Daily Archives: March 12, 2014

The Sun Online and solar activity. March 12, 2014

There were five C flares and one M flare on the Sun during the past 24 hours, released by NOAA AR 12002 and 11996. The M2.6 flare was produced by NOAA AR 11996 and peaked at 11:05 UT on March 12. In the next 48 hours, the probability for C flares is very high (above 90%) and for M flares around 60%, mainly from NOAA AR 12002 and 11996. There is a slight chance (25%) for an X flare.In the past 24 hours, solar wind speed as observed by ACE varied between about 270 and 330 km/s, while the magnitude of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) varied between 4 and 6. In the past 24 hours, geomagnetic conditions were quiet (K Dourbes between 0 and 2; NOAA Kp between 1 and 2). Quiet geomagnetic levels are expected on March 12, 13, and 14.
SIDC

Equipment: Coronado 90 + Imaging Source DMK + LX75
Processing: Photoshop, Avistack 300 frames
Date: 03/12/14
Time UT: 14:00
Exposure 1/500 sec.

With SPONLI Space is getting closer

M97: Owl nebula

The Owl Nebula is a planetary nebula located approximately 2,030 light years away in the constellation Ursa Major. This object is known by the catalogue identifiers Messier Object 97 (M97) and NGC 3587. It was discovered by French astronomer Pierre Méchain on February 16, 1781.When William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse observed the nebula in 1848, his hand-drawn illustration resembled an owl’s head. It has been known as the owl nebula ever since. This 8,000 year old planetary nebula is essentially circular in cross-section with a “relatively bland internal structure”. It was formed from the outflow of material from the stellar wind of the central star as it evolved along the asymptotic giant branch. The nebula is arranged in three concentric shells, with the outermost shell being about 20–30% larger than the inner shell. The owl-like appearance of the nebula is the result of an inner shell that is not circularly symmetric, but instead forms a barrel-like structure aligned at an angle of 45° to the line of sight. The nebula holds about 0.13 times the mass of the Sun worth of matter, including hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur; all with a density of less than 100 particles per cubic centimeter. Its outer radius is around 0.91 ly (0.28 pc) and it is expanding with velocities in the range of 27–39 km/s into the surrounding interstellar medium.

On this photo also appears white subgiant star HD 97302 (HIP 54765). At 331 light years away, it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 6.63. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 6.1 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 23,800 and 32,100 light years from the center of the Galaxy.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Skywatcher 150/750 BD
Imaging cameras: Atik 314L+ Mono
Mounts: Sky-Watcher EQ6 Syntrek
Guiding telescopes or lenses: celestron Travel scope 70/400
Guiding cameras: ZWO ASI 120 MM
Software: DeepSky Stacker
Filters: Astronomik RGB, Astronomik CLS-CCD
Accessories: Atik roue a filtre 31,75 5 positions
Dates: March 6, 2014
Frames:
Astronomik CLS-CCD: 17×300″ bin 1×1
Astronomik RGB: 21×250″ bin 2×2
Integration: 2.9 hours
Darks: ~13
Flats: ~40
Bias: ~40

Autor: quercus

12 March 2014

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

The Sun Rotating

Video Credit: SDO, NASA; Digital Composition: Kevin Gill (Apoapsys)
Does the Sun change as it rotates? Yes, and the changes can vary from subtle to dramatic. In the above time-lapse sequences, our Sun – as imaged by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory – is shown rotating though the entire month of January. In the large image on the left, the solar chromosphere is depicted in ultraviolet light, while the smaller and lighter image to its upper right simultaneously shows the more familiar solar photosphere in visible light. The rest of the inset six Sun images highlight X-ray emission by relatively rare iron atoms located at different heights of the corona, all false-colored to accentuate differences. The Sun takes just under a month to rotate completely – rotating fastest at the equator. A large and active sunspot region rotates into view soon after the video starts. Subtle effects include changes in surface texture and the shapes of active regions. Dramatic effects include numerous flashes in active regions, and fluttering and erupting prominences visible all around the Sun’s edge. This year our Sun is near its Solar maximum activity of its 11-year magnetic cycle. As the video ends, the same large and active sunspot region previously mentioned rotates back into view, this time looking differently.

NASA APOD 12-mar-2014

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