Resort Telescope
Category: Astronomy
Exploring the cosmos
M67
Total Lunar Eclipse
Observing from the Pali
With four nights in the park I planned to do a little observing along with the planned hikes. situated on the south face of the island the park offers a view of southern skies objects that cannont be matched anywhere else in the 50 states.
The plan was simple… Getup in the wee dark hours and drive the 20 minutes to the Maunaiki Trailhead. I could then setup my little 6″ travel scope and observe the southern sky.
Arriving I at the trailhead I was not happy, unusual morning clouds covered the sky, not a star to be found. This is the Kaʻu Desert!! It is supppose to be dry and clear in the morning. My cursing had no effect on the clouds.
A quick look at the satellite imagery and I headed further down the road to the Halina Pali Overlook with some hope. It was dicey, but I was already driving around in the middle of the night, why not?
And behold… Clear skies. Somewhat. It had clearly rained in the night as everything was wet. But at least some of the sky was beautifully dark and clear. As long as the rainclouds looming in the east held off I could do what I suffered such an early alarm for.
Quickly setting up the little scope I found conditions were not bad, though I did have to hop about a bit to avoid some drifting clouds. There was usually some part of the sky clear… Use it!
NGC 5286 – Bright and obvious, small at 2′ diameter, unresolved, round with a bright center, the 4.6 magnitude M Cen is 4′ southeast
M68 – Bright and obvious, 3′ diameter, rich, not resolved, round with a bright and well concentrated core
NGC 4361 – Small, bright and obvious, a round 1′ disk with a bright central star and well defined extents, no color noted, no other structure noted
NGC 5139 – A spectacular swarm of stars, very bright and easy to sweep up, large at 30′ diameter, resolved, extremely rich, well concentrated with a exceptionally dense center that fades radially into a fine mist of stars, one cannot fathom such a region of the cosmos, a place where our mere common sense fails utterly
6″ RFT Makaiki Mk2, Hilina Pali Overlook HVNP, 9 Jan 2025
Close to astronomical dawn the clouds swept across the sky, a curtain to end the show. A few scattered raindrops had me hurrying to pack the gear back in the vehicle. I was considering what to do next when the rain came in ernest, a steady rain that washed over the windshield.
The drive back into the main section of the park proved fruitful as I found the usually crowded trails deserted in the early morning rain.
Orion and Meteor
First Glimpse of an Evening Comet
Made my first attempt at comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) in the evening sky. I knew it would probably not be spectacular just yet, still low and lost in the glow, but it is there.
The comet was a binocular object only, just visible quite low in the golden sunset glow. A weather system passing the islands brought bands of cirrus to complicate the issue.
For this quick attempt I headed for the dry forest and wiliwili trees along Waikoloa Road just outside the village. A pretty evening even if the comet was not at its best just yet. Another attempt is planned for this evening if the clouds hold off, the comet should be 5° higher against that dark blue.
Yes, it is there in the photo. Lost in the golden glow low and just left of center…
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
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.
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.
Continue reading “Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)”Waiting for T Coronae Borealis
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.
Driveway Sky
A Better Sun…
After yesterday’s unsatisfactory image of the Sun I set out to do it right today.
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.
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.