Daily Archives: June 21, 2014

The Sun Online and solar activity. June 21, 2014

Two halo CMEs were detected by SOHO/LASCO. A very weak partial halo CME (angular width around 270 degrees, projected plane-of-the-sky speed around 350 km/s) first appeared in the LASCO C2 field of view at 12:24 UT on June 20. It was associated with the C5.0 flare peaking at 11:20 UT in the Catania sunspot group 89. Another partial halo CME (angular width around 160 degrees, projected plane-of-the-sky speed around 300 km/s) was first seen in the LASCO C2 field of view at 05:24 UT on June 21. It was associated with a filament eruption at the central meridian in the northern hemisphere. The first halo CME was more symmetric with respect to the coronagraph occulter, so we expect the arrival of the corresponding ICME on June 24, possibly resulting in a minor geomagnetic storm (K = 5). The second halo CME was mostly directed to the north of the ecliptic plane, so we expect at most a glancing blow of a corresponding ICME on June 25 without significant geomagnetic disturbances.
SIDC

Equipment: Coronado 90 + Imaging Source DMK + LX75
Processing: Photoshop
Date: 06/21/14
Time UT: 16:00
Exposure 1/500 sec.

Observatory Sponli

Lisbon Honey Moon

Image Credit & Copyright: Miguel Claro

The Sun set on Friday the 13th as a full Honey Moon rose, captured in this well-planned time-lapse sequence. Lisbon, Portugal’s Christ the King monument is in the foreground, about 6 kilometers distant from camera and telephoto lens. During the days surrounding today’s solstice (June 21, 10:51 UT) the Sun follows its highest arc through northern hemisphere skies as it travels along the ecliptic plane. At night the ecliptic plane is low, and the Full Moon’s path close to the ecliptic was also low, the rising Moon separating more slowly from the distant horizon. Northern moon watchers were likely to experience the mysterious Moon Illusion, the lunar orb appearing impossibly large while near the horizon. But the photo sequence shows the Moon’s apparent size did not not change at all. Its light was initially scattered by the long line-of-sight through the atmosphere though, and a deeper reddened color gave way to a paler gold as the Full Moon rose into the night.

NASA APOD 21-Jun-14

Double Cluster in Perseus, NGC 869 and NGC 884

NGC 869 and NGC 884 both lie at a distance of 7500 light years. NGC 869 has a mass of 3700 solar masses and NGC 884 weighs in at 2800 solar masses; however, later research has shown both clusters are surrounded with a very extensive halo of stars, with a total mass for the complex of at least 20,000 solar masses. Based on their individual stars, the clusters are relatively young, both 12.8 million years old. In comparison, the Pleiades have an estimated age ranging from 75 million years to 150 million years. There are more than 300 blue-white super-giant stars in each of the clusters. The clusters are also blueshifted, with NGC 869 approaching Earth at a speed of 39 km/s (24 mi/s) and NGC 884 approaching at a similar speed of 38 km/s (24 mi/s). Their hottest main sequence stars are of spectral type B0.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Vixen ED80SF
Imaging cameras: Canon 550D
Mounts: CELESTRON CG5-GT
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Vixen Finderscope 9×50
Guiding cameras: Orion StarShoot AutoGuider
Focal reducers: Orion Field Flattener for Short Refractors
Software: PHD Guiding, PixInsight, BinaryRivers BackyardEOS

Author: Cory Schmitz
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI
21 June 2014

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts: