Monday, 28 April 2025

Globular Star Clusters M53 and NGC5053 in the Constellation Coma Berenices

 

The Globular star cluster M53 ( centre left), the Globular star cluster NGC5053 (bottom left) and the star Alpha Comae Berenices (centre right). Imaged from the Jodrell Plank Observatory (27 and 28 April 2025) using the Seestar S30 in EQ and Mosaic mode. Image Credit Pip Stakkert.

"Clear a steady night and early morning here in Lowestoft. We managed to capture and stack in mosaic mode over 175x 30 second RAW exposures using the little Seestar S30. Quite a lot of satellites in this area of the sky, which required post processing to remove them". - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

"M53 (Messier 53) and NGC 5053 are two globular star clusters located in the constellation Coma Berenices, and they are relatively close to each other in the sky. Despite their proximity, they show some intriguing differences in structure and composition. Here’s a detailed comparison:

🌟 M53 (Messier 53)

Type: Globular cluster

Distance from Earth: ~58,000 light-years

Apparent Magnitude: ~7.6 (visible with binoculars or a small telescope)

Diameter: ~220 light-years

Metallicity: [Fe/H] ≈ –2.06 (very metal-poor)

Stellar Population: Contains many old, low-metallicity stars.

Concentration: Fairly dense, with a concentrated core and halo.

Location: Roughly 1° away from NGC 5053 in the sky.

🌟 NGC 5053

Type: Globular cluster

Distance from Earth: ~53,500 light-years

Apparent Magnitude: ~9.0 (fainter, needs a larger telescope)

Diameter: ~160 light-years

Metallicity: [Fe/H] ≈ –2.3 (even more metal-poor than M53)

Stellar Population: Very sparse; stars are faint and less numerous.

Concentration: One of the least concentrated globular clusters known.

Location: Close in the sky to M53, often imaged together.

🔍 Similarities

Both are globular clusters located in the same constellation (Coma Berenices).

Both are metal-poor, suggesting they contain very old stars—likely among the oldest in the Milky Way.

Both lie at a similar distance from Earth (around 50,000–60,000 light-years).

They may be gravitationally interacting or have had past interactions, with some evidence of tidal streams possibly linking them". - Credit: Chat GPT

Saturday, 26 April 2025

The Active Solar Disc in Broadband White Light 24_04_2025

 

Sunspot Groups on the Solar Photosphere 24_04_2025 during Solar Maximum - 66mm ED Altair Lightwave Refractor with Baader Film White light Objective Filter. Capture Camera: QHY5iii462c CMOS Planetary Video Camera with IR cut Filter doble  stacked with a Meade Optical red light filter. Images: Credit: Kurt Thrust.


"The Solar Sunspot Cycle, also known as the solar cycle, is an approximately 11-year cycle in which the number of sunspots on the Sun's surface increases and decreases. Sunspots are dark, cooler regions on the Sun's surface caused by intense magnetic activity. This cycle influences solar radiation, space weather, and even Earth's climate."

Solar Disc imaged with the Seestar S30
- Fighting above its weight in less than optimum conditions.

Key Features of the Solar Cycle:

  • Solar Minimum: The period of the fewest sunspots. The Sun is relatively quiet.

  • Solar Maximum: The peak of sunspot activity. The Sun is more active, with more flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

  • Duration: The full cycle (from one minimum to the next) lasts about 11 years, but it can range between 9 and 14 years.

What Drives the Solar Cycle?

The solar cycle is driven by the Sun’s magnetic field, specifically a process called the solar dynamo:

  1. Differential Rotation: The Sun rotates faster at the equator than at the poles. This twists magnetic field lines over time.

  2. Convection Currents: Hot plasma rises and cool plasma sinks in the Sun’s outer layer, further distorting the magnetic fields.

  3. Magnetic Field Reversal: About halfway through the cycle (around solar maximum), the Sun’s magnetic poles flip. This magnetic reversal is part of a 22-year magnetic cycle—the sunspot cycle is half of that.

Why It Matters:

  • Impacts satellites, GPS, and radio communications.

  • Drives auroras near the poles.

  • Can pose risks to astronauts and space missions.

  • May influence Earth's climate on longer timescales."  

-Generated by ChatGPT open AI

"For the last few days, the weather has been difficult for 'Astrophotography' from the Jodrell Plank Observatory located at the UK's most easterly point in Lowestoft. Both during the day and night there has been persistent high level hazy cloud which has made capturing fine detail impossible. Recent auroral alerts lead us to believe that the Solar photosphere would have many visible sunspot groups, so even with poor visibility, we thought we would take a look. We imaged the sun across the full range of visible wavelengths ( called Broadband or white light imaging) using objective-lens mounted rejection filters which make the process safe. We imaged the Sun using our EQ mounted 66mm ED refractor and our Alt-Az mounted Seestar S30. We were reasonably and positively surprised at the results. The Sun is our nearest star and although it seems a constant unchanging companion, it is a dynamic system of turbulent and hot gas, compressed to a roughly spherical shape by gravity and prevented from collapse by the outward pressure of nuclear fusion at its core. One day, far in the future, when the Sun runs out of Hydrogen and Helium to fuse, it will first swell and cool to become a Red-Giant star and then end its days as a fading Planetary-Nebula with a White dwarf star at its centre - similar to M27 in the constellation Vulpecula". - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Planetary Nebula M27
imaged from the Jodrell Plank Observatory


Tuesday, 22 April 2025

NGC 4565 The Needle Galaxy and the much dimmer Galaxy NGC 4562

 

The Needle Galaxy in the Constellation Coma Berenices.
Seestar S30 in EQ mode. 45x 30 sec subs.
Image Credit: Pip Stakkert.

Credit: Astrometry Net

"Only captured 45 subs as the moonlight was a problem. The Needle Galaxy is estimated to be between 30 and 50 million light years distant from Earth. It is a spiral galaxy, some 176 light years across, with an obvious central bulge". - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Wednesday, 9 April 2025

IC 410

 

IC410 hydrogen gas emission nebula with dust clouds in the constellation Auriga. 
Seestar S30  image credit Kurt Thrust.

" The constellation Auriga, as day becomes night in spring, is low in our western sky. We captured an hour of 30 second sub exposures, from which the above image was constructed, before the constellation dropped below our horizon. The little Seestar S30 does well on bright targets that have a large 'footprint' on the night sky. 

The nebula is a region of ionised hydrogen gas spanning over 100 light years across that's modelled by streams of charged particles in stellar winds coming from the open star cluster NGC 1893. IC 410 is some 12,000 light years distant from Earth". - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.




Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Messier 35 and NGC 2158 in the constellation Gemini.

 

The open star-clusters - Messier 35 and NGC 2158.
Captured with the Observatory's Seestar S30.
Credit: Pip Stakkert.

"Messier 35 is an open star cluster in the constellation Gemini, and covers approximately the same amount of sky as the full Moon. It is relatively nearby at 2,930 light years distant. The  cluster is relatively young and is estimated to have formed from a collapsing cloud of cold gas and dust approximately 100 million years ago. The compact  star cluster NGC 2158 (visible bottom right) is much further away, 11,000 light years distant and much older, estimated  to have formed some 2 billion years ago". - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory