Saturday 21 August 2010

International Observe the Moon Night , Saturday, 18 September 2010

Did you know? September 18, 2010 will mark the first ever International Observe the Moon Night! This year’s InOMN will be used as our pilot year to inform us on how to make it better and more interactive. We’re testing the waters and would love to hear from you about how we’re doing. The InOMN website is ever evolving, so please be sure to check back often!

Gaan besoek gerus die webblad en deurkruis dit.
Wondelike downloads en skakels na al die kraters ens. wat jy op die maan kan sien.

Friday 20 August 2010

NGC 253, Sculptor Galaksie vanaf Boyden Sterrewag



Hier is die Sculptor Galaxy wat ons gisteraand by Boyden afgeneem het. Die aand het nie glad verloop nie. Die tracking was af, wind het gewaai en ys op teleskoop het gemaak dat ons 03h00 moes oppak.

Die Siver dollar het nogtans mooi uitgekom.

2h 45min exposures van 5min subs.
QHY9 c ccd deur 80mm Maxvision triplet refractor Guiding deur 8 duim bird jones reflector Nebulosity 2 PHD Photoshop CS 5

Magnitude: 7.90
 Afstand: 12.9 Mly

Foto: Brett du Preez en Chris  Joubert
ASSA Bloemfontein

What on earth?


When MESSENGER took this image, a distance of 183 million kilometers (114 million miles) separated the spacecraft and Earth. To provide context for this distance, the average separation between the Earth and the Sun is about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles).

Read the article   and explore thew website
Source: NASA Lunar Science Institute

 Auke Slotegraaf ons ASSA Dieplug-direkteur het my op die spoor gesit van die webblad via sy blog. Besoek dit gerus: psychohistorian.org

Opmerking: Hoe gaan die aarde vanaf  Andromeda se omgewing lyk. Die afstand is 2.6 miljoen ligjaar. Andromeda is die verste voorwerp wat met die blote oog gesien kan word.

Nog feite uit die Wiki-omgewing:

The Canis Major dwarf galaxy is classified as an irregular galaxy and is now thought to be the closest neighbouring galaxy to our location in the Milky Way, being located about 25,000 light-years away from our Solar System[2] and 42,000 light-years from the Galactic Center


Vir my is die Kaap ver!

Groete

Hannes Pietersers

Wednesday 18 August 2010

Lagoon-newel vanaf Boyden-sterrewag



Klik om te vergroot
Lagoon-newel in Hydrogen alpha golflengte afgeneem  
Beligting: 5 ure in totaal van 20x15min beligtings.
Darkframes, Bias frames en flatframes bygewerk.
Kamera: 8.6megapixel QHY9 kleur ccd-kamera.
Teleskope: Maxvision f/6 80mm apochromatic triplet refractor met 'n 8 duim Jones Bird newtonian reflector f/7.
Guiding gedoen deur reflector.
Mount is 'n Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro.

Foto: Brett du Preez en Chris  Joubert
ASSA Bloemfontein
 

Boyden Sterrewag Ope-aand | Boyden Observatory Open Evening


Boyden Sterrewag Ope-aand
21-08-2010, 18h30 19:00


18:30: Waarneming van Saturnus deur die 13” teleskoop
indien die weer dit toelaat


19:00: Lesing
"Wat die Sterre van Pluto vertel"
(Prof. Matie Hoffman, Mnr. Pat van Heerden en Ernie Halberg)

Ernie Halberg vertel ook van die asteroide wat hy ontdek het.

20:00: Waarnemings deur teleskope indien die weer dit toelaat


Toegang: R 30 per motor
Verversings en ligte etes te koop

Aangebied deur:

Vriende van Boyden Sterrewag en die
Amateur Sterrekunde Vereniging



Boyden Observatory Open Evening
21-08-2010, 18h30 for 19:00

The program includes observing through the telescopes weather permitting

18:30: Observing Saturn through the 13” telescope
weather permitting

19:00: Lecture
“What the stars reveal about Pluto”
(Prof. Matie Hoffman, Mr. Pat van Heerden and Ernie Halberg)

Ernie Halberg tells us about the asteroid he discovered.

20:00: Observing through telescopes weather permitting

Entrance: R 30 per car
Refreshments and light meals for sale

Presented by:
Friends of Boyden Observatory and the
Amateur Astronomy Society

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Andromeda (M31) vanaf Boyden-sterrewag


Klik om te vergroot

Details van Andromeda:
Data verkry deur Nebulosity en PHD.
Beligting: 120 min in totaal van 10 min beligtings.
Gestack in Deepsky Stacker met flatframes en bias frames.
Geen Darkframes nie. (Hotpixels verwyder d.m.v. 'n Bad pixel map)
Verder geprosesseer in Photoshop CS5 en Noel Carboni's tools.


Kamera: 8.6megapixel QHY9 kleur ccd-kamera.
Teleskope: Maxvision f/6 80mm apochromatic triplet refractor met 'n 8 duim Jones Bird newtonian reflector f/7.
Guiding gedoen deur reflector.
Mount is 'n Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro.
Foto: Brett du Preez en Chris  Joubert
ASSA Bloemfontein


M110 is ook sigbaar (regs)

Dark adaptation 2

Much better than the traditional flashlight and red filter, however, is a red LED (light-emitting diode) flashlight. Its red is purer and deeper, so the division between rod and cone vision is more sharply drawn. LEDs also use much less current, so the batteries last for years. Many LED flashlights for astronomers are now available.

Secrets of Deep-Sky Observing by Alan MacRobert

Monday 16 August 2010

Dark adaption 1

Be prepared to let your eyes adjust to the darkness. It takes about half an hour for the human eye to become totally darkadapted. If you look into headlights, or a bright flashlight, even for a second, be ready to start that half hour over again.

Stargazing Basics
Getting Started in Recreational Astronomy

ISBN-13 978-0-521-72859-1
- PAUL E. KINZER

Sunday 15 August 2010

How to find the South Celestial Pole (SCP)


How to find the South Celestial Pole (SCP) almost accurately.



It is always difficult to find the (almost) exact spot when you are aligning your telescope. I hope this will help!


Why find the SCP?
 
- To set up your Barn door mount (Scotch Mount, Star Tracker) to ensure round stars on your image.
- To do a proper polar alignment with your Go To Telescope on a wedge to take astro photographs.
- To store it in your head and show your knowledge at a star party.
Why this method?
- You get pretty close to the SCP without guessing where the lines from wherever should cross.
- With a green laser mounted on binoculars (on a tripod) you should get very close to that magical unmarked spot in the Southern hemisphere. Not even the North star is precisely on the dot.

Whose idea?
When I was setting up my Barn door mount  to take photographs at the Britstown Star Party (6 - 9 August 2010)  it all came back to me. I used this pattern  some years ago to set up my SCT at Boyden Observatory.  I tried to find it on the web, but Google was of no help. So if I stole the idea from someone, please let me know and I will credit you. 

What you need to plot the SCP
  • 7 X 50 m binoculars
  •  A steady hand or a tripod for the binoculars.
  • A green laser pointer will help. Mount the laser and binoculars on a tripod.
    Adjust the laser light to show in the center of the binocular view.
How to find the SCP
1. Find the constellation Octans. Use a planisphere, software like The Sky 6, Cartes du Ciel etc. or Map 1 below.
2.  Zoom in and plot the Table mountain figure on map 2. It is almost magnitude 6 stars. So be patient. When you get familiar with the star environment you will find them with the first pointing of the binoculars. PRACTICE!

3. Use the third map to pinpoint the SCP
  • Upsilon Octantis
    Object name: SAO 258932 Other ID: HIP 111196 Magnitude: 5.76 Flamsteed-Bayer: Upsilon Octantis
  • Tau Octanti
    Object name: SAO 258970 Other ID: HIP 115836 Magnitude: 5.50 Flamsteed-Bayer: Tau Octantis
  • Sigma Octantis
    Object name: SAO 258857 Other ID: HIP 104382 Magnitude: 5.45 Flamsteed-Bayer: Sigma Octantis
  • Chi Octantis
    Object name: SAO 258799 Other ID: HIP 92824 Magnitude: 5.29 Flamsteed-Bayer: Chi Octantis
I hope there is method to my madness.
- Connect Tau Octantis and Chi Octantis
- Draw a 90° line through Sigma Octantis. This line will pass very close to the SCP.
- Sigma Octantis is 01°02'37" from the SCP
- The star (mag 6.8) is 00°13'41.818" from the SCP.

How close do you want to get to the SCP?

Charts: TheSky6

Enjoy!
Hannes Pieterse
ASSA Bloemfontein
South Africa

    Die moontlikheid van lewe binne ons eie sonnestelsel

    Plek: Pigout Restaurant
    Adres: Smithfield
    Datum: 25 September 2010
    Tyd: 19H00
    Koste: R75 vir volwassenes en R50 vir kinders
    Program: Sterre kyk voor die maan opkom en praatjie.
    Tema: Die moontlikheid van lewe binne ons eie sonnestelsel
    Ingeluit by die toegang: Lekker sop en ciabatta en wyn en koeldrank
    130 km van Bloemfontein. Hier is gastehuise waar mense kan oorslaap as hulle wil.

    Bring ook julle teleskope saam. Die sterre is baie mooi hier.

    Werk wat by die sentrum gedoen word: Radiowaarnemings. Navorsing op die son en Jupiter. Die belangrikste werk is navorsing in die 1.4GHz waterstoflyn waar vir enige tekens van ET gesoek word.

    Bespreek vooraf


    Kontakinligting
    :
    Henk Swanepoel
    UFO Research Centre

    Smithfield
    Tel: (051) 683-0498
    E-pos: uforesearch@smithfield.co.za