The Orion Molecular Cloud and Running Man Nebulae

 

Rework of old data captured at the Jodrell Plank Observatory using
the remarkable freeware Starnet GUI. Credit: Pip Stakkert.

" As the weather continues to be poor and the clouds unbroken over the Jodrell Plank Observatory, Pip has busied himself by reprocessing old data. The Great Molecular cloud in the constellation Orion the Hunter is an interesting area of nebulosity sporting many new bright young blue stars and much ionised gas". - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Newly Acquired QHY5111462c Planetary Video Camera- First light.

 

Sunspot activity on the Solar photosphere 04:06:2023. 66mm ED Altair Astro Lightwave refractor and Baader Solar white light filter. QHY5111462c planetary camera all on Star Adventurer EQ mount. 

Annotated version of image above image. Information Credit: Soho Solar Observatory. Image Credit: Pip Stakkert.

 " All the astronomy team at the Jodrell Plank Observatory would like to thank our sponsor Anita Roberts for sanctioning the expenditure for the new high speed low light planetary video camera, which was used for the first time today, to produce these trial images of the Sun. We are all looking forward to using the new camera in concert with the 127mm Apo Refractor telescope for imaging  Jupiter and Saturn in the Autumn". - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Detail crop showing cell granulation of the solar photosphere and sunspot groups 3321 and 3323

The Milky Way over Cyprus

 

The summer Milky Way rising over Richard the Lion Heart's castle retreat in Northern Cyprus. Canon Ixus compact camera and Canon 600d DSLR- composite image credit: Kurt Thrust.

"The rocky nature of northern Cyprus presented many intriguing foregrounds for widefield astrophotography. On our return from a relaxing holiday in Cyprus, Pip Stakkert helped me compose this composite image using AffinityPhoto2 software. As our sponsor Anita Roberts is known to say "It's all a bit of a cheat"! To be honest it was scary enough going up the  hairpin roads in daylight. Doing it at night, in the pitch dark , was above my pay grade" - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Sundogs

 

Sundogs photographed with a smartphone by, friend of the Observatory Lulu,  from water meadows south of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. 

"A sundog is a concentrated patch of sunlight, which may be seen to the left or right and sometimes both sides of the Sun. They, like sun haloes, are caused by sunlight being refracted by ice crystals in the upper atmosphere". - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Sunspot groups in white light April 2023.

 

The Sun's Disk in white light showing sunspot groups on the 19th April 2023. video clip taken with a astro-modded Canon 200d DSLR and the Observatory's 127mm Meade Apo refractor. 60 sec vide clip stacked using PIPP, AS3!, Registax6 and AffinityPhoto2. Credit: Pip Stakkert. 

Sunspot group 3282. 1000 frame video clip taken with Meade 127mm Apo refractor, x3 Televue Barlow and  QHY5-ll c planetary camera. Processed as above by Kurt Thrust.

Composite image of the largest sunspot in the 3282 group. Created from 2000 video frames by Pipp Stakkert.

Lower contrast group of sunspots including several groups; 3279, 3281,3283 and 3284. 1000 video frames captured with Meade 127mm Apo refractor and astro-modded Canon 200d DSLR. Cropped image Credit: Kurt Thrust.

All the above images were captured using an objective lens mounted Baader solar safety white light filter film. IN NO CIRCUMSTANCES POINT ANY CAMERA OR OPTICAL DEVICE AT THE SUN. SUCH WILL SEVERELY DAMAGE YOUR EQUIPMENT AND OR EYESIGHT.

" The weather in Lowestoft has been very mixed of late. The 19th of April began with the sky full of high level hazy cloud. A blustery wind  started at about 12:00 noon and the cloud disappeared. The wind was a problem, vibrating the Observatory's big refractor on its concrete pillar mount, and ruined many of the video frames. It was nice for the team to be out in daylight and sunshine. After a couple of hours in the sun my bald head was quite pink" Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Circular Sun Halo

 

"Many thanks to our sponsor Anita Roberts for taking this excellent photograph of a circular Sun Halo displaying sunlight being reflected and refracted by high altitude atmospheric ice crystals. Anita spotted this unusual occurrence and photographed it with her iPhone from the Jodrell Plank Visitor Centre.. The sun halo was easily detected with the naked eye but the colours due to refraction were better seen on the image. In all the halo lasted for over 20 minutes". Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Venus, Mercury, the Hyades and the Pleiades over fields in Cambridgeshire

 

"Many thanks to, good friend of the Observatory,  Chrissy Roberts for sending us this image of the inferior planets Venus and Mercury seen shining brightly over Cambridgeshire. An excellent image taken with Chrissy's Smartphone and cropped and denoised by our own Pip Stakkert." Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.