For the past two weeks we in the Stratford area have been treated to views in our post sunset skies of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, (AKA C2023-A3).
This comet from the Oort cloud was first discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in chine on January 9, 2023 and independently found by ATLAS South Africa on February 22, 2023.
Now on its way back having passed around the Sun, it continues on a 80,000 year journey before its return. Back in 1996-1997, you might have seen Comet Hale-Bopp, another long-period comet and the most widely observed comet of the 20th century.
But, like all long-period comets, Hale-Bopp is not expected to return to the inner solar system until 4385.
Using the SeeStar S50, I was able to get images of the comet Sunday evening after 8:00 pm from the dark skies of South Perth. See these two images.
Over the past two years, at Club Meetings, when time permitted, Dr. Michael Burns has delivered on-going talks of the Big Bang based on the physical theory of the universe expanding from an initial high density and temperature state. Members in attendance at any of these talks have been mesmerized by the presentations.
He plans to continue. For those needing a refresher (me for sure), here is a link to the Big Bang Talks Summaryto-date.
SAG member Ken Roberts has difficulty observing the night sky through telescopes that use eyepieces. After using the club’s SEESTAR S50 for astrophotography, he fell in love with viewing the night sky again.
He was so enamored with the SeeStar, that he ordered and puchased his own SeeStar S50.
He uses a free website (listed below) to discover brief information on recent astronomical discoveries such as comets, minor planets and novas.
From this source, he determines celestial objects for observation consideration using his SeeStar S50. Comet C2023-A3, soon to be visible in the October night sky, was his prime target until he released the risks involved. This comet is trackable but still very close to the sun. The S50 likes to track around a bit when orienting. Therefore too much risk exits that it
might end up pointing at the sun, and burn out its sensor.
(Keep in mind that October 12 just after sunset in Stratford is the best time to observe comet C2023-A3 with binoculars or other telescopic equipment. Click HEREto read Ethan Siegel’s article publishing in BIG THINK for more details).
Then, using the SeeStar, why not observe a nova?
Ken describes “an interesting exercise” he conducted, figuring out how to match up the nova image with the AAVSO finder chart, for instance, to photograph a recent nova, V615-Vul.
As Ken points out, there is another nova on on the way, T Corona Borealis, getting attention in astronomical news for some months now. Latest prediction is that the nova may occur by the end of Oct-2024. When it happens, it could be a mag 3 or even mag 2 object.
( Click HERE for a post by Ezzy Pearson and Chris Lintott published in BBC Sky at Night Magazine on where in the night sky to see this nova).
SAG members attending the September 17 meeting had an up close exposure to the club’s SeeStar S50 astrophotography scope courtesy of members Ken Roberts and Patrick Hayes.
Patrick Hayes showing members Seestar in action
Both members presented separate slide shows (see the two pdfs in this story). Ken started with a slide show highlighting what the SeeStar can do and what it can not do.
Many Youtube videos are available online allowing you opportunities to become familiar with the scope. No eyepieces are used. All is viewed on a screen – an ipad (such as the club’s ipad) on on a smart phone loaded with the SeeStar app.
Patrick opened the SeeStar S50, explaining its small size, the tripod, the main unit and the accompanying case. He also had the club’s ipad purchased for use with the scope.
He explained the importance of having the tripod and scope leveled. Also, most important to remember, attach the solar filter to the scope while pointed away from the sun before any solar viewing attempts. The sun can easily fry the scope without a filter attached.
Patrick has compiled a list of his personal favorite Messier objects to view(a link to the list is provided below).
Every year in March, all 110 Messier objects are visible during the course of a single night. Stargazers around the world take advantage of this coincidence and plan a so-called Messier marathon. Should you undertake this challenge and sight every Messier object in a single night of observation, you will be awarded a Messier certificate (Dr. Burns knows the details).
Following the two presentations, and with darkness setting in, the in-class meeting concluded. We moved outside the building to allow Patrick to demonstrate the SeeStar S50 in action.
Members are encouraged to use the SeeStar S50 for themselves. Patrick is the acting custodian for the scope at this moment. To reserve you chance to try it out in your own yard, email Patrick at hayesp42@rogers.com. Your name will be placed on a loaner wait list.
If you are a club member and plan to borrow and use the SeeStar for astrophotography viewing, I recommend you download to your smart device (phone or ipad) the SeeStar app. This will help you become familiar with its interface.
Here is a link to the Patrick’s favorite Messier objects list in pdf formatprepared by Patrick. If you are a club member and are keen to have a copy of the Messier excel file compiled by Patrick, click Here.
Hi All… The June 28th event at Perth museum was very enjoyable. I also had some time to experiment with the Seestar S50. Conclusions thus far: Very useful. Can be used for viewing of bright images — moon, or terrestrial (at distances 30m+).
For starfield or cluster observations, it is an astrophotography scope. For instance, Polaris, viewing for 2 minutes with 10-second exposures, then allowing the scope to stack 12 exposures, gave a good star field. Can easily be transferred to the tablet used to control the scope. One can operate the scope in “station” mode, which means it is accessed via one’s home WiFi router, so from the tablet one has access to internet and to the scope, via the Seestar app. Likely useful if one want to checks email or play chess while waiting for image capture.
The star map is convenient for identifying objects to search for. Have not yet mastered alignment fully, but it was pretty good. Field of view is fixed, big enough to capture full circle of the moon. Typical orientation 0.7 degree wide and 1.2 degree high. AltAz mount does not allow good navigation / observing near local zenith, but of course celestial zenith (Polaris) is no problem as it is about 45 degree altitude locally.
Using a 10-sec exposure is advisable, and produced good images on stacking. Using a 20-sec exposure degraded the image, creating blacked-out streaks on stacked image. Not sure if it is algorithmic or mis-understanding on my part. Anyway, scope is good, keep learning, keep looking UP !! Best, Ken R.
We had our hopes up for star constellation viewing Friday night at the Stratford Museum with the Stratford Astronomy Group (SAG) and their telescopes.
The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield is the latest Tales & Trails story to be featured on the Heritage Trails at the Stratford Museum.
ZWSO SeeStar S50 and tablet on display outdoors
Before the party began, SAG had on display outdoors its recently acquired ZWO Seestar S50 telescope. A small but powerful telescope, we will be sure to bring it out again at future star parties. Using it, deep sky objects can be viewed and displayed on linked phones and Ipad tablets.
Even with cloudy conditions, the party attracted an audience of 30 plus listeners happy to be enthralled by three SAG presenters of the night sky.
Dr. Michael Burns began the talks with a discussion on Constellations that make up the night sky. Engaging the audience with “story” is how Dr. Burns views the constellations. Throughout history, names and mythical stories have been attributed to the star patterns.
The stars are grouped in patterns referred to as constellations. To the ancient Greeks and Romans, the stories depicted in their constellations are of heroes and beasts who received a place among the stars as tribute for their deeds on Earth. They tell stories of the Herdsman tending his flock, stories of the Hunt, and stories of rescue and amazement. The International Astronomical Union lists 88 constellations—48 of which were recorded by Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy during the 2nd century.
European astronomers in the 17th and 18th centuries also contributed to the names used today for the constellations.
Dr. Burns encouraged his audience to create their own stories when viewing the constellations. He also mentioned that a “once in a lifetime” event would occur soon to see a star go NOVA. For more details, click HERE.
Next up to the podium was Doug Fyfe. Trained in astronomy, Fyfe’s subject was Astronomy 101. Full of facts related to the solar system, planets, comets and asteroids, Fyfe engaged his audience as he talked about the sun and the planets and galaxies seen through observational astronomy. He talked about light and the electromagnetic spectrum from low to high frequency.
Patrick Hayes talks of Earth and Sun Interactions
The last talk was delivered by Patrick Hayes. A retired chemist, his story was on the interactions between the Earth and the Sun.
The Stratford Museum’s Megan Patterson was happy with the evening and on behalf of the museum gave a donation of $240 to SAG. See the thank you letter here.
Photographing deep sky objects (DSOs) as well as solar viewing is now possible with a budget-friendly smart telescope.
ZWO makes the seeStar S50, selling for under $700 CAD. This is the smart telescope Mike Burns recommended at the February Club meeting.
It uses the Sony IMX462 CMOS sensor which has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (2 MP). The Seestar has an aperture of 50mm (1.97 in), a focal length of 250mm, and a focal ratio of f/5. It has built-in Bluetooth and WiFi, a battery life of approximately 6 hours.
The mount on the S50 is an altitude azimuth mount and not an EQ mount, so 10 seconds exposure works best. This mount features the ability to find and track any object in the night sky plus the Sun. Once you select the object you wish to capture, the mount will automatically point to it and keep it centered for the exposure astrophotography.
The Seestar S50 is not equipped to capture detailed images of planets, but you’ll be able to see craters on the Moon and detailed sunspots on the Sun.
Clicking this link provides great details on this smart telescope.
And, for a deeper dive into the Seestar S50 and how to use for viewing DSOs, see this youtube vide0
Are we alone in the universe? What is the possibility that intelligent life exists on one of the many planets orbiting the billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy? Or the billions of stars in the billions of galaxies in the universe?
Wow, put that way, the glass seems half full. Surely, conscience, intelligent life is out there, somewhere. Then, there is the Fermi Paradox named after Enrico Fermi. He was an Italian physicist who, in the 1950s, posed the question, “Where is everybody”, referring to aliens from space?
Physicist Brian Cox tackles this question in a YouTube video which SAG member Bill Thompson suggests is worth viewing. You can view it HERE.
