Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Astronomy Wise online magazine. This month is a limited publication with Xmas and New Year we decided last minute to run the Edition. A big thanks to Edward Dutton and Rob Watson for putting the publication together for Jan 2013.
Credits
Andy Devey Solar Explorer
Dave Bood
A big thank you to all for supporting AW in 2012 and here is to 2013
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Contents
4. Eye of Sauron 6. Total Solar Eclipse - Palm Cove Australia 8. NGC 7635 - The Bubble Nebula 10. The Solar Explorer 12. Rouges Gallery 16. Sir Patrick Moore Tribute 18. VV 340 20. Astronomy Education 24. ERESO - UK 30. Scope Review Pt. 2 34. Apollo Unseen 38. A Brief History Of The Telescope 49. Lunar/Planetary Imaging 44. The Solar System Beginners Guide 46. Extreme Planets And Their Orbits 48. Voyager The Mission 54. The Night Sky 56.Occultations 60. Sky Chart
Their Orbits
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aging/ Images
istory Of Telescopes
Mike Greenham: Andromeda with the Canon 500D and Skywatcher ED100. 90 to 240 second exposures @ iso800 giving a total of 120 mins
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You can mainly see three colors in the composite image: red (radio emission from NSF's Very Large Array), blue (X-rays as Chandra observatory recorded), yellow (optical data from Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope on La Palma) and white (the central region of the galaxy where the black hole is). The image is only the 'pupil' of the Eye not the entire one.
An study has shown that the X-ray emission is caused by an outburst coming from a super massive black hole in the center of the galaxy (the white region in the image). Two theories have been proposed: as the matter falls onto the black hole it emits an intense bright radiation which strips electrons away from the atoms in the gas. These electrons recombine again with the ionized atoms and the recombination produces Xrays. This situation may be caused by an abnormal growth of the central black hole. Other theory suggests that the material falling onto the black hole releases energy which is heated to X-ray emitting temperatures. Since NGC 4151 is near to the Earth it offers a very good chance to study the interaction between a super massive black hole and the surrounding gas in its host galaxy.
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Frequency of Eclipses
The conditions for an eclipse to occur are similar to those for transits of planets across the Sun. That is at the time of New Moon (for Solar eclipses) or Full Moon (for Lunar eclipses) the Moon must be close to one of the points (nodes) at which it crosses the ecliptic. The positions of the Moon's nodes effectively revolve round the Earth relative to the Sun with a period of just over 18 years. As a result there is no fixed time of the year at which eclipses occur. The nodes are revolving in a retrograde direction (opposite to the direction of rotation of the Earth about the Sun). The "eclipse year" is therefore shorter than a calendar year approx 346.6 days. Eclipses tend to occur earlier each successive year. They must occur at New or Full Moon. Australian Nov 14th 2012 Total Solar Eclipse Track After 18 years (6585 and a third days, i.e. 18 years and 11 and a third days) the Lunar nodes return to the same place enabling similar eclipses to occur. This period of time is known as the Saros. Due to the third of a day involved positions of the eclipses on the Earth's surface move round by about 120 of longitude. Similar eclipses recur at a similar position on the Earth after 3 Saros. However changes of latitude occur. The Nov 14th 2012 was a Saros
Michael Knowles.
Radio Programmer
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The slinky post flare loop structures that follow large flares are best imaged on the limb, they can last for hours and in time-lapse can show the plasma flowing from the centre of the loop and simultaneously down both sides to the chromosphere. When imaging limb features always consider whether you want to concenPhoto 3: Here is a large filament that lifted split trate the eye on into two and then reformed. the feature itself and if so over expose your image so that later you will achieve bright featureless disc or use a black blanking disc as some imagers chose. You will need to double stack or use a 12 or 16 bit grey scale camera to get disc and prominence features on the same exposure setting unless they are very bright. The alternative is to take two images one of the disc and the other for the limb and merge them into a mosaic.
Photo 4: Here is a large post flare structure photographed on the 19 July 2012.
Out in the garden I always use the British Astronomical Association seeing scale as a reference and generally only attempt to image from grade 1 to grade 3 seeing, unless a major flare/event goes off that I just have to try to capture! I have found that my local seeing often seems to deteriorate during the peak period of the larger solar flares. There are quite a number of free download image processing programs such as Registax 6, Avistax or Autostakkert that produce higher quality still pictures from averages of the captured video data to help reduce the effects of the local atmospheric shimmer. I build my kit up outside and use a homemade wooden observing box. My longest continuous solar imaging session to Photograph 5: An observing session in the UK. date was 6 hours so comfort is vital. My observing box is The box has the fan cut into the far side. The lined with black cloth and the outside is painted white to resmall triple solar scope has the two PSTs flect the heat. I fitted the rear top with a hinged flap housing mounted on a piece of laminate floor boarding a small solar panel to recharge the internal 12v-battery that while the larger triple set up is assembled on powers a 100mm fan to keep the laptop and my head cool. to a homemade aluminium cradle. The box has a Velcro strip around the front opening to attach an observing blanket. This box has proved excellent for lengthy imaging sessions even in 45C temperatures!
Have fun with the Sun!
Andy Devey
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David Lupton
Our Christmas Day Occultation: From L to R: Callisto, Ganymede, Jupiter, Europa & our Moon
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Afterwards, we drove him back to Farthings in Selsey, his home on the Channel coast, south of Chichester, to be entertained by him for the rest of the weekend. Reminiscing about that occasion, several amusing things come to mind. Firstly, the surreal occasion, when after arriving late at night, I had the opportunity to sit with Patrick in his lounge watching an edition of BBCs Sky of Night at one in the morning, sipping a triple brandy which he insisted I pour out for myself, after pouring his! Patricks famous xylophone keeping us company in the corner. The second occasion was when I was with him in his study. There on the wall was a huge frames display of all the honours he had achieved, including his spurs of knighthood. He said to me --and do you see that one? pointing to a rather beautiful badge-like object. Yes I replied and wondered what award it might be. Oh, he replied, That fell out of a Christmas Cracker! Patrick Moore, was an unique individual who has inspired scientists and amateurs alike to look at the stars. There will never be another Patrick Moore! We are so fortunate to have lived during the time of this great man. The next time you look at the moon, try to spot the greyish patch right on the western limb (new lunar nomenclature) of the lunar limb, at full or during the moons waning phase. If you can, then raise your ski hat and remember Patrick! That feature was discovered and named by him- and is the Mare Orientale. I have one of the moon maps he made, which he gave me on one of my walls at home, and I am reminded that Patrick was an avid moon observer. NASA used his maps when they were deciding where the Apollo missions should land. How strange that both he and Neil Armstrong departed this world and this life in the very same year. Both will be remembered. Rest in peace, Sir Patrick!
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VV 340
Sometimes the Universe seems strange, fussy or even funny. If you look at this image for a moment you will realize that these two galaxies form an exclamation point! Beyond this fun fact there are deeper reasons to study the image. This "object" known as VV 340 or Arp 302 is an example of two galaxies colliding. One of its interesting features is that it seems to emit energy at a rate much larger than a typical galaxy. What is the reason of this? One is that a supermassive black hole is growing and swallowing the galaxies. This black hole seems to be in the upper galaxy (technically VV 340 North). This part produces the most part of infrared energy (more intense that the lower part, or VV 340 South). Another reason is that an intense burst of star formation is taking place out there. In any case the galaxies are in an early stage of their interaction. Because of its bright in infrared light this object is classified as LIRG (Luminous InfraRed Galaxy). Most of this images are formed by a combination of infrared and optical light. In this case, X-ray bright in purple and th optical light is shown in red, green and blue. It is an astonishing chance to view how two galaxies melt down in a similar way as our Milky Way and Andromeda galaxy will likely do in about billions of years from now on. You can find VV 340 in the constellation Botes and it is about 450 light years far away.
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Astronomy Education
In recent years education has become more accessible, this is mainly down to the internet. Many Universities are offering distance learning courses, the market for providers has opened up. Any budding scientist can now apply to many Universities worldwide. For this article I am not going to look at the cost of these courses, but what courses are available and where. However I will have a look at free courses available. For those of you who are looking for a career in Astronomy, Cosmology, Astrobiology and other physics based courses then it is possible you will be looking at one of the Universities, which I will include the Open University. However later on in the article we will have a look at distance learning. With most of the physics based courses a good level of maths is required, mainly algebra. The ability to take a formula and transpose it is a skill required.
Astrophysics/Astronomy
(Greek- Astro meaning star, Physics meaning nature)
(Wikipedia)
Astrophysics deals with the physics of the universe, which include the structure, properties and motion of the planets, stars and galaxies. Astrophysics can be broken down into Observational and Theoretical.
Astrobiology
Astrobiology is the study of the origin and evolution of life, here on planet Earth, the solar system and galaxy. It looks at possible life in the future here and elsewhere.
Cosmology
Cosmology is the study of the origins and the fate of the universe. It also looks at the natural laws that keep the universe in order.
Planetary Science
Planetary science is the study of the planets, including moons. If you are looking to study from home then the OU (Open University) is a good place to start. The OU offers a wide range of courses, from Certificates in Astronomy to Degree courses. Here is a link to a search I did for Astronomy: http://search.open.ac.uk/public/search/C.view=default/results?
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Another option is http://www.studyastronomy.com/. Like the OU they offer certificate courses in Astronomy, Cosmology, Planetary Science and Astrobiology. They also offer Degree courses. With both providers look at the pros and cons on what is on offer, look at the costs, most of these courses carry a fee. The following is an example of an Astronomy Course via studyastronomy.com provided by UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire).
Course at a Glance
All modules can be combined towards the BSc(Hons) degree. Level 1 modules (equivalent to Year 1 of a full-time degree) can be combined towards a Certificate of Higher Education, while the addition of the Level 2 modules (equivalent to Year 2 of a full-time degree) can lead to a Diploma of Higher Education. Some modules are prerequisites for other modules, and students must complete study at lower levels before progressing to higher levels. Not all modules run every year. The Level 3 modules (equivalent to Year 3 of a full-time degree) are only available on the BSc(Hons) degree programme.
Year 1
(Level 1 - not necessarily taken in Year 1) Introduction to Astronomy 1 Introduction to Cosmology 1 Introduction to Astrobiology 1 Sun, Earth & Climate 1 Great Astronomers in History 1 Energy, Matter & the Universe 1 IT for Astronomy 1 Investigations in Astronomy
Year 2
(Level 2 - not necessarily taken in Year 2) The Milky Way 2 Galaxies beyond the Milky Way 2 UV, optical & infrared astronomy 2 Exploring the solar system 2 Solar Astrophysics 2 Solar-Stellar Connection 2
Year 3
(Level 3 - not necessarily taken in Year 3) Cosmology & Relativity Extreme States of Matter Origins Collaborative Investigation Astronomy Dissertation
Notes
1. Available as a University Certificate 2. Available as part of a University Advanced Certificate Modules contributing to smaller awards can be later combined into larger awards of the appropriate Level.
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Assessment:
All assessment is completed from home, with no need to attend exam centres. Course work includes question sheets, essays & reports on practical work. Practicals include naked eye observing, data analysis & experiments suitable for the home.
Learning Environment:
The course materials, assessments and other resources are provided online via the University's elearning facility, with bandwidth-hungry material provided on CD-ROM. Tutorial support is available by telephone, by email via a dedicated address or online using the elearning facility. Students can interact with tutors and each other online, and assessed work is returned after marking with extensive, supportive feedback. While most of the modules have no attendance requirement, an optional observatory weekend is offered, and staff attend astronomy fairs around the country. Every module has a dedicated tutor, supported by one or more other tutors and the course leader for all the Astronomy programmes.
Careers:
Most of our students are studying for the interest, but some of those completing these courses have used them professionally for example to meet their employers IT training requirements. The good full BSc(Hons) degree may qualify a student to progress to a research degree upon completion, provided they choose appropriate options and final dissertation.
Other Opportunities:
Students can also study with our partners Jodrell Bank Observatory and Liverpool John Moores' University, incorporating modules from those institutes into our awards. Contact the course team for more details of this arrangement. It is worth noting that a good level of maths is required with most university courses, the ability to understand formulas and transpose to get the elements you need.
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Free Courses
We all love something free. Well there is a new provider called Coursera, www.coursera.org . Coursera provide free courses which last between 5 and 9 weeks long. They have linked up with universities from all over the world. One course astrobiology which is run by the University of Edinburgh https://www.coursera.org/course/astrobio which i have signed for runs for 5 weeks. These courses offer no qualification, and some offer a certificate after completion. What these courses do is give you a taster of what a fully course would be. I looked at the Astronomy Course which was mostly astrophysics and the science of the universe. The content consists of weekly video lectures followed by homework. Each week to get full credits you must complete the video lectures and homework to the hand in date set.
The courses are interesting but they do require time to watch the content, maybe more than once and complete the tasks. There are forums for help.
UK Space Education
Next month we are going to look at Universities, however the ESERO-UK have kindly provided us an article for their education program.
Dave Bood
Image: http://hannibalphysics.wikispaces.com/Ch+4+Newton%
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Space-themed resources from the Astronomy and Cosmology sub-collection: A vital part of the project is the ESERO-UK collection of space resources. ESERO-UK has built a collection of space-themed teaching and learning resources. Below are some examples that you may find of interest:
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All About Telescopes Produced by ESERO-UK, these short video clips look at a range of different telescopes and give advice and guidance on choosing a telescope particularly for schools, as well as advice on how to make use of remote telescopes.
Space - Careers Our article on the STEM careers site, Future Morph, is part of their section dedicated to careers related to space.
Life of a Star: Planetary Nebula Lithograph This resource from NASA describes how low-mass stars expand in size and become red giants at the end of their lives. Then they shed their outer layers and become planetary nebulae. The image of NGC 2440, a planetary nebula, is on the first page of the lithograph.
Stars and Forces This Nature of Science book looks at the history of astronomy and how scientists understanding of the solar system, forces and gravity has developed. The story includes the revolutionary ideas of Copernicus, Galileo and Newton and the theory of magnetism.
Resources from the Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science.
Cosmology: the Origin and Development of the Universe This book introduces the history of measurements in cosmology, from Aristotle to Galileo and Newton.
Stonehenge and Ancient Astronomy This booklet describes how the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge appears to be an ancient astronomical observatory. In recent years, by combining evidence from archaeology and astronomy, some researchers believe that the monument could have been an observatory, calendar or device for calculating.
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If you are doing activities with schools then these teaching resources, from the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, contain some good practical activities related to astronomy: Exoplanets Galaxies
CPD for teachers ESERO-UK works with other partners in the UK to provide continuing professional development for teachers. We promote these via the events section of our website.
Authors:
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Image http://www.esero.org.uk/
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ESERO UK
The UK branch of the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO-UK), also known as the UK Space Education Office, has been established to promote the use of space to enhance and support the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects in schools and colleges throughout the UK.
The project is funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Department for Education, and the office has been established at the National STEM Centre at the University of York.
The principal aims of ESERO-UK are to: share good practice, and space-related teaching and learning resources, with teachers and college lecturers; be the first point of contact for the education and space communities when seeking information about space education and careers; raise the profile of the education work of ESA, the UK Space Agency and the wider UK space community with schools and colleges.
You can find out more and access teacher support at www.esero.org.uk
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Welcome to
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The hand held GOTO computer has over 4,000 objects in its data base and the 102mm or 4 lens provide crisp views of the moon and bright planets with some surface detail visible on larger objects. At F5 the scope gives a wide 1.7 degree field of view so comes into its own for sweeping stellar fields. Short exposure photography is possible with an attachment for digital cameras. SkyWatcher Explorer-200P 8" Reflector Telescope is a superb instrument when combined with the robust heavy duty EQ-5 mount. The telescope costs around 450.00 and ships with the normal accessories: 10mm and 25mm eyepieces along with the x2 barlow give magnifications of x40, x80, x80 and x100 with the highest practical power of x400. The 200mm or 8 primary mirror allows 77% more light gathering capacity than 150mm or 6 mirrors and with a focal length of 1000mm gives a focal ratio of F5. The tripod is manufactured from 1.75 stainless tube and has hardly any flex providing a solid base. Unfortunately motors to drive the RA and Dec axis are not included so will be an additional cost (90) and essential if long exposure photography is being considered. The BBC Sky at Night Magazine said The Explorer-200P passed all our tests with flying colours and was a delight to use both optically and mechanically... The overall stability of the system impressed us Next we have the Skyliner-250PX 10" Parabolic Dobsonian Telescope which at around 450.00 gives a fantastic aperture to cost ratio, an incredible 254mm or 10 primary for under 500! These telescopes are simple by design and are meant to be driven by hand but can be motorised if required. The Skyliner comes with the familiar 10mm and 25mm eyepieces giving magnifications of x48 and x120 but has a highest practical power of over x500. With a focal length of 1200mm, giving a focal ratio of F5, and the larger aperture this scope will be a good all round performer. This telescope is Ideal for the traditional, hands on observer, who wants to explore and learn the night sky the old fashioned way and be rewarded with incredible views. The scope is portable and easy to set uplight gathering at its best.
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The Bresser Refractor 102/1000 EXOS 2 is a 102mm or 4 achromatic refractor that will give outstanding views of the moon and planets. The 1000mm focal length gives a focal ratio of F9.8 and comes with a single 26mm 2 plossl eyepiece with a highest practical power of x200. This is a well designed, well built piece of equipment costing around 670.00 that will give years of enjoyment for the astronomer with a bigger budget Lets stay with Bresser and finish this selection with the 102s bigger sibling the Bresser Refractor 152/1200 EXOS 2. For around 950.00 you get the same design and build quality but with an eye popping 152mm or 6 primary. This is a serious piece of equipment and until recently would have been beyond all but the most dedicated of astronomers. The additional light gathering capacity of this telescope compared with the 102 will deliver stunningly contrasted, high resolution images of nebula and galaxies as well as the moon and planets. The 1200mm focal length gives a nice focal ratio of F7.9 and a highest practical power of x300. The telescope comes with the same 26mm 2 eyepiece for beautiful wide field views and the sturdy Exos 2 equatorial mount. To sum up: for under a thousand pounds you can get a truly stunning, robust, well engineered piece of equipment. The message here I think, is aperture. Go for the largest you can afford. For me, the 10 dobsonian and 6 refractor stand out and as the former costs roughly half that of the latter should suite budgets at both ends of the scale. You may be surprised at the lack of computerised telescopes in this selection but I think for true computerised, GOTO telescopes you have to go above the one thousand price bracket, into the realms of large apertures and larger price tags. Thats where we are headed next month as we conclude this short series of articles with a look at equipment for the advanced astronomer.
Paul Rumsby
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Jason Ives
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If you want to achieve more detailed images you have a few options open to you. Firstly you can purchase a Barlow lens and add this into the optical path. Basically a Barlow lens increases the focal length of the telescope. The focal length tells us how much of the sky the telescope can see. The longer the focal length the smaller area of sky it can see. A x2 Barlow doubles the focal length, x3 triples it and so on. Another method would be eyepiece projection. This works by projecting the image seen in the eyepiece onto the camera sensor so the higher magnification the eyepiece is the closer into the moon the image will appear. Some eyepieces such as the Baader Hyperions allow direct connection of a DSLR but even cheap standard eyepieces can be used. In order to use these you need an eyepiece projection can that you slide the eyepiece into. The DSLR then attaches to the can and is placed into the eyepiece tube of the telescope.
The Image on the left shows a Canon 500 connected to a Revelation 32mm eyepiece. The image on the right shows the camera with an eyepiece projection can attached.
The image on the right was taken with a standard eyepiece that came with the telescope using the eyepiece projection method. As you can see we are now getting in nice and close and if we wanted we could take a series of images covering the entire moon and create a mosaic. I use a free program called Microsoft Ice for stitching images of a mosaic together. I cant really go into exposure and Iso settings as its going to be different for each scope so its really dependant on your setup. What I will say is try to keep exposure times down to a minimum to minimise the effects of a turbulent atmosphere. And remember as we increase the focal length with Barlows and eyepieces we increase the F number which results in a required longer exposure. Let me rewind a bit and just explain. The f number of a telescope is the focal length divided by the aperture. So a telescope with a 200mm aperture and 1200mm focal length has a F number of 6 (1200 divided by 200). F6 is a nice fast scope but a 1200mm focal length isnt going to get you the close ups of the moon you want. Add a x3 Barlow and it has tripled our focal length to 3600mm so now our F number is 18 (3600 divided by 200). Trouble is the exposure required isnt tripled. Roughly it would require 14 x the exposure time in order to capture the same amount of light. So if we were using 1/500s exposure at F6 we would need 1/36s at F18. The knock on effect of this longer exposure is it is more susceptible to turbulent air (what we call seeing). So as you can see its a bit of a trade-off. Ok so now we can take complete moon shots, close up shots and stitch them together. You can now have a try at stacking images to increase the sharpness. I use two free programs called Registax and Autostakkert. Both allow you to put your captured stills into and will align and stack them for you. Im not going to go into depth in the use of the software as there are tutorials already out there explaining it much better than I can. So what if you want to take it another step. Lots of people modify standard webcams to use with the scope. This is something I havent done but have read a bit on when considering doing one myself so know there is lots of info out there on the web. If you choose to modify a webcam the following section detailing capture and processing is pretty much the same.
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There are a lot of different dedicated planetary/lunar cameras available but they all do basically the same thing. They attach to the telescope in place of the eyepiece and allow you to capture a movie containing lots of individual stills in a short space of time. So what benefits does this have. Well the more images we stack the more sharpening we can apply and the less noise will be visible. Not only that but if I have a movie of 2000 images some of the images will be much sharper than others due to seeing so you can cherry pick the best ones. Its not something you have to do manually, just tell Registax or Autostakkert what percentage of images to use and itll do it all for you. Once it has stacked them we can then adjust the wavelets in order to sharpen the image. When considering a camera think about what you want to image. Colour cameras allow you to quickly produce a colour image of the planets but the trade-off for this convenience is they are less sensitive. This is because they have a Bayer matrix in front of the imaging chip turning the pixels either red, blue or green. Mono cameras obviously dont have this and are therefore more sensitive but in order to obtain a colour image we need to take red, green and blue images to combine by using filters. So do you want a convenient way to grab a quick image or are you a perfectionist? Another consideration is the imaging chip size. A 6mm chip acts much the same as a 6mm eyepiece. To work out the magnification with an eyepiece we divide the focal length of the telescope by the eyepiece size so a 6mm eyepiece on a 1200mm focal length telescope gives us a 200x magnification. Therefore a camera with a 6mm diagonal chip also achieves roughly a 200x magnification. The resolution of the camera has no impact on the magnification it is just the resolution that you will achieve at that given magnification. Also look at the speed that the camera can capture at. Faster is better especially if you using a non-driven mount. You need to capture as many frames as possible before your target leaves the field of view. Below is a series of images of the Copernicus Crater captured at varying focal lengths with a 6mm diagonal chip. The first one is at a focal length of 1200mm, the second at 2700mm and the final one at 6000mm. The process for capturing these images is exactly the same. The only thing that varies is the exposure time and gain setting on the camera. I try to keep the gain nice and low while not exceeding 30ms exposure. If you up the gain you up the noise and thats something we want to try and avoid.
Even after saying above about colour cameras being less sensitive some great images can still be obtained. Here is Jupiter captured using the QHY IMG132e, a colour camera. The exposure used to capture this was 32ms and the gain was set at around 30%. An avi of 2000 stills was captured and I stacked the top 1000 in Registax.
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I frequently get asked which telescope is the best but in short I dont believe there is such a thing. For the moon and planets we want the long focal lengths found in Maks and Schmidt Cassegrains while for deep space photography we want a fast scope with a low F number in order to catch as many light photons as possible in the shortest amount of time. For this reason many astronomers find themselves owning a number of telescopes. The same is true for cameras. No one camera will do everything well. I own a mono and a colour planetary camera along with the DSLR for deep space objects and still find myself wanting a dedicated mono CCD for deep space. It really depends how far you want to take this hobby. As Ive shown the DSLR is very versatile and capable of doing both but limited when you want to get in really close for individual craters. My advice to any wannabe astrophotographer would be to get yourself a second hand DSLR, play with it and see how you get on. It will be capable of producing images such as this M31 Andromeda galaxy below so will serve you for many years before you outgrow it.
Mike Greenham
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Heather Dawn
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As Mars climbs higher through the zodiacal constellation of Capricornus, it sets one hour after the sun at the start of January, and so may be looked for as a bright first magnitude star as bright as Deneb in Cygnus but with a reddish tinge, which makes it immediately noticeable. There are no bright starts in this area of the sky so there should be no problem in identifying the red planet. The very thin waxing crescent moon with earthshine illuminating its night hemisphere may be seen just over 6, immediately above Mars on the 13th. Look towards the SW, with a clear horizon, and you will see Mars half way between the waxing crescent and the horizon. Jupiter was in Opposition, (opposite the sun in the sky), and therefore at its nearest to the earth last month. During January therefore, it is visible for most of the night lying in the constellation of Taurus the Bull, to the upper right of Orion. The Pleiades are some 7 to the upper right of the bright planet, which by the end of the month sets at around 04h in the morning. The waxing gibbous moon may be seen approaching Jupiter during the evening of the 21st, and passing just over 1 (2 moon widths) south of the planet at 03h on the morning of the 22nd, when the pair are 10 above the WNW horizon. During January, a pair of well focussed, firmly fixed binoculars are capable of showing Jupiters four largest satellites, as tiny star-like points on either side of Jupiters disc, changing positions in relation to the planet on a nightly basis.
Saturn is a morning object in the western part of Libra. At the beginning of January it rises at around 03h, but by the end of the month it rises just an hour after midnight. The northern surface of the rings are well presented during 2013 and will delight observers of any age, especially on seeing it for the first time through even a small telescope. At around 04h on the 7th, the rising broad waning crescent moon may be seen 5 below Saturn which is as bright as Spica, Virgos brightest star over 15 to the upper right of Saturn. To enhance the spectacle, half way up in the sky above the moon and Saturn, is Arcturus, the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere; whilst opposite them bright Jupiter is setting in the WNW.
Uranus is an evening object, at the limit of naked eye visibility in the constellation of Pisces, some 10 east of the circlet of stars, which marks the position of the western fish. At the beginning of January, Uranus sets at around midnight, but by the end of the month sets two hours earlier. The two eastern stars of the great Square of Pegasus (Alpheratz, in Andromeda and Algenib in Pegasus) point directly towards Uranus, which lies the same distance below these two stars as they are apart. Use binoculars and you will identify Uranus as the brightest star-like point in the field of view at that position.
Neptune is a much more difficult object to spot, lower in the sky, in the preceding constellation of Aquarius. The outermost major planet in the solar system sets at 20h at the beginning of the month and at around 18h30 at the end. Currently it lies between thetaand iota- Aquarii.
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Recent research has shown that the parent body of the Quadrantids was an asteroid 2003 EH1, which broke up some 500 years ago. The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks at 12h00 on the 3rd, when a Zenithal Hourly Rate of up to 80 shooting stars an hour may be seen from the night hemisphere of the earth. The best time to look is early morning of the 3rd, before dawn. Turn your back on the gibbous waning moon and look up into the northern quadrant of the sky. These tiny fragments of dust appear to radiate from a point to the lower left of Alkaid, the most easterly star of the Plough. It has been suggested that the Quadrantids show colours, blue and yellow amongst them.
Constellations visible in the South, around midnight, mid-month are as follows: Gemini, Cancer, Canis Minor and the head of Hydra. All times are GMT 1 is one finger width at arms length.
John Harper
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Day
Date d m y 01-012013 01-012013 01-012013 01-012013 03-012013 03-012013 04-012013 04-012013 05-012013 06-012013 07-012013 08-012013 08-012013 08-012013 09-012013 14-012013 14-012013 14-012013 16-012013 16-012013 17-012013 17-012013 18-012013 18-012013 20-012013 21-012013 21-012013 22-012013 22-012013
Time UT h m s
Mag P
Al
Az
Sun's Alt
XZ Cat No.
Proper Name
PA
Tue Tue Tue Tue Thu Thu Fri Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Tue Tue Wed Mon Mon Mon Wed Wed Thu Thu Fri Fri Sun Mon Mon Tue Tue
01:31:40 05:56:54 08:07:04 22:20:04 02:35:44 07:59:45 03:07:14 07:04:14 02:26:53 04:41:08 06:35:47 07:09:16 07:42:44 07:53:51 06:27:08 16:22:09 17:33:09 18:14:25 17:41:29 22:12:44 17:01:47 18:18:39 20:33:08 20:45:53 16:58:22 23:02:41 23:07:42 01:05:41 03:13:54
5.5 7.3 7.4 7.3 7.9 6.6 6.7 7.2 7.6 6.9 7.3 7.8 7.9 7.8 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.8 7.7 7.9 8 7.8 5.5 6.8 7.7 7.8 5.5 7.8 7.2
R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
42 31 13 12 32 19 26 26 14 17 17 13 14 15 4 26 19 15 36 4 43 41 37 35 45 42 41 25 8
14350 14490 14570 15311 16686 16905 17853 17985 18778 19682 20590 21676 21717 21711 22661 30469 30505 30506 32079 21 921 967 2250 2264 4130 5380 5396 5467 5541
1397 1412
150 -48 239 -3 147 -44 212 -10 128 -49 149 -31 164 -14 159 -9 166 -5 169 -4 137 -15 209 -3 226 -12 236 -18 208 -13 271 -50 182 -7 207 -18 234 -37 237 -39 132 -6 242 -53 243 -53 269 -54 294 -41
1629 1726
V2106 Ophiuchi
2415 3259
133 86 69
pi Piscium
240 241
44 69 117 14
omega 1 Tauri
614
64 85 49
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Wed Wed Wed Wed Thu Thu Thu Thu Thu Fri Fri Fri Fri Fri Sat Sat Sun Mon Mon Mon Tue Tue Tue Tue Thu Thu
23-0123-0123-0123-0124-0124-0124-0124-0124-0125-0125-0125-0125-0125-0126-0126-0127-0128-0128-0128-0129-0129-0129-0129-0131-0131-01-
03:59:19 20:17:42 20:34:24 23:57:43 00:17:13 01:28:59 05:32:19 18:54:22 19:44:01 00:07:47 01:46:04 02:33:26 17:17:21 22:18:59 00:21:16 20:24:06 21:01:45 00:30:23 04:02:09 23:08:33 03:25:07 05:44:49 06:57:49 20:28:27 01:49:38 04:13:60
6.5 7.6 7.1 6 7.7 5.9 5.1 7.6 7.6 7.5 7.1 7.3 7.2 5.4 7.8 7.9 5.2 7.8 7.2 7.6 6.2 7.3 5.8 6.3 7.6 7.6
D D D D D D D D D D D D D D C D R R R R R R R R R R
D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
8 53 54 47 45 35 2 37 44 50 39 32 16 51 51 33 29 46 32 34 36 21 10 5 30 30
293 -35 149 -33 155 -36 231 -55 236 -55 254 -52 302 -21 111 -21 124 -28 218 -55 246 -51 257 -46 82 -7
6577 7580 7583 7762 7767 7851 8178 9384 9433 9695 9773 9810 10991 11245 11331 12564 13869 13988 14131 15070 15225 15311 15340 16106 17573 17649
107 Tauri
769 873
148 77 47
NSV 16714
888
120 152
895 913
1038
41 166
1116 1141
54 47 18 105
159 -48 211 -54 113 -34 114 -39 174 -54 239 -34 136 -52 215 -39 249 -19 264 -8 92 -34
kappa Cancri
14 Sextantis
1482
19 Sextantis 36 Sextantis
1495 1566
1705
314
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