster may be spotted through binoculars but the nebula requires a telescope and long exposure guided photography to display its coloured presence and finer detail". - Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

The Orion Nebula and The Running Man Nebula

The Running Man 'reflection' Nebula sitting above the Orion Nebula - 2018 - Composite of images taken with both the Altair Astro 66mm. Doublet and the Meade 127mm Apo refractors using Canon 400D and 600D DSLR cameras. - Image credit: Pip Stakkert.

"The Running Man Nebula is a reflection nebula. The Orion Nebula is an emission nebula.  Reflection Nebulae are created by clouds of dust which simply reflect the light from nearby hot bright stars - in the case of the Running Man Nebula the light being reflected probably originates from the stars 42 Orionis, 45 Orionis and KX Orionis. Emission Nebulae shine because interstellar gas is ionised by high energy photons emitted by nearby stars". -Kurt Thrust acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

The Northern Crown

Aurora looking out over Reykjavik Fjord -October 2017 - Canon 600D DSLR - 5 sec RAW exposure converted to HD using Canon Photo Professional software tools- credit George Roberts

" Often the more subtle affects of the aurora are best captured on camera after the moments of greatest intensity. I love the way our sponsor George Roberts was lucky enough to capture this very moment of quiet after the storm." - Kurt Thrust - acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

" The constellation Corona Borealis or the Northern Crown is visible in the above image as a 'horseshoe asterism' more or less in the middle of the auroral glow. In Greek Mythology, the constellation represents the crown given by the god Dionysus to the Cretan princess Ariadne and placed by him in the sky". Karl Segin - Community outreach coordinator.

 

Composite of two images taken with a Canon 600D DSLR - Reykjavik Fjord - October 2017

Lunar X

The Moon at First Quarter -.A single exposure using thev 127mm. Apo refractor at f=950mm, Canon 600 D DSLR RAW format. Credit: Kurt Thrust

"Early in the evening of the 22nd of February the sky was as clear and as steady as I can remember having seen from the Jodrell Plank Observatory. Whilst I was setting up the scope for some deepsky work I took a couple images of the Moon at First Quarter.

For about four hours, around and about the First Quarter, sunlight falling at an oblique angle on the face of the Moon illuminates the crater walls of a number of closely located craters creating the visual illusion of a bright letter 'X'.

Can you spot the 'X' on the above image? If you cannot look below - such fun". Kurt Thrust - acting CEO and current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.
 

The Lunar X illumination affect slightly enhanced to make it easier to see: Credit: Kurt Thrust