Daily Archives: April 2, 2014

The Sun Online and solar activity. Abril 2, 2014

Solar flaring activity was limited to about a dozen of low level C class flares. Most of them originated from NOAA AR 2026, with the strongest one peaking at 06:08 UT, April 2, at C3.5 level. Others originated from NOAA AR 2022, 2027, and 2029.
The eruption of a filament located to the south-east of NOAA AR 2021, triggered a faint halo CME which was visible in LASCO COR 2 images from April 1, 16:48 UT onwards. The bulk of the CME was expelled in eastern  direction and directed slightly south. CACTus software only detected multiple fragments of the event.  The projected speed as estimated from Stereo B COR2 is about 300 km/s. Hence, the arrival of the perturbation can be expected around late April 4 and early April 6, probably only causing merely unsettled to active geomagnetic conditions.
This halo CME was immediately followed by a faster partial halo CME, first visible in LASCO C2 images at 19:00 UT, April 1. In STEREO B COR2 the event is first visible at 19:25 UT. CACTus underestimated its angular width, which from manual detection is estimated to be around 160 degrees, with the main component directed in west southwest direction. It does not seem to be related to any front side activity and we therefore do not expect the CME to be geoeffective. However, since the event could neither be clearly related to any activity on the back side, the source of the CME remains yet undetermined.The solar
wind speed is steady between 400 and 450 km/s with total field still around 5 nT. There are yet no signs of the expected arrival of the CMEs of March 28, 29, and 30. Unsettled conditions to minor storm levels can still be expected over the next days when/if these CMEs arrive.
SIDC

Equipment: Coronado 90 +  Imaging Source DMK  + LX75
Processing: Photoshop, Avistack 300 frames
Date: 04/02/14
Time UT: 17:00
Exposure 1/500 sec.

With SPONLI Space is getting closer

  

Mars Red and Spica Blue

MarsSpica_heden_759
Image Credit & Copyright: P-M Hedén (Clear Skies, TWAN)
Explanation: A bright pair of sky objects will be visible together during the next few months. Mars will shine brightly in its familiar rusty hue as it reaches its brightest of 2014 next week. The reason that Mars appears so bright is that Earth and Mars are close to each other in their long orbits around the Sun. Spica, on the other hand, shines constantly as one of the brightest blue stars in the night sky. Pronounced “spy-kah”, the blue-hued starhas been visible throughout human history and the sounds that identify it today date back to ancient times. Pictured above, the planet and the star were photographed rising together toward the southeast after sunset last week through old oak trees in Sweden.

NASA APOD 02-Abr-2014

IC1795 in Cassiopeia

8663123569477960d37f2ba54e26459d.1824x0_q100_watermark_watermark_opacity-10_watermark_position-6_watermark_text-Samuli VuorinenIC 1795 is a star forming region in the northern constellation Cassiopeia. Not far on the sky from the famous Double Star Cluster in Perseus, IC 1795 is itself located next to IC 1805, the Heart Nebula, as part of a complex of star forming regions that lie at the edge of a large molecular cloud. Located just over 6,000 light-years away, the larger star forming complex sprawls along the Perseus spiral arm of our Milky Way Galaxy.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Boren-Simon PowerNewt 8
Imaging cameras: Atik 460EX
Mounts: Sky-Watcher EQ-6 Pro
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Teleskop-Service Finderscope
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY5
Focal reducers: ASA 2″ x 0,73 Corrector/Reducer 2KORRR
Software: PixInsight, Maxim DL, AstroTortilla
Filters: Astronomik SII 12nm, OIII 12nm, Astronomik H-alpha 12nm
Accessories: Lunatico Astronomia Seletek Armadillo
Dates: Jan. 13, 2014
Locations: Komakallio
Frames:
Astronomik H-alpha 12nm: 5×600″ -25C bin 1×1
OIII 12nm: 5×600″ -25C bin 1×1
Astronomik SII 12nm: 5×600″ -25C bin 1×1
Integration: 2.5 hours
Flats: ~20
Bias: ~500

Author: Samuli Vuorinen

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI
2 Abril 2014