Daily Archives: April 26, 2014

The Sun Online and solar activity. April 26, 2014

Five low-level C-class flares were observed. They originated from behind the southwest limb (probably NOAA 2035), from sunspot groups NOAA 2038 and NOAA 2045, and from a region which was still behind the northeast limb. No CMEs with an Earth-directed component were observed.
There remains a chance on further C-class flares.
Solar wind speed declined from about 430 to 360km/s. Bz was weak and mostly negative at -4nT, with brief excursions up to +2nT. The particle stream from a small equatorial coronal hole that passed the central meridian early on 24 April, is expected to arrive at Earth most probably tomorrow.  The geomagnetic field has been quiet and expected to remain so. Locally, a brief active interval is possible from the effect of the coronal hole.
SIDC

Equipment: Coronado 90 +  Imaging Source DMK  + LX75
Processing: Photoshop, Avistack 300 frames
Date: 04/26/14
Time UT: 14:00
Exposure 1/500 sec.

With SPONLI Space is getting closer

  

Related posts:

  1. The Sun Online and solar activity. April 25, 2014
  2. The Sun Online and solar activity. April 21, 2014
  3. The Sun Online and solar activity. April 24, 2014
  4. The Sun Online and solar activity. April 22, 2014

The Sun Online and solar activity. April 25, 2014

NOAA 2035, already behind the west limb, produced an X1.3 flare peaking at 00:27 UT. No obvious proton flux increase has been observed so far. The event was accompanied by an EIT-wave towards the south (PROBA2/SWAP) and a CME (SOHO/LASCO and STEREO). The CME has a speed of about 500 km/s (CACTUS) and is directed away from Earth. There are currently 5 sunspot regions on disk. They are all quite small and have a quite simple magnetic configuration. An active region, responsible for backside CMEs on 22 and 25 April, is approaching the southeast limb.
There’s still a chance on a C-class flare, in particular from the regions near the solar limb. There’s a decreasing chance on a strong flare from NOAA 2035 as it rotates further onto the Sun’s farside.
Solar wind speed varied between 400 and 500km/s, and Bz between -5 and +4nT being mostly negative between 21:00 and 01:00UT. Hence, quiet geomagetic conditions were observed, with locally a brief active period. A small equatorial coronal hole passed the central meridian last night. The geomagnetic field may be impacted starting around 27 April. Geomagnetic conditions are expected to be quiet, with locally a brief active interval possible.
SIDC

Equipment: Coronado 90 +  Imaging Source DMK  + LX75
Processing: Photoshop, Avistack 300 frames
Date: 04/25/14
Time UT: 14:00
Exposure 1/500 sec.

With SPONLI Space is getting closer

  

Related posts:

  1. The Sun Online and solar activity. April 22, 2014
  2. The Sun Online and solar activity. April 24, 2014
  3. The Sun Online and solar activity. April 11, 2014
  4. The Sun Online and solar activity. April 21, 2014

Southern Annular Eclipse 

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Image Credit & Copyright: Cameron McCarty, Matthew Bartow, Michael Johnson –
MWV Observatory, Coca-Cola Space Science Center, Columbus State University Eclipse Team

It’s eclipse season, and on April 29 around 06:00 UT the shadow of the new Moon will reach out and touch planet Earth, though only just. Still, if you’re standing on the continent of Antarctica within a few hundred kilometers of 79 degrees 38.7 minutes South latitude and 131 degrees 15.6 minutes East longitude you could see an annular solar eclipse with the Sun just above the horizon. Because the Moon will be approaching apogee, the most distant point in the elliptical lunar orbit, its apparent size will be too small to completely cover the solar disk. A rare, off-center eclipse, the annular phase will last at most 49 seconds. At its maximum it could look something like this “ring of fire” image from last May’s annular solar eclipse, captured by a webcast team operating near Coen, Australia. Otherwise, a partial eclipse with the Moon covering at least some part of the Sun will be seen across a much broader region in the southern hemipshere, including Australia in the afternoon.

NASA APOD 26-Apr-14

Related posts:

  1. Solar eclipses
  2. Brisbane Sunset Moonset 
  3. A Partially Eclipsed Setting Sun 
  4. Mercury’s Transit: An Unusual Spot on the Sun 

NGC 6188 and NGC 6164 nebulae

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NGC 6188, lies about 4,000 light-years away. The emission nebula is found near the edge of a large molecular cloud unseen at visible wavelengths, in the southern constellation Ara.
On this image there is another emission nebula – NGC 6164, also created by one of the region’s massive O-type stars. Similar in appearance to many planetary nebulae, NGC 6164’s striking, symmetric gaseous shroud and faint halo surround its bright central star near the bottom edge. The impressively wide field of view spans over 3 degrees (six full Moons), corresponding to over 200 light years at the estimated distance of NGC 6188. 

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Astro-Physics 152mm f/7.5 Starfire EDF
Imaging cameras: FLI ProLine Proline 16803
Mounts: Software Bisque Paramount MX
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FS-60C
Guiding cameras: Starlight Xpress Superstar
Focal reducers: Astro-Physics AP 4.0″ Field Flattener
Software: PixInsight 1.8, Software Bisque TheSky6 Professional, FocusMax, Cyanogen Maxim DL Pro 5, Photoshop CS Photo Shop CS5, CCD Autopilot 5
Filters: Astrodon E-series LRGB Ha 5nm
Dates: April 21, 2014
Locations: Sydney Australia
Frames: 35×1200″
Integration: 11.7 hours

Author: David Nguyen
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI
26 April 2014

Related posts:

  1. NGC 6188 and NGC 6164
  2. The Cat’s Paw Nebula in Scorpius
  3. NGC 6231: Northern Jewel Box
  4. Sharpless 2-308