Active regions 2108 and 2109 are now passing around the limb of the Sun, but not before solar photography specialist Alan Friedman grabbed a few pictures of them on Friday! The image above, captured by Alan from his location in Buffalo, NY, shows the two large sunspots nestled in a forest of solar spicules while a large detached prominence hovers several Earth-diameters inside the corona. A beautiful snapshot of our home star!
Captured in hydrogen-alpha wavelengths, the image above has been colored by Alan, rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, and inverted from the original. The sunspots and standing prominence are cooler in Ha than the surrounding chromosphere and corona, and so actually photograph darker.
A view of sunspot 2109 in visible light can be seen below:
AR2109 photographed by Alan Friedman on July 11, 2014.
Sunspots are the result of magnetic fields rising up from deep within the Sun, preventing convection from occurring in large areas on the Sun’s surface and thereby creating relatively cooler regions we see as dark spots. They can often be many times the size of Earth and can be sources of powerful solar flares.
See these and more images by Alan on his blog here.
The big proxigean full Moon rises over Daganzo de Arriba, near Madrid, Spain on July 12, 2014. Credit and copyright: Alvaro Ibañez Perez.
Did you hear there was something special about the full Moon this weekend… that it would be, well… really super? I heard about it on every newscast I watched or listened to. Even xkcd got into the ‘Supermoon’ craze. The July “Buck” Moon was the first of three Supermoons on tap for 2014, where the Moon is at its perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit, close to the time when it is “officially” full.
If you didn’t hear about it, (or weren’t paying attention) you may not have noticed anything different, as its not radically different from a regular full Moon. Read all the detail of what a Supermoon is here. But as Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory, said on NASA’s website, “However, if it gets people out and looking at the night sky and maybe hooks them into astronomy, then it’s a good thing,”
And people were out with their cameras, too! Here’s a great collection of full Moon images from this weekend, as seen in our Flickr Gallery.
An over-exposed beauty showing the full Moon rising through the clouds on July 12, 2014 near Bromsgrove, England, United Kingdom. Credit and copyright: Sarah and Simon Fisher.The rising “super moon” of July 12, 2014, rising above a canola field in southern Alberta, Canada. Credit and copyright: Alan Dyer/Amazing Sky Photography.A Mississippi Super Moonscape on July 12, 2014. Credit and Copyright: Veronica M Photography.The ‘Supermoon’ setting on the morning of July 13, 2014 at around 6 am local time near Kapiolani, Honolulu, Hawaii. Credit and copyright: Henry Weiland.A 3-exoposure of the full Moon on July 12, 2014, taken near Cap-Rouge, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Credit and copyright: Denis Marquis. The July 12, 2014 Supermoon or perigee full moon shares the night sky with fireworks from a display in Chester, New York. Credit and copyright: Tom Bushey.Moonrise with a flyby. July 13, 2014 from the UK. Credit and copyright: SculptorLil on Flickr.The rising waning Moon on July 13, 2014, from near Bedfordshire, UK. Credit and copyright: DawnSunrise on Flickr.
Be advised that this month’s big full Moon was not the closest of the year. The closest Full Moon of 2014 occurs next month on August 10th at 18:11 Universal Time (UT) or 1:44 PM EDT. On that date, the Moon reaches perigee or its closest approach to the Earth at 356,896 kilometres distant at 17:44, less than an hour from Full.
The Sagittarius Spoon with dwarf planet Pluto (14.1 Mag) crossing the star fields of Sagittarius.
The arrow points to the location of Pluto. Image taken from Dexter, Iowa on June 29, 2014 around 3:50 am local time. Credit and copyright: John Chumack.
Last week, we encouraged those of you with a decent sized backyard telescope (and a little patience) to try and spot tiny dwarf planet Pluto, which was at opposition over this past weekend.
One of our favorite astrophotographers, John Chumack, did just that using the “Sagittarius Spoon” to zero-in on Pluto’s location.
“Most astronomers are familiar with the Great Tea Pot of Sagittarius, but just above the Teapot’s Handle is the Sagittarius Spoon!” John said via email. His annotated image, above, shows the spoon and the arrow points to Pluto.
See a non-annotated version, below, and try to also spot some very familiar deep sky objects in this field of view:
A non-annotated version of the Sagittarius Spoon and Pluto on 06-29-2014 from Dexter, Iowa. Credit and copyright: John Chumack.
Can you see:
Globular Clusters M22, M28, NGC-6717
Open Star Clusters M25, M18
Emission Nebulae M17 The Swan or Omega Nebula & M16 The Eagle Nebula
M24 The Sagittarius Star Cloud, (also awesome in binoculars, John says)
John used a modified Canon 40D DSLR & 50mm lens @F5.6, ISO 1600 for a Single 4 minute exposure while tracking on a CG-4 Mount. And friends from Dexter, Iowa provided the view!
Update:
Larry McNish from the Calgary Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada also sent in two images of Pluto at opposition. All the details are on the images, but they emphasize just how difficult capturing Pluto can be:
Pluto two days before opposition on July 2, 2014. Credit and copyright: Larry McNish, Calgary Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.Pluto, four days after opposition on July 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: Larry McNish, Calgary Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
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“Saw a beautiful Southern Light last night. I so wish you could see this with your own eyes!” Image taken from the International Space Station (ISS) on 5 July 2014. Credit: ESA/Alexander Gerst
Spectacular snapshots of the Southern Lights, Shooting Stars, the Sahara Desert and much more are streaming back from space to Earth courtesy of Alexander Gerst, ESA’s German astronaut currently serving aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
See a gallery of Alex’s stunning space-based views (sagenhafte Weltraum bilder) collected herein – starting with the auroral fireworks seen from space – above. It coincides with the Earth-based fireworks of America’s 4th of July Independence Day weekend celebrations and spectacular Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs) wafting over the Northern Hemisphere. NLC gallery here.
“Saw a beautiful Southern Light last night. I so wish you could see this with your own eyes!” Alex tweeted in English.
Gerst is posting his Earth & space imagery from the ISS on a variety of social media including Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and his ESA astronaut blog bilingually in English and German.
Another new snapshot of Earth’s “beautiful Southern Lights” taken from the ISS on 5 July 2014. Credit: ESA/Alexander Gerst
“Habe gestern ein wunderschönes Südlicht gesehen. Ich wünschte ihr könntet das mit eigenen Augen sehen!” Alex tweeted in German.
Check out Alexander Gerst’s stunning 1st timelapse video from the ISS:
Video Caption: ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst’s first timelapse from the International Space Station features the first shooting star that he saw from above. Made by stitching together over 250 images this short clip shows the beauty of our world and the space around it. Published on July 5, 2014. Credit: ESA/Alexander Gerst
Gerst launched to the ISS on his rookie space flight on May 28, 2014 aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule along with Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman.
ISS Expedition 40 patch
The trio are members of Expeditions 40 and 41 and joined three more station flyers already aboard – cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov & Oleg Artemyev and astronaut Steve Swanson – to bring the station crew complement to six.
Alex will spend six months on the ISS for ESA’s Blue Dot mission. He is Germany’s third astronaut to visit the ISS. He is trained as a geophysicist and a volcanologist.
Gerst also has practiced and honed another talent – space barber! He shaved the heads of his two American crew mates – to match his bald head – after winning a friendly wager with them when Germany beat the US in a 2014 FIFA World Cup match on June 26.
Here’s several of Alexander Gerst’s newest views of the Sahara Desert and more.
“Even from space, the Sahara looks dry! Sogar vom Weltraum aus, sieht die Sahara trocken aus!” Taken from the ISS on 6 July 2014. Credit: ESA/Alexander Gerst“Harsh land. Windswept valleys in northern Africa. Hartes Land. Windgefraeste Taeler in Nordafrika.” Taken from the ISS on 6 July 2014. Credit: ESA/Alexander Gerst“Sometimes our atmosphere looks incredibly complex and three-dimensional, sometimes you don’t even see it. Manchmal schaut unsere Atmosphäre unglaublich Komplex und dreidimensional aus, manchmal fast unsichtbar.” Taken from the ISS on 5 July 2014. Credit: ESA/Alexander GerstAntarctic aurora. The Antarctic aurora, photographed by ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst and posted on social media with the comment: “Antarctic Aurora fleeing from sunrise. I have rarely seen something more magical in my life!” Credits: ESA/NASA/Alexander Gerst
Stay tuned here for Ken’s continuing ISS, OCO-2, GPM, Curiosity, Opportunity, Orion, SpaceX, Boeing, Orbital Sciences, MAVEN, MOM, Mars and more Earth & Planetary science and human spaceflight news.
Learn more about Orbital Sciences Antares ISS launch on July 11 from NASA Wallops, VA, and more about SpaceX, Boeing, commercial space, NASA’s Mars missions and more at Ken’s upcoming presentations.
July 10/11: “Antares/Cygnus ISS Launch from Virginia” & “Space mission updates”; Rodeway Inn, Chincoteague, VA, evening
A 10 panel panorama of the Milkyway, as seen from the top of the Amphitheatre mountain range in the Drakensberg, South Africa. Credit and copyright: Tanja Sund.
During the summer months, many of us hit the trails and do a little camping. But how often do you get a view like this?
Wow! Click on the image above to see larger versions on Flickr.
Astrophotographer Tanja Sund and a companion pitched their tent in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa, a 200-kilometer-long mountainous range in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, with the tent sitting just 10 meters from a 1 kilometer-high vertical drop. “This is the home of the Tugela Waterfall, second highest waterfall in the world,” Tanja wrote on Flickr.
“The hike up to the top of the Amphitheatre took about 3 hours from the Sentinel car park, using the chain ladders to reach the summit,” Tanja said. “This is the only day hiking trail which leads to the top of the Drakensberg escarpment. We overnighted next to the Tugela falls to catch the Milkyway, which rises to the east over the local settlements.”
The image was taken on June 29, 2014.
According to the website about Drakensberg, the Zulu people named it ‘Ukhahlamba’ and the Dutch Voortrekkers ‘The Dragon Mountain.’ The Drakensberg Mountains are known for the hiking trails, areas for rock or ice-climbing, abseiling, white water rafting or helicopter rides to view the “awe-inspiring basalt cliffs, snowcapped in winter, that tower over riverine bush, lush yellowwood forests and cascading waterfalls.” At the top of Sani Pass is the highest pub in Africa, at 3,000 meters above sea level. Something for everyone!
Here’s the specs:
Canon 5D Mark III
24-70mm LII f/2.8
Shot at 24mm, F/3.2
20sec single exposures
10x image panorama
Processed in LightRoom & Photoshop.
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.
Ethereal and stunning sundog-like forms in the clouds over Oxford, England on June 25, 2014. Credit and copyright: Nathanial Burton-Bradford.
My Twitter feed exploded on June 25 with reports of colorful, crazy-looking clouds, sundogs, Sun halos and more. The above image from Nathanial Burton-Bradford is just an example of the type of atmospheric effect called a circumhorizontal arc. These are sometimes referred to as “fire rainbows” but of course are not rainbows, and fire plays no role.
This is an optical phenomenon from sunlight hitting ice crystals in high cirrus clouds. It is actually a rather rare occurrence, but it happens most often during the daytime in summer when the Sun is high in the sky. This creates a rainbow-type effect directly in the ice crystal-filled clouds.
See more examples below.
Wispy clouds and a circumhorizontal arc over Italy. Credit and copyright: Elisabetta Bonora.Circumhorizontal Arc over the UK on June 25, 2014. Credit and copyright: Sculptor Lil on Flickr.
An Iridium Flare flashes over western Maine in this beautiful night sky image from June 2014. Credit and copyright: Mike Taylor/Taylor Photography.
Ever seen a flash in the night sky and wondered if you were seeing things? Iridium flares are often mistaken for meteors because of their notable bright flashes of light in the night sky but they are actually caused by a specific group of satellites that orbit our planet. The Iridium communication satellites are just in the right orbit that when sunlight reflects on their antennas, a flash — or flare — is visible down on Earth. There are currently about 66 Iridium satellites in orbit, so flares are a rather common occurrence.
This image from photographer Mike Taylor is one frame from a timelapse of the Milky Way and other features of the night sky in motion against a silhouetted foreground. “Photographed from western Maine, this shot includes quite a bit of light pollution and some fast moving cloud cover,” Mike told Universe Today via email. “Most of the light pollution in this image is coming from Farmington, Maine which is about 35 miles from this location.”
Mike added the footage from this timelapse will be featured in his upcoming short film “Shot In The Dark.”
He also provided this info about Iridium flares:
Iridium satellites are in near-polar orbits at an altitude of 485 miles. Their orbital period is approximately 100 minutes with a velocity of 16,800 miles per hour. The uniqueness of Iridium flares is that the spacecraft emits ‘flashes’ of very bright reflected light that sweep in narrow focused paths across the surface of the Earth. An Iridium communication satellite’s Main Mission Antenna is a silver-coated Teflon antenna array that mimics near-perfect mirrors and are angled at 40-degrees away from the axis of the body of the satellites. This can provide a specular reflection of the Sun’s disk, periodically causing a dazzling glint of reflected sunlight. At the Earth’s surface, the specular reflection is probably less than 50 miles wide, so each flare can only be viewed from a fairly small area. The flare duration can last from anywhere between 5 to 20 seconds and can easily be seen by the naked eye.
If you want to try and see an Iridum flare for yourself, check out Heavens Above for your location.
For this image Mike used:
Nikon D600 & 14-24 @ 14mm
f/2.8 – 30 secs – ISO 3200 – WB Kelvin 3570
06/23/14 – 11:07PM
Processed via Lightroom 5 & Photoshop CS5
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.
The waning crescent Moon below Venus, rising in the east on June 24, 2014 as seen from home over the flat prairie horizon of southern Alberta, Canada. Credit and copyright: Alan Dyer.
Did you see the crescent Moon near a bright star on Tuesday morning this week? Many of our Flickr group astrophotographers captured gorgeous shots of the two together in the sky, including this eye-candy image from Alan Dyer from Canada. Just take a look!
A beautiful conjunction between the Moon, the very bright planet Venus, and the easily recognizable open star cluster of the Pleiades from central Italy on the morning of June 24, 2014. Credit and copyright: Giuseppe Petricca.The waning crescent Moon and Venus as seen from the UK on June 24, 2014. Credit and copyright: Sculptor Lil on Flickr.Moon and Venus Conjunction approximately 1 hour before sunrise on 24th June 2014. Looking east over central London with Canary Wharf on the horizon. Credit and copyright: Roger Hutchinson.Venus and Waning Crescent Moon on June 24, 2014. Credit and copyright: Stephen Rahn.
Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.
Star trails at Balanced Rock in the Arches National Park in Utah on May 30, 2014. Credit and copyright: César Cantu.
Wow! This video brought tears to my eyes because of its sheer beauty. Our friend and frequent astrophoto contributor César Cantu fulfilled a lifelong dream this past month of taking a trip through the southwestern of the United States, to “see and feel the shocking nature reflected in the Grand Canyon, in the Arches National Park and in the terrible atmosphere of Death Valley,” he told us via email.
Although César produced this video entirely on his own, the US Park Service and the states in the US Southwest couldn’t have a better promotional video! It is simply stunning, showing both the splendid landscapes during the day and the magnificent starscapes at night.
He drove from his native Mexico to the US Southwest, carrying several cameras to capture multiples landscapes, “to show different characteristics from the nature of our planet.”
“I drove just over 7,000 miles in 32 days and I visited all these extraordinary places,” César said. “I believe that nature, humanity and society, have found support and positive, creative, respectful and viable response from the National Park Service of the United States of America.”
Make sure you see the night sky footage starting at about :50 — it’s amazing! And the video César took while driving down a desert road is really fun to “ride along.”
The Milky Way over Saguaro National Park on June 17, 2014. Credit and copyright: César Cantu.
“I must say that the trip was so exciting, and I am already planning another for next summer!” he added.
We can’t wait to see more of his travel pics!
You can see more images from César’s “dream” trip at his website.
Thanks once again to César Cantu for sharing his work with Universe Today!
Screencap from a Vine video from Reid Wiseman on the International Space Station.
Oh, man you’re killin’ me Reid! Astronaut Reid Wiseman has been flooding the Twitter-waves with photos and news from the International Space Station, (you really need to check out his feed if you haven’t yet) and he’s also doing that crazy Vine video thing too. (In fact he did the first Vine from space earlier this month). This one is just awesomely beautiful.
