Sunspot complex AR2192 is the largest I have seen in a long time. Easily visible without a telescope, simply using appropriate eye protection. It is quite large, more than ten times the diameter of the Earth. There are reports of it being noticed at sunset.
I photographed the sunspot during lunch fron Waimea, setting up a little telescope next to my vehicle in the Keck parking lot. The photo was taken using a TV-76mm telescope, the EOS-M camera and a Baader solar film filter, the same setup I viewed the Venus transit with.
Of course there was a partial solar eclipse today, visible across western North America. Photos of this enormous sunspot and the eclipse are now being posted across the web. Unfortunately this eclipse was not visible from Hawai’i. If you have not taken a look, I urge you to step outside with your solar viewing glasses and take a quick look. You do have solar viewing glasses handy… Right?
Sunspot complex AR2192 on 23 October, 2014, Canon EOS-M and TV-76mm telescope
A very young moon over Waikoloa, this is only 26 hours after new, visible to the unaided eye as a sliver in the fading glow of sunsetNew Moon will occur today at 11:57HST.
A partial solar eclipse will sweep across western North America today, from Alaska to Mexico. For those in the best possible place the Moon will cover about 80% of the Sun. The eclipse will be visible for some distance out into the Pacific, but will not be visible in Hawai’i.
Tomorrow morning the Moon and Jupiter will be close. The Moon will rise first, followed by Jupiter at 01:34 to be almost 65° above the eastern horizon at sunrise. The Moon will be about 32% illuminated and about 6° above a bright Jupiter. The next day the Moon will have moved to the other side of Jupiter and be a bit further apart, about 10° separation.
Today the planet Mercury passes through inferior conjunction, passing between the Sun and the Earth. In a week or so the planet will again be visible in the dawn sky, climbing higher each day. Maximum elongation will occur November 1st.
Our new CloudCam is undergoing testing. It assembles a video each night, just like the original CFHT CloudCam. The website is not quite public yet, but I had to share this one…
Heather mentioned at breakfast that she had been watching thunderstorms on CloudCam as she ran the telescope through the night. Thanks to the new camera we can all enjoy the spectacle.
A total lunar eclipse will occur on the next full Moon, Oct 8th. The eclipse will be visible across much of the western hemisphere, including the west coast of North America and across the Pacific. This is an excellent eclipse for observers here in Hawai’i, the entire eclipse will be visible from start to end.
Total lunar eclipse, photo is a 8sec exposure with a Canon 20Da on a 90mm f/12 APOSome references note that this eclipse will occur on the 8th, and so it will for much of the world. For Hawai’i this will start late on the 7th when considering the time zone correction.
The Moon will be thoroughly submerged in the umbra, the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, with an umbral magnitude of 1.16. The Moon will not pass directly through the umbra, but rather through the northern section, thus the north pole of the Moon will remain somewhat brighter, even at maximum. The eclipse occurs at the Moon’s descending node in southern Pisces, two days after perigee (October 06 at 09:41 UT). This means that the Moon will appear 5.3% larger than it did during the April 15 eclipse (32.7 vs. 31.3 arc-minutes).
Observing a total lunar eclipse requires no special equipment, simply the desire to look up. The most useful piece of equipment will be a reclining chair or some other method of staying comfortable while watching the sky. A pair of binoculars or small telescope can provide beautiful views of the Moon during an eclipse. Photography is somewhat more challenging, but not that difficult. Focal lengths of around 1000mm will fill the field of most DSLR cameras allowing photos like that shown here.
Penumbral Eclipse Begins
22:15:33 HST
08:15:33 UT
Partial Eclipse Begins
23:14:48 HST
09:14:48 UT
Total Eclipse Begins
00:25:10 HST
10:25:10 UT
Greatest Eclipse
00:54:36 HST
10:54:36 UT
Total Eclipse Ends
01:24:00 HST
11:24:00 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends
02:34:21 HST
12:34:21 UT
Penumbral Eclipse Ends
03:33:43 HST
13:33:43 UT
Timing for the 7Oct2013 total lunar eclipse
The entire eclipse will be visible during the night, quite convenient for amateur and casual sky-watchers. This is an excellent eclipse to publicize and use for outreach purposes.
Over the next few days the planet Mars will pass the bright star Antares. The two appear so similar in color and magnitude that the star’s name derives from Mars… The name Antares is from Anti-Ares or opposite of Mars. Recalling that the Greek name for the god of war Mars was Ares.
These two will appear close for several days, passing closest on the September 27th at a distance of 3.1°. Mars will be shining brightly at magnitude 0.8 while Antares will be very slightly dimmer at 1.1, almost too close to differentiate. The coloration is also quite close, a ruddy orange, making the two almost indistinguishable. Mars will be the one to the west. Both will be easily visible in the south after sunset.
A very young moon over Waikoloa, this is only 26 hours after new, visible to the unaided eye as a sliver in the fading glow of sunsetNew Moon will occur today at 20:14HST.
