Any star gazers and amateur astronomers ?

A change of pace for me. I decided to try my very 1st photo of the Milky Way galactic core. This was taken at the Breachway in Charlestown, RI. ~9PM on 9/6/2023. Maybe Bortle 4 skies. This is at the ocean, so there was some slight haze as it was almost 80 deg. F at the time. As I was driving to the site, the Milky Way became evident almost right away. I set up my iPhone 13 Pro Max on a tripod and shot this with the native camera app in night mode. Given the darkness I was able to get maximum exposure time.

 

Visiting my son in Southern NJ for the birth of my granddaughter. Had a free night so went out to a site with clear views south (which I don't have at home in RI). I was able to get this mosaic of the Eagle Nebula. Used a light pollution filter, stretched in Siril with a Hubble Palette. The Pillars of Creation are readily visible. I wasn't sure about this as the initial elevation of this target was ~30 degrees and ended up at ~23 degrees when I was forced to quit. I was able to get 628 10 second subs. Overall happy with the resulting image:

 

Congratulations on the granddaughter! I hope all are doing well!!

Interesting target at opposition now:
https://x.com/keckobservatory/status/1703877662249480699?s=46

I’ve only observed it visually but you guys set up with cameras should be able to get some good pics

 

Thanks!

 

With AI, who knows what’s real at this point but it’s at least an honorable mention:
https://x.com/scienceworld224/status/1704556027578896695?s=46

 

I listened to a webinar today on "Unearthing Strange Worlds: How We Decode the Geology of Distant Planets". These are put on by iTelescope. These are freebies and always good.

 

The Ghost of Cassiopeia Nebula. 1010 10 second subs, light pollution filter, stretched in Affinity Photo 2. Bortle 6 due to moon. Taken 09/26/2023

 

An astrophotographer’s dream shot: https://x.com/explorecosmos_/status/1707250980230676485?s=46

 

This is one of my all time favorite. I gaze at it when ever I can. Great Pic, by the way.

 

I wish that I would have held off buying the Go to Scope that I have. It's so big and heavy, that I don't actually use it much. This is what I should have waited on, but I didn't know it was coming out.


https://www.highpointscientific.com...2472?msclkid=a7c64ae32ff3186f056c2ff6ce3af7cd

 

Not sure if anyone has used humble bundle before, but they have some nifty astronomy programs in a bundle right now

I've bought a number of things from this site. If the software is what you're looking for, this could be a good deal

https://www.humblebundle.com/softwa...2ca898014a2:1&linkID=65146da1601bf1bcd604a532

 

A view we’ll never see:
https://x.com/scienceworld224/status/1707998713778405725?s=46

 

I was out in Utah for the last 5 days, while there I planned to get some night shots of the MW but the harvest moon screwed that up, we did see the starlink train of satellites pass by on 2 nights which was pretty cool to see. I wonder what the sky will look like when ha's launched 4K of them? I'm not so sure I'm onboard with that.

 

I agree with your sentiment! The added sky pollution is not something I want to see continued. It is possible to make Starlink satellites invisible to the naked eye. SpaceX is already working on a number of different techniques to reduce the brightness of its satellites, including:

• Using darker materials: The satellites' surfaces could be coated with a darker material, such as a matte black paint. This would reduce the amount of sunlight reflected off the satellites.
• Adding sun visors: Small sun visors could be deployed on the satellites to block sunlight from hitting their reflective surfaces.
• Using less reflective antennas: The satellites' antennas could be made less reflective by using a different material or design.

SpaceX has already begun to test some of these techniques on its newer satellites. For example, the company's "VisorSat" satellites have sun visors that have been shown to reduce their brightness by up to 31%.

It is possible that SpaceX could eventually develop Starlink satellites that are completely invisible to the naked eye. However, this would likely require a combination of all of the techniques described above, as well as some new technological developments.

It is important to note that even if Starlink satellites were made completely invisible to the naked eye, they could still have a negative impact on astronomy. The satellites' radio emissions could interfere with radio telescopes and other astronomical instruments. SpaceX is also working to mitigate this impact, but it is a complex problem that is not yet fully solved.

Overall, it is likely that Starlink satellites will have some impact on our view of the night sky and on astronomical research. However, SpaceX is committed to minimizing this impact, and it is possible that the company will eventually be able to develop Starlink satellites that are both useful for internet access and invisible to the naked eye.

 

They also have not addressed how they will handle the debris as they fail. In theory, they decay and burn up. Regardless, they should not make space another garbage dump.

 

I’m also torn about Starlinks impact on the night sky..

I do think they work to address concerns, including space debris, and are public with these efforts. Moreso than their competitors imho..

 

Their biggest competitors are geostationary satellites. Starlink is launched in Low Earth Orbit and using butt-tons of satellites. All LEO companies will be stuck launching satellites forever and right now, I think there are only one or two competitors in that space and I doubt the other competitors combined total more than a 100 satellites total.

*Butt-tons is a number up to or equal to 12,000.

 

This is a panorama comprised of 4 2.4 x 2.4 degree mosaic frames. My Vespera has a maximum square FOV of that 2.4 value. Fitting the entire Andromeda galaxy into the square results in some truncation of the galaxy image. I imaged 4 frames with a guesstimated 20% overlap, stitched those resulting images with Affinity Photo 2. The resulting panorama was cleaned up in Affinity and some final touch-ups with StarTools. Each mosaic frame integration time was ~1 hour. Longer duration should result in better clarity and detail.

 

looks like a dam fine pic to me. too bad our eyes can't see images that good.

 

For the lucky few in the path! Wishing you clear skies, be safe:
https://x.com/nws/status/1712170532030841028?s=46