My Stardust Observatory
  • Home
  • Introduction
  • Astro Blog
  • Education
    • NASA's Saturn Observation Campaign
    • Stardust Astronomy Club
  • Space Lego
  • Astro Links
  • Astro Events
  • Contact Me

~ Ormeau Girl Guides Astronomy Night ~

8/14/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
I was asked by the team leader Casssie to come and visit the girls and give them an astronomy and space evening so they could obtain there astronomy patch on behalf our astronomy society (Southern Astronomy Society).
http://sas.org.au
 
When I arrived the girls were busy making models of the Apollo 13 spacecraft that had an explosion on its way to the Moon, there were all sorts of bits and pieces as they taped the lunar module and lunar lander together so the astronauts could safely arrive back home. This activity was in connection with NASA’s 50th Anniversary of the landing on the Moon.
 
After setting up my telescope, all the girls came outside and I gave them a star tour around the night sky, we were lucky enough to still see the Southern Cross going down in the west with alpha and beta Centauri following.
 
Then I showed them the stunning constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion) that was right above our heads at the zenith with Sagittarius close by. Both Jupiter and Saturn were on show and after that we all went and had a look at the Moon through the telescope…which is always very exciting with lots of Wow’s!
 
Everyone had a great night and all the girls and team leaders thanked me, I got a very special surprise and was given my own girl guides astronomy patch, thank you so much…its just lovely :-)
0 Comments

~ Occultation of Saturn by the Moon on the 12th August 2019 ~

8/12/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture~ My telescope set-up for Saturn event ~
It was still quite light when I set up my telescope to take images of this rare event, Saturn looked ever so small as it neared the darkened western limb of the 11 day old waxing gibbous Moon at 6.30pm.
 
I had to keep a very close eye on the planet, because it was going to disappear very quickly behind the really dark shadow area of the Moon that was unlit by the Sun.
 
Once Saturn disappeared it took nearly one and a half hours to reappear, it was a bit tricky working out where it would come into view again because the eastern limb was extremely bright!
 
In reality, Saturn is a huge planet at a distance of over 1.3 billion kilometers away from us here on earth, but it looks so small as compared with the Moon which is only 384,000 kms away it’s all just an optical Illusion, like most things in the Universe….
 
I used a 127mm APO refractor telescope and a Canon 700D camera that was attached to a tracking HEQ5 Pro mount. I used this lower powered set-up so I could captured the full disc of the Moon and do a composite image of the entire event…it worked out just as I planed :-)
 
1st image is of Saturn just before it disappears at 6.40pm, 12 images were stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in Photoshop CS4. Exposures were 1/200th second and ISO 200. Image is cropped.
 
2nd Image is the full disc of the Moon, 12 images were stacked in Registgack6 and processed in Photoshop CS4. Exposures were 1/200th second and ISO 200.
 
3rd Image is a composite of the three images to show the whole event of the occultation of Saturn by the Moon over a period of one and a half hours from 6.40pm until 8.15pm. 

Picture
Picture
0 Comments

~ Jupiter & Saturn now in our August night sky for prime viewing  ~

8/2/2019

0 Comments

 
Right now is the time to get your telescopes out and look at these two stunning planets in our Solar System. No matter what size telescope you have, you’ll still see the four moons of Jupiter doing an ecliptic moon dance around the planet and you'll see the ring around Saturn.
 
If you don't have a telescope, you could use a large pair of binoculars (10X50mm or more) to see Jupiter and its moons but with the rings of Saturn you’ll definitely need a telescope, as the planet is over 1.3 billion kilometres away from us here on Earth!
Picture
The images of Jupiter & Saturn were taken with a Meade LX200 (GPS) 10inch telescope at prime focus using a ZWO ASI120MC-S camera with a 3x Barlow lens attached. AVI movie files were captured with 2000 frames that were stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4.
Early in the evening you’ll still see the magnificent Milky Way at the zenith and the wonderful deep sky objects that abound in the constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius.
 
Please go to Skymaps.com to download your free star chart to explore your night sky in your own garden…just make sure you download the relevant star chart for your latitude and hemisphere that you live in.
http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html
Picture
~ Southern Hemisphere star chart from Skymaps.com for August 2019 ~
You can also download a FREE App called ‘Star Chart’ from the Apple store which is an excellent planetarium App that you just hold up to the night sky and its shows you the planets and constellations, I always share this App with teachers and students for them to learn the night sky…have lots of fun :-)
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/star-chart/id34554265
0 Comments

    Author

    I just love being under the heavens, come on a journey with me and I’ll share some of the amazing wonders of the Universe with you. Noeleen :-)

    Picture

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Annular Eclipse
    Astronomy Event
    Canon Camera And Lens
    Comets
    Deep Sky Object
    Education
    Equipment
    Lunar Eclipse
    Moon
    Observatory
    Planets
    Seestar S50
    Seestar Sun
    Sky Phenomena
    Software
    Solar Filter And Camera Lens
    Solar Telescope
    Sun And Sunspots
    Total Solar Eclipse
    Travel

Picture
For all current observations of the night sky please go to my Astro Blog:
http://www.mystardustobservatory.com/astro-blog

​
​Copyright information: 

You are welcome to use my images for educational and private use, please credit me.
If you need higher resolution images then please contact me on my contact page, thank you.