In this month’s issue Solar Astronomy with a PST Junior Star Gazers Hugh’s View
Online Astronomy Society celebrates the launch of its new academy!
OAS Academy Your Observations
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Solar Astronomy with a Personal Solar Telescope A Personal Solar Telescope allows the user to see solar flares and plagues on the Suns surface. To take images of the Sun using a Personal Solar Telescope, you will need A Meade Coronado Personal Solar Telescope Camera (DSLR or webcam) 3 x Barlow Laptop Capture software (we use the EOS Capture utility that can with our camera). Data Cable to connect the camera to the laptop I use an EQ1 mount which is the smallest of the EQ series to mount the PST on. Unfortunately at the time of writing this the seeing was not good and I was fighting high winds.
First job is to attach the barlow to the nose adapter. This has already been done in the picture. We then need to attach the “T� adapter left
The assembly is now ready to mount onto the body of a DSLR camera
With the assembly now mounted onto the camera, we are good to go!
OR nearly!
Two areas where I have come unstuck in this kind of work, is to ensure the camera is set to (Monochrome), and the battery is full. Check with your camera instructions if unsure how to check this
Another quick check before docking it into the telescope is to ensure the mode is set to “M�, Manual.
The next stage for me is, I like to insert the data cable into the camera at this time
On my camera this is at the side. It is the data. You can see it inserted below
Setups can vary, but I use this EQ1 driven mount, you can see the screw on top where the PST is mounted
The mount has been loosely pointed north, with the drive controller and battery pack inserted.
In this setup the PST is screwed onto the EQ1 mount as you can see
Everyone is different, but I like to align the telescope to the Sun using a white piece of paper, once the telescope shadow is aligned as indicated, the Sun SHOULD be in the field of view
The circular window on top is the finder. Once the Sun appears as a white spot in the window it should be in the field of view
Now Is the time to turn on the drive and mount the camera
Simply insert the camera nosepiece assembly into the telescope eyepiece barrel as shown
The final assembly, ready to go, you can see the USB data cable has been plugged in. At this point ensure the camera is switched on, you might also need to make further adjustments to ensure the Sun is still in view once attaching the camera. I align with the camera as it makes for a less complicated shadow for alignment purposes.
As indicated earlier I did not have the best conditions when collecting data for this, there is a better course in the academy, however we will continue to walk you through the process
Once the camera is on and ready, fire up your capturing software. We are using the EOS utility software that came with this camera
You see here an overview of how the sun appears Adjust the expose here
Adjust the ISO here
Take the shot with the black button! One thing that becomes apparent is there is NO need to touch the camera, it’s all controlled from that interface Achieving focus. Fine focussing is something that is an art and is a trade off with seeing conditions However if you use the mouse to move the white rectangle as seen in the live view screen, double click that to pull up the fine focus window. As a means of keeping this article to a reasonable length all that happens is another window comes up, use that to focus on the prominence then cancel it off once complete. You are then good to go Each time you take a shot, a preview of what you have taken will show the computer screen so you can decide if you’re happy with it or try again.
This method has worked for me for some time now, the process is not a lot different to using a webcam just you’re using different software. For the best results, keep a towel to hand so you can throw it over your head when working at the laptop (keeps the suns glare out of your eyes). If you choose to work from just the live view of the camera, ensure your SD card is inserted and has enough space to save your work. Also consider the longer the exposure, the more likely your image is going to show some shake. Keep in mind when doing this kind of work to NOT glare at the Sun just glance for direction and to gauge cloud cover. Also if you’re working on a particularly windy day as I was when I compiled this, it’s going to cause issues with telescope stability (it will be battered by the wind). Sometimes, working at a high ISO and lower exposure works best. My suggestions, if conditions are favourable, use an ISO or 100-200 and an exposure of no more than a second. If you prefer detail, use ISO 100, exposure 1/13 second or so. You will barely see the Sun in the live view BUT you will do more to bring out surface detail. For prominences and flares, same ISO but use 1 exposure
A more detailed course is available with the Online Astronomy Society Academy. In this the course covers a more informed video on the setup, with a proper video on how to capture and process the final image, all for £12 per year including ALL updates or additions to the Academy. Click here for more details
The material on the academy is designed by amateur astronomers for amateur astronomers ,with the aim of training the astronomical community in practical and theoretical skills, so they can get the most out of this amazing hobby. The main reasons for the formation were:
To provide a service as discussed above To assist Alastair into one of his goals, this is to get a foot hold in E-Learning. He does love his training!
Courses are all online, interested parties can enrol for £12 for the year; this allows access to ALL courses and updates.
To celebrate the launch and given that Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, we thought we would make an offer that no heavenly body could refuse. Why not treat your astronomical beloved to a year’s enrolment on the academy, complete with a personalised message from yourself and a FREE copy of the DVD Eyes on the Skies, posted direct to your partners address or venue of your choice Your partner will receive a custom card complete with their login details for both the forum and the academy, so all they will need to do is login. The year starts from when they first login!
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User friendly interface
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In Andromeda, we have some interesting galaxies. Although M110 is classified as a dwarf galaxy it is still a substantial object; based on its major diameter of 21.9 arc minutes and distance of 2.6 million light years then I estimate its size at over 16,500 light years. Bands of dust are faintly visible in my image, towards the galaxy’s nucleus. Although M110 appeared in a drawing of the Andromeda Galaxy made by Charles Messier in 1773 he did not include it in his catalogue. It wasn't until 1966 that astronomers made it the final M-numbered object. Personally I like to give Caroline Herschel the opportunity to step into the limelight. Unaware of Messer’s drawing she independently discovered M110 in August 1783 giving it her own catalogue number CH9. Caroline selflessly supported the work of her more famous brother William as would have been expected of her at that time, but she still managed to carve out her own place in the history of astronomy. (Image details: 8” Meade LX90, Meade DSI II CCD colour camera, Meade f3.3 focal reducer, stack of 18 x 30sec exposures)
Snaps of the Sky Many people when they first get into Astronomy are focussed on imaging. This one is for you. If you have a DSLR camera like we saw in the PST section above, try setting the ISO to around 400 and taking a 15 second shot of a constellation. To do this you will need to mount the camera on a tripod, point and shoot. ISO 400 should be ok, but experiment. 15 secs should be long enough before you see the trail caused by the Earth’s rotation. With this setting it should be possible to take some really cool pictures of the constellations. Try Orion, see if you can spot the nebular, M42 in the image!
Orion and the Moon
Conjunction of Moon, Venus, and Jupiter
Catherine Leith’s Junior Stargazers OAS juniors OAS Juniors aims to provide interesting articles targeted at our younger audience. Children are the future of astronomy and OAS hopes to not just educate but inspire the astronomers of the next generation. This month we look at Asteroids‌
Asteroids
What are asteroids?
An asteroid is a large rock in outer space. Some, like Ceres, can be very large, while others are as small as a grain of sand. Due to their smaller size, asteroids do not have enough gravity to pull themselves into the shape of a ball. Astronomers group asteroids into different categories based on the way they reflect sunlight. The asteroid belt is divided into an inner belt and an outer belt. The inner belt, which is made up of asteroids that are within 250 million miles (402 million km) of the Sun, contains asteroids that are made up of metals.
The outer belt, which includes asteroids 250 million miles beyond the Sun, consists of rocky asteroids. These asteroids appear darker than the asteroids of the inner belt, and are rich in carbon.
Where did the Asteroid Belt come from? Asteroids are materials left over from the formation of the Solar System. These materials were never able to become a planet because they were so close to the strong gravity of the planet Jupiter.
How many asteroids are there? There have been 26 very large asteroids that have been discovered which are probably most of the big ones. But there are still millions of smaller ones that we have yet to see because they are so tiny, only a mile across or so. If we stuck all the asteroids together to form a planet it would be smaller than our Moon! The largest known non-planet object in our Solar System is Quaoar. It is onetenth the size of Earth, and is larger than all the other asteroids put together. Ceres at 600 miles wide was thought to be the largest asteroid until 2001 when a larger one was discovered. This new asteroid, called 2001 KX76, was found orbiting the Sun near Pluto. Ida is a unique little asteroid as it has its own moon called Dactyl.
Match game!
A large rock in outer space
the Asteroid Belt
Ida has a moon named
formation of Solar System
Biggest asteroid until 2001
Dactyl
Asteroids are left over material from
Asteroid
Most asteroids are found in
2001 KX76
New largest asteroid is called
Ceres
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