David's Astronomy Pages
CCD Images - Session 581 (2015-03-24)

Objects Session Notes
Bullet Moon
Bullet Jupiter - Planet
Bullet Jupiter Moons
Bullet C/2012 Q2 (Lovejoy) - Comet
Bullet Tombaugh 5 - Open Cluster
   
Bullet Photometric Monitoring - Variables
  IW And, Z And, CZ Ori, FU Ori, RR Tau
   
Bullet Astrometric Monitoring - Nearby Stars
  Groombridge 34
   
Bullet Solar Eclipse 2015-03-20
   
- Evening session (2.3 hrs duration).   First session with new filters : BVRI,  Xo (Blue-Blocking Exoplanet), S (Star Analyser 200) and Nd (1.5% Neutral Density).
- Session operated under semi-automated control, with remote monitoring from indoors computer.  
- Ambient Temperature:  Temperature falling progressively to minimum of -2 degC before rising to 0 degC as cloud began to develop.
- CCD operation -30 degC (at 68% average cooling). 
- Main objectives of the session was to monitor selected variable stars & nearby stars and to take gallery images of a range of deep sky objects.  
-  
- Focus Offsets for new filters determined during a short session three nights beforehand (2015-03-21). Flats for new and existing filters taken the following day (2015-03-25).

Moon

Moon (25.4% phase)
 Image
CCD Image Mosaic (20% size)
3x4 mosaic, 0.2 sec exposure, 2x2 binning, 1.5% Neutral Density Filter
2015-03-24 20:56hUT (#581036-47)
12" LX200R  (at f/10.4) + ST-10XME
  
Moon - detail
Image
Part of CCD Image Mosaic (75% size, cropped)
Image details as above

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Jupiter - Planet

Jupiter
Image
Processed CCD Image (stacked, unsharp masked, cropped)
12 x 0.2 sec exposure (combined), 1x1 binning, 1.5% Neutral Density Filter
2015-03-24 21:14hUT (#581052-67)
12" LX200R  (at f/10.4) + ST-10XME
 
Jupiter
Image
Rotated CCD Image 
(stacked, unsharp masked, rotated, cropped)
Image details as above

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Jupiter Moons

Jupiter Moons
Image
Annotated CCD Image (100% size, cropped)
1 sec exposure, 3x3 binning, 1.5% Neutral Density Filter
2015-03-24 21:11hUT (#581048)
12" LX200R  (at f/10.4) + ST-10XME

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C/2012 Q2 (Lovejoy) - Comet

C/2012 Q2 (Lovejoy)
(Passing through starfield in Perseus)
Sun distance 1.33 AU
 Image
CCD Image (50% size, cropped)
9 x 15 sec exposure (average combine), 3x3 binning, C Filter
2015-03-24 21:33hUT (#581123-31)
12" LX200R  (at f/10.4) + ST-10XME
 
C/2012 Q2 (Lovejoy) - Earlier Image
(Passing through starfield in Pegasus )
Sun distance AU
Image
Annotated CCD Image (100% size, cropped)
3 x 45 sec exposure (average combine), 3x3 binning, C Filter
2014-11-30 20:22hUT (#572086-89)
12" LX200R  (at f/10.4) + ST-10XME

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Tombaugh 5  -  Open Cluster

Tombaugh 5 (Camelopardalis)
CCD Image (75% size)
5 x 60 sec exposure (average combine), 3x3 binning, C Filter 
2015-03-24 22:33 h UT  (#581212-16)
12" LX200R  (at f/10.4) + ST-10XME
 
Earlier Tombaugh 5 Attempt (2014-12-02)
Image
CCD Image (50% size)
5 x 45 sec exposure (average combine), 3x3 binning, C Filter 
2014-11-30 22:59 h UT  (#572283-87)
12" LX200R  (at f/10.4) + ST-10XME

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Variable Stars

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Solar Eclipse - 2015-03-20

Solar Eclipse Observing from just south of Stonehaven, NE Scotland

Photos with handheld digital camera
2015-03-20

Conditions largely overcast but with occasional thinning / gap in cloud
Image
 
Solar Eclipse (near maximum eclipse)
c. 94% coverage by moon disk
Image
  
Image
  
Solar Eclipse - More photos
Image
  
Solar Eclipse - detail
Image
 

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