Along with much of the astronomy community I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) since its discovery last year.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) on the morning of September 29, 2024 from Mauna Kea
As orbital parameters and brightness estimates were calculated it became apparent that this comet had the potential to be one of the brightest comets in decades. Better yet, the show would be available to both hemisperes, not just for those south of the equator like Comet C/2006 P1 McNaught back in 2007.
As the comet passes perihelion, it’s close approach to the Sun on Sept 27th, it will briefly appear in the dawn. As maximum elongation conveniently happened on the weekend I planned an outing to meet this icy visitor.
pH measurement is a quirky and often frustrating technology. Usually working well, they can go wrong in so many ways. With dozens upon dozens of pH probes in service on the cultivation pads I have now spent a few years attempting to discover all of the ways a pH measurement can go bad.
pH Sim 2 in use checking a Symbrosia Controller
A voltage generated by ion exchange across a glass membrane is the magic that makes a pH probe work, simply measure the voltage and you can measure the hydrogen ion activity of a solution. The result is a number from 0 to 14, with numbers less than seven being acid, and numbers above seven being basic. Most aquatic or marine life, such as healthy algae require conditions close to 7, or neutral, too acid or too basic and everything dies.
It has been a wet weekend here as yet another hurricane makes a swipe at the island.
This has meant over an inch of rain and some strong winds at the house. A pair of 14,000ft mauna between us and the oncoming storms has worked as usual.
The windward side took the brunt of the storm, but this was a marginal hurricane. In general there have been no major impacts on the island beyond some localized flooding in the usual places and downed trees blocking roads.
I did deploy a new rain gauge this weekend, just in time for the deluge. An electronic tipping bucket of my own design that seems to be operating quite nicely.
Hurricane Hone passing south of the islands bringing wind and heavy rain the the Island of Hawaii on August 25, 2024
Things change in the sky. Contrary to the stenuous assertions of some, the night sky is not constant, it changes. Stars move, sometimes fairly rapidly, stars fade, and sometimes brighten dramatically.
Then there are novae, stars the flare to a brilliance far beyond their normal lustre. Such a star is T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB for short. This star is a recurrent nova, a star that flares to brilliance once or twice every century.
Sometimes called the Blaze Star, T CrB is normally a dim 10th magnitude star, a star that requires a small telescope to view, lost in a field filled with similar stars. A few times in the annals of astronomy the star has blazed to second magnitude, about 1500 times brighter. In 1866 and 1946 the star rivaled nearby Alphecca, the brightest star in the constellation of Corona Borealis. It may also have been observed in 1217 and again in 1787 giving a rough period of about 80 years.
T CrB is a white dwarf that is stealing material from a stellar companion, a red giant near the end of its own fuel. When that material builds up enough the white dwarf flares into temporary brilliance as a fusion reaction tears across the surface of the stellar remnant. The cycle repeats over the centuries causing these regular novae. Eventually the accumulating mass will be too great and instead of a recurring nova the star will meet its final end as a type Ia supernova.
I am of course among those awaiting the eventual nova. Yesterday evening I took a few images of the field to capture the scene. Hopefully I can take the images again to get a before and during image of T CrB.
Last year T CrB started exhibiting behavoirs similar to what had been measured just prior to the 1946 eruption. As a result we expect the star to go nova on schedule this year, most likely in the next month.
We have been waiting, stargazers keeping an eye on the constellation all summer.
Not yet.
T CrB on the evening of 22 Aug 2024… Still about 10th magnitude, no nova yet. The 4th magnitude star Epsilon CrB at the top.
The conditions were about the same, the telescope and camera the same, but no clouds cutting short my time at the camera. I took a few video segments and processed these with AutoStakkert! to produce a stack of the best 900 frames out of 1800. The result is a much better image.
The image is more representative of what you see at the eyepiece, with somewhat more detail visible to the eye. These active sunspots have been the source of strong flares including at least one X class flare. The resulting CME’s have sparked displays of aurora over the last few days.
A parade of large sunspots crossing the disk of the Sun on 11 Aug 2024
The equipment is capable of yet better images, but I would need better conditions than the poor seeing we usually get in Waikoloa. Perhaps load up the ‘scope and travel to higher ground.
Solar maximum is upon us and the Sun is a very busy place these days. To the delight of those of use who watch, a parade of large sunspots can be observed crossing the Earth facing side. These magnetic tangles have also been releasing flare after flare, sometimes causing strong araoras here on Earth.
It is cetianly worth the effort to drag the ‘scope into the driveway and take a look. Unfortunately the seeing at the house was poor this morning so the resulting photos are not as sharp as I would like…
A parade of large sunspots crossing the disk of the Sun on 10 Aug 2024.
