BRITTNEY MILLER

Location: Tucson, AZ (32.4364° N, 110.9096° W)

Date and Time: 2025-01-13, 18:30 – 20:00 MDT

Sky conditions: Seeing – average, Transparency – average

Instrument: Celestron C8 SCT @f/10 (native), Aperture 203.3mm, Focal length: 2023

Mount: Advanced VX

Eyepiece: N/A (Imaging)

Reticle Device: N/A

Imaging Equipment: 2x Barlow, ZWO ADC, ZWO UV/IR Cut filter, ZWO ASI 224MC

Image type and sensor: ZWO ASI 224MC – CMOS, IMX224 1/3″ sensor

Image capture details:

Lunar occultations occur when the Moon, in its eastward path about the Earth, passes in front of stars or planets and eclipses them. The precise timing of the occultation concerns that instant when the occulted object seems to blink out behind the Lunar limb or reappears from behind the Lunar limb. These timings supply vital information regarding the Earth-Moon orbit and any changes in the velocity or distance of that orbit. Less frequent, but neater to observe, are occultations by the moon of the naked eye planets. These events, both of stars and planets, are always highlighted ahead of time in the astronomy magazines. Occultations of stars in the Hyades cluster are fairly common. Periodically also, the Pleiades cluster is crossed by our natural satellite. If this type of observation is appealing to you there are resources available that tell you how to do really worthwhile and productive work. You will need to have a telescope available, however. Note the name of the object occulted, the day, month, year, the universal time of the object’s disappearance and reappearance, and the place of your observations.

Mars touched the moon’s western limb at 18:48:19 MST with ingress at 18:48:45 MST. Egress started 19:46:48 MST as it touched the eastern limb, and was fully uncovered by 19:47:26 MST. I created two images from the data collected. The first is a composite image consisting of two separate images – one of the eastern limb of the moon, and the other of Mars. They were combined using the video below as a guide for placement. The second image below is NOT a composite image and was stacked and edited from one AVI file.

The following video shows the Mars egress and is approximately 4x speed.

Location: Decatur, GA (33.7748° N, 84.2963° W)

Date and Time: 2024-12-07, 23:20 – 23:35 EDT

Sky conditions: Seeing – average, Transparency – average

Instrument: Celestron C8 SCT @f/10 (native), Aperture 203.3mm, Focal length: 2023

Mount: Advanced VX

Eyepiece: N/A (Imaging)

Reticle Device: N/A

Imaging Equipment: 2x Barlow, ADC, UV/IR Cut filter, ASI224MC

Image type and sensor: ZWO ASI 224MC – CMOS, IMX224 1/3″ sensor

Image capture details: 120s AVI capture, Start capture: 23:29:33 EDT, End capture: 23:31:39 EDT, Exposure: 10ms, Gain: 319, best 20% stacked of 12,149 frames
Software: ASICap, ASIVideoStack, PixInsight

Observing the planet Mars can be either exciting and rewarding or boring and disappointing. It all depends on where the red planet is in its orbit compared with the Earth. Every 26 months Earth catches up to and passes Mars in Earth’s smaller, faster orbit, and it is during these times that Mars can best be seen. This point of “catch up” is called an opposition. This is the time when Earth and Mars is on the same side of the Sun, resulting in the Sun being on the “opposite” side of the sky from us as is Mars. During this time Mars rises as the Sun sets and sets as the Sun rises, and is at its highest point in our sky at midnight. All oppositions are not created equal, however. Mar’s orbit is more elliptical than our own, and these variations in distance makes Mars appear as small as 13.5 arc-seconds in diameter, or as large as 25 arc-seconds.

A few months before or after these oppositions Mars can still be observed, depending on the objective size of your telescope. Consult your favorite observing periodical for favorable Mars observing times. Many helpful hints will be given and times suggested for successful observing.

Drawing the “god of war” can be literally an illuminating experience. Sketching can help train your eye to see more detail than you would have otherwise noticed. Examine the planet for several minutes. Try an orange filter to see if that helps image contrast. Use the first accompanying circle to sketch in the major features after first locating the polar cap or possible slight phase defect. Just outlining the major features will do. Try to place them as accurately as possible. Note to the nearest minute when you have completed these steps. The first sketch should give accurate positions.

A soft pencil can be used to make a more finished looking version on the second circle. The second can be completed away from the telescope if desired, although as soon as possible while the memory is still good. It can be more “artistic”, shaded to give a B&W photo appearance. If done carefully a very satisfying rendition can be had, and you will not have to be an artist to have accomplished it.

To show the East-West direction of your sketches show with an arrow the direction of drift in your field-of-view without a drive running.

Location: Atlanta, GA (33.7384° N, 84.4234° W)

Date and Time: 2024-12-07, 19:45 – 21:40 EDT

Sky conditions: Seeing – average, Transparency – average

Instrument: Celestron C8 SCT @f/10 (native), Aperture 203.3mm, Focal length: 2023

Mount: Advanced VX

Eyepiece: N/A (Imaging)

Reticle Device: N/A

Imaging Equipment: 2x Barlow, ADC, UV/IR Cut filter, ASI224MC

Image type and sensor: ZWO ASI 224MC – CMOS, IMX224 1/3″ sensor

Image capture details: 46 60s AVI capture, Start capture: 20:04:15 EDT, End capture: 21:40:57 EDT, Exposure: 4.415ms, Gain: 430, best 20% stacked of 3840 frames each
Software: ASICap, ASIVideoStack, PixInsight, Photoshop

Jupiter is by far the easiest planet to observe. Its giant disk offers the most detail to the amateur observer. Even at its smallest it is 30 arc-seconds in diameter, and at opposition it can be almost 50 arc-seconds, twice the size of Mars even though Jupiter is ten times further away from us! You are to time the rotation of the Red Spot across the center of the disk of the planet Jupiter. In the “Calendar Notes” column in Sky and Telescope magazine the dates and times are given when this famous feature on Jupiter is due to cross the Central Meridian of the planet. The Central Meridian (CM) is a line drawn from the planet’s north pole to its south pole dividing the great globe into two equal eastern and western sections. This project will require three timings. The first is the time at which the leading edge of the spot crosses the CM. The second is the time at which the spot appears centered exactly on the CM. The third is the time at which the trailing edge of the spot reached the CM. Use the S&T column to guide your observing sessions. If you can only make one timing, make it number two, the central transit time. Access to a WWV time signal is preferable but if this is impossible, the observation is still acceptable. State if WWV or another standard time source was used in making your report. Do not forget to convert to Universal Time. During the past few years the Great Red Spot has been very pale and should perhaps be known as the Great Pale Salmon Colored Spot!

Location: Arabia Mountain (33.6651° N, 84.1182° W); Decatur, GA (33.7748° N, 84.2963° W)

Date and Time: 2024-10-13, 19:50 – 20:12 EDT; 2024-10-16, 19:42 – 20:07 EDT; 2024-10-19, 19:56 – 20:42 EDT

Sky conditions: Seeing – Good, Transparency – Mag 3

Instrument: (2024-10-16) Apertura 60mm FPL-53 Doublet APO Refractor @ f/6 – Aperture: 60mm, Focal Length: 360mm, (2024-10-19) Celestron C8 SCT @f/10, Aperture 203.3mm, Focal length: 2023, 6.3x reducer

Mount: Advanced VX

Eyepiece: N/A (Imaging + Naked eye observations)

Reticle Device: N/A

Imaging Equipment: Canon T7i, Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6

Image type and sensor: Canon T7i – 1.06″ CMOS sensor

Image capture details: (2024-10-13) 113 frames at 1.3s 110mm f/5, ISO 1600; (2024-10-16) 46 frames at 10s, ISO 800, and 30 each of flats/darks/bias frames; (2024-10-19) 141 frames at 15s, ISO 800. Software: PixInsight, Photoshop

2024-10-13, Sunset 19:05

My partner and I went to Arabia Mountain in Stonecrest, GA to try to get a clear, unobstructed view of C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). We got there before sunset, took a short hike to the top, and saw the beautiful view of the Belt of Venus and the 83% illuminated waxing gibbous moon rising behind us.

As the sky got darker, Venus and other bright stars started to appear. I started shooting about 45 minutes after sunset, experimenting with exposure, ISO, and focal length settings. I ended up shooting at 110mm f/5, 1.3 second exposure, and a ISO of 1600 with a Canon T7i and Canon EF 75-300mm lens. It was around this time that our eyes had adapted to the low light setting, and we actually saw the comet with our naked eyes! It was pretty faint, but once found, it was easy to spot. It looked somewhat like the “naked eye” visual from the post below.

EXPECTATION VS. REALITY: Stunning photos of our comet are already circulating around social media. Make no mistake, most of these images are legitimate. But they're also not representative of what most of you are going to see.

While this comet does qualify as "naked eye"… pic.twitter.com/1RquKU1u6Y

— Eric Snitil (@EricSnitilWx) October 17, 2024

I ended up manually aligning and stacking 113 frames in Photoshop. After stacking, I did some final editing to produce the image below.

As the sky got darker and the moon got brighter, it got harder to see the comet. But it helped create this pretty, dream-like gradient that is seen in the final image.

2024-10-16, sunset 19:01

I wanted to shoot the comet from the comfort of home a few days later when it was higher in the sky. I also wanted to use a telescope this time to see if I could capture more detail. So, I set up my Apertura 60mm with my Canon T7i and captured 46 frames at 10 second exposure, ISO 800, and 30 each of flats/darks/bias frames. I calibrated and stacked my data in PixInsight and ended up with two separate images – one comet-less with stars aligned and one starless with comet aligned. I was able to combine them and make my final edits in Photoshop.

I was able to bring out the anti-tail with about 7.6 minutes of total integration time.

2024-10-19, sunset 18:58

I then wanted to shoot the comet again, but several days later so it would be even higher in the sky allowing me to gather more data. This time I used my C8 and a 6.3X focal reducer, and captured 141 frames at 15 second exposure, ISO 800. As with the last image, I combined two images – comet-less and starless – together in Photoshop and made my final edits.

I was able to capture more detail in the tail, and around the coma and nucleus of the comet with around 35 minutes of integration time.