What an exciting week at the UK's most easterly Observatory!

 

 Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS photographed, just after sunset on the 14th of October 2024, from St Michael's Church, Oulton Broad Suffolk. Tripod mounted Canon 600d DSLR with Canon F1.4 f=50mm lens at ISO1600. - image credit Joel Cairo and the away team.

" The whole Jodrell Plank Observatory team has been taking good advantage of the few weather windows over Lowestoft to enable them to capture images of the recent  Auroral activity and the splendid Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). The cometary images were captured from the graveyard at St Michael's Church Oulton Broad, which provides one of the few unobstructed western horizons near to the Observatory. Our sponsors; Anita and George Roberts, joined the team at the church to view the comet and bearing in mind their great age, it was good to see them still getting out, ah bless!  Anita met a former pupil  and now teacher at the local school, Charlotte, who was excited to share her experience of viewing the comet with her nursery class. We hope these images engage the youngsters in her care.

The comet has survived its recent encounter with the Sun and is heading back out into deep space only to return thousands of year in the future.

The tail on this comet is the longest we have seen over Lowestoft and as a gauge of scale, covered an area of sky, observable to the naked eye, equivalent to that covered by the three bright stars; Alkaid, Mizar and Alioth, which form the 'handle' of the Plough asterism." -

Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

In this separate exposure, you can just make out the anti-tail pointing down and right towards the Sun
Image credit: Kurt Thrust

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS - image credit: Pip Stakkert

" A few nights before the appearance of the comet, the whole team was mobilised at about midnight to witness and image the most incredible display of the Aurora over Oulton Broad. To see such a display at latitude 52.47 degrees North is both exceptional and a witness to the high levels of magnetic activity within the layers of the Sun's atmosphere. The aurora was visible to the naked eye as dancing curtains and rapidly changing rays and the sky from west through north to east was alight with a red rosy glow. We have literally hundreds of images which our 'imaging technician' Pip Stakkert is currently processing for future blog posts.  The following was taken from Sands Lane, just outside the Observatory, and gives some idea of the activity on the night and Morning 10th and 11th October 2024." - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Auroral Curtain, early hours 11_10_2024, tripod mounted Canon 600d DSLR with Canon F1.4 f=50mm EOS lens. image credit: Kurt Thrust