" It is so easy to make errors, whilst processing very dim astronomical objects and this is what we believe we did in trying to image the interstellar comet, which at the time of the data collection, was estimated to be at magnitude 15 (very dim indeed). We have re-processed the same data more carefully and believe that these images show C/2025 31 (ATLAS) the Interstellar Comet.
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| The Sombrero Galaxy Messier 104 in the Constellation Virgo. Image Credit: Pip Stakkert, Data Credit: PIRATE Robotic Telescope BVR filters, Mount Teide Tenerife, telescope.org. Open Observatories, Open University. |
" The Constellations Virgo and Leo Major are now visible in our southern sky around about midnight when and if the clouds disappear. As has been said previously, the weather in Lowestoft continues poor but last night we did get an hour or two, when we could see stars through intermittent high level cloud.
Being ever resourceful, our ageing Director, Kurt Thrust had programmed the robotic telescope PIRATE on Mount Teide, to capture data relating to Messier 104 and yesterday it returned that data package via the internet. The above image shows this interesting galaxy in colour". - Joel Cairo CEO of the JPO the UK's most easterly Astronomical Observatory.
Detailed description of Messier 104 aka The Sombrero Galaxy:
"The Sombrero Galaxy is one of the most striking galaxies visible from Earth, its luminous structure giving the unmistakable impression of a cosmic hat suspended in the darkness of intergalactic space. Located in the constellation Virgo, the galaxy lies roughly 28–30 million light-years away and spans about 50,000 light-years across.
Seen almost perfectly edge-on, its appearance is dominated by a brilliant, spheroidal bulge of old stars intersected by a sharply defined lane of cold interstellar dust that traces the plane of its disk. This dense band absorbs starlight along our line of sight, producing the dark “brim” that gives the galaxy its name. Above and below the disk extends a diffuse stellar halo, while the central region contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of roughly a billion Suns, embedded within the bright nucleus.
Despite its elegant symmetry, the Sombrero is a complex system. Morphologically it resembles an early-type spiral galaxy, yet its unusually large central bulge and relatively smooth disk have led astronomers to classify it as somewhat peculiar, possibly shaped by past mergers with smaller galaxies. Evidence for this history is preserved in the galaxy’s remarkable halo of around 2,000 globular clusters, roughly ten times the number orbiting the Milky Way. Many of these clusters are ancient—between 10 and 13 billion years old—making them relics from the earliest epochs of galaxy formation.
The Sombrero is also the dominant member of a small galaxy group, sometimes referred to as the M104 Group, situated near the outskirts of the broader Virgo Cluster. Within this local environment, the Sombrero’s immense gravitational influence binds numerous faint dwarf galaxies that orbit it as satellites, forming a modest but dynamically coherent system. Estimates of the group’s total mass suggest a halo containing tens of trillions of solar masses, largely in the form of dark matter.
Images captured from high-altitude observatories such as the Mount Teide Observatory reveal this galaxy in extraordinary clarity. At such sites, thin atmosphere and dark skies allow the Sombrero’s structure to emerge with remarkable contrast: the razor-thin dust lane cutting across the brilliant stellar bulge, surrounded by a faint halo where globular clusters and distant background galaxies quietly populate the field.
In astrophysical terms, the Sombrero Galaxy offers a glimpse into a transitional class of galaxies—systems that combine the ordered rotation of spiral disks with the massive stellar bulges more typical of elliptical galaxies. Yet to the eye, even through a modest telescope, its appearance remains simple and evocative: a solitary, luminous hat of stars drifting through the deep sky, marking the presence of a vast island universe far beyond our own". - Professor G.P.T. Chat visiting astrophysicist at the Jodrell Plank Observatory.
" Thanks to our sponsor and benefactor, Anita Roberts, the Jodrell Plank Observatory has purchased from First Light Optics in Exeter, a new light weight and 'goto' version of the Star-adventurer equatorial mount. The addition of 'goto' is significant as our, still active, Director Kurt Thrust is getting on a bit and 'a tad unwell'.
Regular readers of the blog, will appreciate how much data has been collected using our small telescopes and cameras mounted on the old manual Star-adventurer mount, particularly when imaging remotely and away from the Observatory.
We now await some clear nights for trying this new bit of kit out" - Joel Cairo CEO of the JPO, the UK's most easterly Observatory.
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| Canon 600d DSLR and an EFS zoom lens at f=300mm. |
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| Seestar S30 stacked video clip. |
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| The full solar disc (photosphere) showing a line of sunspots. Seestar S30 with external Baader white light filter made at the JPO. Stacked AVI video. |
Professor G.P.T Chat visiting Astrophysicist at he JPO was asked by Kurt to summarise the image of the Sun's Photosphere shown in the above image.
"Solar and Sunspot Activity on 3 March 2026
Sunspot Population and Quantitative Measures
On 3 March 2026, synoptic solar activity reports indicate that:
The international sunspot number was approximately 82, reflecting moderate sunspot visibility on the solar disk.
Multiple distinct sunspot regions were present on the Earth-facing solar hemisphere.
The 10.7 cm solar radio flux — a proxy for overall solar magnetic activity — was elevated relative to solar minimum (~148 sfu), consistent with solar cycle progression.
Active Sunspot Regions
Based on synoptic data from solar observatories (e.g., NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, NOAA/NWS Space Weather Prediction Center, and SpaceWeatherLive):
Region Individual Spots Morphological Class Approx. Location on Disk
AR 4378 ~6 spots CHO (compact) Northern hemisphere near central meridian
AR 4381 ~9 spots EAO (moderate) Northern hemisphere toward eastern disk
AR 4383 ~2 spots BXO (small, simple) Northern hemisphere
AR 4384 ~8 spots EHO (extended) Near northeastern limb
These region classifications arise from modified Zurich, McIntosh, and magnetic Mt. Wilson schemes — routinely applied to sunspot groups by solar forecasters.
This distribution indicates a moderate number of discrete active regions with a mixture of simple and moderately structured groups; none were, on that day, dominant enough to drive sustained X-class flare activity.
Flare and Space Weather Activity
Solar X-ray monitoring (GOES satellites) on 3 March 2026 showed:
Only C-class flares were detected in the 24-hour window around the date, with no immediate X- or M-class events recorded on that specific calendar day.
Forecasts from NOAA/SWPC around the same period indicated a 30 % chance of M-class flares and a ~5 % chance of X-class events, highlighting a non-zero probability but not active flare production on 3 March itself.
Magnetic and Solar Activity Context
The observed sunspot and activity state fits within the context of Solar Cycle 25, which, while past its absolute peak, remained sufficiently active in early 2026 to support complex active regions and variability in flare likelihood.
Relative to the earlier part of the cycle (e.g., January–February 2026), when particularly large and magnetically intense regions such as AR 4366 produced numerous M- and X-class flares and even C-level geomagnetic effects, by early March those dominant regions had rotated off the Earth-facing disk or decayed, and the sunspot configuration was more moderate and distributed.
Summary of Sunspot Conditions on 3 March 2026
From observational data:
Quantitative Activity:
Sunspot number ~82 (moderate).
ive or more visible active regions.
10.7 cm radio flux elevated (~148 sfu).
Region Characteristics
Mix of simple and moderate groups; no exceptionally large or complex βγδ regions dominating the disk.
Flare productivity limited to C-class activity — no strong flares on that precise day.
Space Weather Implications
Solar activity was moderate — typical of late maximum or early descending phase of a solar cycle — with potential for stronger activity but not on the specific observation date."
