Daily Archives: December 16, 2013

Moon online. December 16, 2013

The Moon is the only celestial body other than Earth on which humans have set foot. The Soviet Union’s Luna programme was the first to reach the Moon with unmanned spacecraft in 1959; the United States’ NASA Apollo program achieved the only manned missions to date, beginning with the first manned lunar orbiting mission by Apollo 8 in 1968, and six manned lunar landings between 1969 and 1972, with the first being Apollo 11. These missions returned over 380 kg of lunar rocks, which have been used to develop a geological understanding of the Moon’s origins, the formation of its internal structure, and its subsequent history.

Equipment:
Meade LX200 16”
SBIG 8300m + filters baader
Exp.: 0.12
Crescent Moon: 99 % of visibility.

Observatory SPONLI

The Sun Online and solar activity. December 16, 2013

The background X-ray radiation is situated in the top B-level (B7). The strongest solar flare was a C3.6 flare originating from Catania sunspot region 80 (NOAA AR 1917). The probability for C-flares is around 70%, M-flares around 20%, the chances for an X-flare are low. The >10MeV proton flux measured by GOES had a small bump, but remained below the event threshold (10 pfu) and is now back at background level. The origin of this enhancement currently is unclear. No Earth directed CMEs were observed in coronagraphic data. We are currently inside a slow solar wind stream with a solar wind speed of 400 km/s, as observed by ACE. The interplanetary magnetic field currently is weak with a magnitude of about 5 nT. Geomagnetic conditions are quiet (K<3) to unsettled (K=3) and are expected to remain so.
SIDC

Equipment: Coronado 90 + SBIG 8300s + LX75
Processing: Photoshop
Date: 12/16/13
Time UT: 00:00
Exposure 0.8 sec.

With SPONLI Space is getting closer!

Yutu Rover Rolls onto the Moon

Image Credit: Chinese National Space Administration, Xinhuanet

A new desk-sized rover has begun exploring the Moon. Launched two weeks ago by the Chinese National Space Administration, the Chang’e 3 spacecraft landed on the Moon yesterday and deployed the robotic rover. Yutu, named for a folklore lunar Jade Rabbit, has a scheduled three-month mission to explore several kilometers inside the Sinus Iridum (Latin for “Bay of Rainbows”) impact crater. Yutu’s cameras and spectrometers will investigate surface features and composition while ground penetrating radar will investigate deep soil structure. Chang’e 3 achieved the first soft Moon landing since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976, and Yutu is the first lunar rover deployed since the USSR’s Lunokhod 2 in 1973. Pictured above, Yutu was imaged from its lander yesterday soon after rolling onto the Moon.

Comet Lovejoy on December ´13

Scope: William optics GTF81
Camera: canon 5D MarkII
Mount: NEQ6
Exp: 6 min. with 81 mm refractor at f5.9

Autor: Mohammad Nouroozi

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI
16 December 2013

We select the best works of amateur astrophotographers with details of equipment, shooting processing etc.

The Sun Online and solar activity. December 15, 2013

The background X-ray radiation is situated in the top B-level (B7). The probability for C-flares is around 60%, M-flares around 20%, the chances for an X-flare are low. There were several CMEs on December 14. All of them were limb events. No impact on Earth is expected. The geomagnetic conditions were active (Kp=4) yesterday, December 14 due to the interaction of a slow and fast solar wind linked with a coronal hole. We are again heading to a slow wind. We expect the geomagnetic conditions to cool down and return to quiet.
SIDC

Equipment: Coronado 90 + SBIG 8300s + LX75
Processing: Photoshop
Date: 12/15/13
Time UT: 00:00
Exposure 0.8 sec.

With SPONLI Space is getting closer!

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