Transit! (part 1)

Venus captured in H-Alpha (PST; Microsoft Lifecam)

Tuesday, June 5 dawned clear and calm.  Intellicast forecast a cloud-free day here in "the warm heart of the world."  I got up, checked the scopes (PST and my trusty ETX-90 RA) and loaded the equipment into the truck. 

By lunchtime, fluffy, white clouds were sailing sedately in from the Northeast--rarely a good sign in Indiana; but the forecast still said, "clear skies."  By 3pm, there was an almost solid overcast, with glimpses of sun here and there.  The forecast now said, "partly cloudy," but skies were forecast to be clear by 6 pm.

The site I chose to observe the transit is about a quarter mile from my new observatory site, but on the same property.  The chosen site has a superb view to the west from an elevation. I set out to the site with family in tow a little after 5 pm for the 10-mile drive. 

Of course, we hit what passes for rush hour in this small town and roadworks delayed us for 10 minutes or more.  The sky continued obstinately overcast, but with glimpses of sun in small gaps.

We arrived with time to set up (but none to waste).  I got the PST and the ETX up and running, then cloud covered the sun.  I had my iphone app ready and running, but the clouds seemed to have slowed down and the sun remained invisible.  As the cloud cleared a little, I could see the first "bite" of Venus as the transit began.  My iphone app was designed to capture and submit data from Contact II, where the edge of Venus touches the edge of the solar disk as it ingresses.  The "teardrop" effect is supposed to make this difficult to time.  However, I saw no effect, and, at 18:21:46, I hit the phone to capture the time.  Nothing happened.  The app that had been working perfectly all day decided to malfunction.  I wrote the time down on a card.  Later in the evening, after sunset, I checked the official time for Contact II--it was 18:21:53!  I was amazed at how close I'd come in my measurement.  Clouds continued intermittently, but I was able to watch pretty much the whole transit as visible here from Indiana.,

Prominences on May 30, 2012

A stack of 188 frames captured with a Microsoft Lifecam and Coronado PST, this image shows some dramatic prominence activity on the sun's limb.  Note also the brilliant spot in the one o'clock position.  This spot was very bright, visually, and matter was streaming out of it.  If you click to get the full-size image, you can see this matter in the dark sky above the spot.  A couple of small clouds that appeared to be detached could be clearly seen visually; they are just about visible in this image.

Partial Eclipse

Yesterday's partial solar eclipse was a washout here in my part of Indiana.  The day started clear and sunny, but cumulus clouds started to roll in after lunch.  By 5 pm, thunderheads were beginning to build in the west and the sky was growing darker and hazier.  However, there was at least some watery sunlight, so I packed up the scopes and headed to a country site.  By the time I got there (a mere 10 minute drive), the sun was completely obscured by thick, dark clouds, the edges of which were tantalizingly silver.  I waited for a few minutes, but the cloud was growing thicker.  I decided to drive a little further to a low ridge with a better western view so I could assess the situation a little better.  When I got there, it was obvious that the sun would be a no-show:  there was solid cloud covering the western sky. 

I guess that is the challenge of astronomy.  Like farming, you can prepare, but sometimes nature just doesn't cooperate.  I'm hoping we don't have a repeat for the Venus transit.

Ring Nebula

Nothing special--just a single, 30 second exposure.

Another Mars Pic

Another image of Mars taken May 17.  Note the phase and Syrtis Major, the large triangular formation.  Given the rather poor seeing last night and the small (9 arcsecond) diameter of the planet, a surprising amount of detail is visible. Around the 1 o'clock position, the smaller, northern polar cap can be seen.  The lightening of the area south of Syrtis Major (at the 7 o'clock position), indicates the position of the larger, southern polar cap.

Mars on May 17, 2012

Mars as imaged in the 14 inch last night.  The angular diameter of the planet is just 9 arcseconds. The "gibbous" aspect of the planet is quite obvious.  The large triangular feature is Syrtis Major.

Dramatic edge prominences

Solar activity is increasing. Here is a bright prominence surging into space.  Taken today with a PST and Microsoft Lifecam.