Secret Still Observatory

'Sing to the Moon and the stars will shine'

Mark

2 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC RGB 18 X 120s (36m)
    * OSC NB 156 X 300s (780m)
    * Total: 13h00m
    
    Integration time target
    * Target: 12 hours
    * Progress: 108%

The imaging is finished for now. The data is excellent and deserves to be experimented with in processing. The RGB stars also need to be implemented.

Moon Saturn Occultation

Occultation on 21st Aug 2024 at 4am

Mark

1 minute read

Saturn disappeared at 04h27 and reappeared at 05h20 BST. Amazingly the blanket of thin swirling cloud lifted 10 minutes before the point of ingress. The night was very windy however and the atmosphere was extremely wobbly precluding any chance of capturing surface details on Saturn. The difference in brightness between Saturn and the Moon necessitated creating a composite image to show both bodies visually.

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 63 X 120s (126m)
    * Total: 2h06m

Seeing index: OK (3)
Jet stream: Good (7 m/s)
Transparency: Average (3)

Mark

2 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC 54 X 120s (108m)
    * Total: 1h48m

Seeing index: OK (3)
Jet stream: OK (12 m/s)
Transparency: Good (4)
Moon: 92%

Mark

1 minute read

We had unexpectedly amazing views of the aurora at latitide 52 degrees N on the night of 10th/11th May 2024. It is clear that the activity is visible entirely in the northern portion of the sky. The intensity hit KP9/ Extreme storm (G5) on the KP scale, a reading last seen in 2003.

Globular Clusters

A visual comparison of five clusters in the Messier list

Mark

1 minute read

    Integration time (running total):
    * OSC Between 30 and 60 X 60s per image

Seeing index: Poor (2)
Jet stream: Ave/Good (12 m/s)
Transparency: Good (4)

Recent posts

Categories