2021

2021 "Now & Laters"

Also take a look at past years for interesting images and projects. I like to call my Images "Now & Laters".Observe Now and Share Later.Images are made from a live stack of many images usually around 3 seconds for each frame. The stack itself is around 3 Minutes in duration.A dark frame is removed for each frameduring the live stack.Minimal processing is performed during the live stack. No post processing is performed on the final image.These images can also be browsed in the object image page.Clicking on an image will open the full size imagein another page or a GalleryCheck back often as I work on projects in the observatory

Mind's Eye Observatory in the Press Click Here

December 2021

Have you ever wondered what a satellite looks like from Earth through a telescope. Here is an image from GEOS 16 a Geostationary satellite that gives us amazing information and images like this one.

The other image was taken from my backyard observatory of GEOS 16 November 28, 2021 as it chases us at 1,908 miles a second at 22,236 miles over Earth. The lines are stars as they trail by and the satellite is at center. If you look closely you will see it waving back! Gotcha. The old photographer taking a pictures of a photographer taking a picture.

Its fun to image. Locate it and center in the camera then quickly shut down tracking on the telescope mount. If I was to leave it that way and come back the next day and it would still be there!

Comet Leonard (C/2021 Leonard) as imaged @ MEO

December 3, 2021 at 5AM.

Comet that it causing astronomers to loose sleep and drag into work the last few weeks including me!

Its not visible with the naked eye but that still may be possible. Over the coming month, as Comet Leonard heads sunward, it’ll sweep closest to Earth on December 12. It won’t be particularly close at its closest, passing more than 21 million miles (34 million km) away. But six days later – on December 18 – the comet will have an exceptionally close pass of Venus of just 2.6 million miles (4.2 million km). Then it’ll round the sun on January 3, 2022, at a distance of about 56 million miles (0.6 AU, or 90 million km).

This is our last encounter with it as it will be leaving our solar system forever.

November 2021

C/2021 A1 (Leonard) Imaged 11/02/2021 4.30 AM

Currently in the constellation of Canes Venatici. Galaxies NGC 4229 and NGC 4227 at top of frame

It is an inbound long period comet discovered by G. J. Leonard at the Mount Lemmon Observatory on 3 January 2021 when the comet was 5 AU from the Sun.

Distance Kilometers156,324,806 Distance AU1.044967 Light Travel Time 8 minutes and 41.4434 seconds Observed Magnitude (COBS) 9.9 Coma Diameter (COBS) 5.0' C8 at F1.9 zwoasi224 Sharpcap / PHD2 \ Cartes du ciel Transparency above Average, Seeing Average, Moon Waxing Gibbous day 11.1 92% Alt -7 setting Live stack average of 3 minutes. Exposure of 2 seconds. Unsharp mask applied during stack. No other post processing performed.

This is Comet 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann at center imaged on November 9, 2021 at Mind`s Eye Observatory. There is a large coma surrounding the comet itself.

It is 464,779,036 miles away and moving at 12.3 Kilometers a second through the constellation Auriga. It takes the light from it over 40 minutes to get to us.

Comet 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann, also known as Schwassmann–Wachmann 1, was discovered on November 15, 1927, by Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Arthur Wachmann at the Hamburg Observatory in Bergedorf, Germany

Astrometry progress october 2021

Asteroid 2003QQ47 Negative image view. This image is after a solution is found from the data and object confirmed. The position is then determined from the star field and the time. Green circled stars are used in the measurement.Yellow circled stars are excluded.

Asteroid 2003QQ47 2021/10/01

See my Minor planet page for more information and Astrometry

The Florida weather has started to change and I have had a few opportunities to open the observatory. I am back working on my astrometry technique and associated learning curve. The new computer I built over the summer is helping immensely and is allowing me to work much faster. Next project is to perform a new polar alignment for the mount since the yearly maintenance was done to the trolly tracks. That should be a simple quick project and then I will be attempting to perform an 6 minor planet object run over dual days. Also on the to-do list is checking the residuals in FindOrb, performing stacks in Astrometrica and learning stack and track in Astrometrica.

September 2021

SpaceX Crew Dragon "Resilience" "& Inspiration 4" Crew

Launch over Mind's Eye Observatory 09/15/2021

The first all civilian crew launch into orbit.

As the Falcon 9 rises out over the Atlantic it reaches altitudes sixty to ninety miles above the earth. There, the sun’s rays are still shining, and can shine on the vehicle in the darkened sky. You can see the Falcon 9 illuminated as it performs a separation maneuver, with the upper stage continuing into orbit and the lower stage returning to land.

As chemicals from the rocket’s exhaust freeze and drift like clouds through the atmosphere, the sun shines through them as well. The light is refracted through these frozen chemicals at different wavelengths, creating the spectacular display.

Individual images below

NGC 7217 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the

Constellation Pegasus.

NGC 7331, also known as Caldwell 30, is an unbarred spiral galaxy

It is about 40 million light-years (12 Mpc) away in the constellation Pegasus.

Click Here for More Info

September in the Observatory

A few breaks in the weather and work have allowed me to image a few objects with the new computer even though the sky quality has much to be desired. Trenching the new data line is unfinished due to weather and work.

August 2021

August 2021 Eruption(Nova) of Star RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) HD 162214

Imaged here at center of the frame TimeStamp=2021-08-19T03:14:55.2481002Z

Gain=271 Exposure=3 seconds

RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) is a recurrent nova system approximately 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus. In its quiet phase it has an apparent magnitude of about 12.5. It has been observed to erupt in 1898, 1933, 1958, 1967, 1985, 2006 and 2021 and reached about magnitude 5 on average. A further two eruptions, in 1907 and 1945, have been inferred from archival data. The recurrent nova is produced by a white dwarf star and a red giant in a binary system. About every 15 years, enough material from the red giant builds up on the surface of the white dwarf to produce a thermonuclear explosion. The white dwarf orbits close to the red giant, with an accretion disc concentrating the overflowing atmosphere of the red giant onto the white dwarf.

NGC 7008

NGC 7008, also known as the Fetus Nebula is a planetary nebula with a diameter of approximately 1 light-year located at a distance of 2800 light years in northern Cygnus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1787, in Slough, England

NGC 6791

An open star cluster in the Lyra constellation. It was discovered by Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke in 1853. At roughly 8 billion years old, and with an Iron to Hydrogen abundance ratio that is more than twice that of the Sun, it is one of the oldest and most metal-rich clusters in the Milky Way.

M 57

Distance to Earth: 2,283 light years

The Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula in the mildly northern constellation of Lyra. Such a nebula is formed when a star, during the last stages of its evolution before becoming a white dwarf, expels a vast luminous envelope of ionized gas into the surrounding interstellar space.

M 56

A globular cluster in the constellation Lyra. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1779. It is angularly found about midway between Albireo and Sulafat. In a good night sky it is tricky to find with large binoculars, appearing as a slightly fuzzy star.

May and June In the Observatory

The addition of new software and hardware for GPS time as been completed and is operating allowing for a more accurate time for sightings and astrometry. I will retain my NPS time setup for a backup system.

I have done some additional work on my workflow for astrometry and measurements for the Minor Planet Center Observatory code and future astrometry. When the weather allows i hope to get back to work on this project. hopes are that I can do so with my current aperture.

Beautiful skies over MEO with Venus

No Astronomy for you !

The beginning of 2021 observing has had a few more successful nights in regards to favorable weather than most of the observing season. The season starts around November or December each year and runs through April usually. This season had many good observing nights that were not useable because they were perfectly inline with the Full Moon cycle and most Last quarter and new moon nights were clouded out. I have my hopes up for a better than average summer observing season but forecasters are calling for a well above average hurricane season so who knows!

April 2021