The Sun and Moon at Matagorda

My wife and I made another trip to Matagorda Beach, just a few days before Christmas 2018. Among the many beautiful sights were a gorgeous sunset and moonrise the day after the 2018 Winter Solstice.

This left-hand sun dog appeared in the clouds in the early afternoon and stayed until nearly sunset.

Left-hand sun dog near sunset.

When there is a clear view of the Sun setting at the horizon, atmospheric distortion can create a phenomenon called a "green flash." The effect may last for a second or two. I managed to capture one in several images. The best one is below (note the green along the top edge of the Sun).

Green flash at sunset. The pier is located at Jetty Park.
Note the couple walking along the beach in the foreground.

Sunset

Then the Moon rose! Clouds blocked the view at the horizon, but the view was spectacular once it got high enough.

"Cold Moon" full moonrise

Cars exiting the beach at moonrise.

And finally, paraphrasing George Bailey from It's a Wonderful Life:

You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a big lasso around it and pull it down. Hey, that's a pretty good idea! I'll give you the moon, Kristi!

Moonrise at Matagorda Beach

Since the death of our younger son, Patrick, my wife and I have been working to establish a "new normal." If you have ever suddenly lost someone close, especially a child, then you will understand that this is a difficult process--particularly around landmark days like birthdays and holidays. One of the keys that we have found to dealing with our grief is to simply stay busy and occupy ourselves. We have been searching for peace and a new "happy place," which we have lately found at the beach.

We visited Matagorda Beach the day after Thanksgiving and stayed a while after sunset to watch the moonrise. I have been wanting to catch a moonrise close to the horizon for quite a while, and this was the best opportunity. So, without further ado, here are some shots from that evening, in honor of our beloved Patrick, who loved the Moon:

The squashed appearance is due to atmospheric distortion.

This is a composite of a short and long exposure. Aldebaran and the head of Taurus are visible through the clouds to the upper-right of the moon.

All of the images were taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T3 (1100D) mounted on a tripod and using an EF75-300mm f/4-5.6 USM lens. The images were processed in Adobe Photoshop CS6 using the Nik Collection.

Patrick's Star

Some online friends of my wife registered a star in Patrick's name. It was a very sweet gesture. The registry company sent a folder with a nice certificate, pictured below, describing the star's location. They also included a star chart that highlighted the star and gave its official designation (more on that later). Here is the certificate:

Now keep in mind that none of this is in any way official. The astronomical community is not going to start calling this star "Patrick's Star."

In fact, these registries are a bit misleading. Sure, they create a record for the star name in their database, but it is not officially recognized by any authorities. And there is nothing stopping them or another registry from assigning the star a different name. The company listed above claims that all registered stars are visible to the naked eye. Unfortunately, there are only about 5,000 naked-eye stars, so this practice is not good for business unless each star is assigned to multiple individuals.

Which is OK, as far as I'm concerned, because there is a star in the sky that I will forever think of as Patrick's Star.

That star is officially known as Phi Draconis, 43 Draconis, HD 170000, HIP 89908, among others. It is located in the constellation Draco, which lies between Ursa Minor and Ursa Major. Phi Draconis is actually three separate stars that, at a distance of about 300 light years, appear as a single star to the naked eye.

One clear night recently, I went out and imaged Phi Draconis. The result is below:

Phi Draconis, aka "Patrick's Star" (center).

Patrick's Star circles the North Celestial Pole. From my latitude, the star never sets. I think that's appropriate.

International Space Station in H-Alpha

Ever since I made the images and video of the ISS solar transit at Huntsville State Park, I have wanted to do the same thing using an H-Alpha solar telescope. The right combination of location, weather, and available time came together on May 6, 2018, so I borrowed a Coronado PST and headed to Davy Crockett Memorial Park in Crockett, Texas.

The transit occurred at 11:27:44 AM, and lasted about six tenths of a second. Considering it took nearly an hour to drive to the site and then almost a half hour to set up, this seemed like a small reward for the effort. But, it was very satisfying to see the space station race across the face of the Sun literally seconds after I had finished setting up and focusing the scope.

Composite of 11 separate images, combined and colorized in Photoshop CS6.

A 300% zoom of one of the better images in the series, showing some of the structural details.

Telescope: Coronado PST
Mount: Vixen Super Polaris
Camera: Mallincam SkyRaider AG
Processing: MALLINCAMSKY, PIPP, Photoshop CS6

In Memory of Patrick Shane Glasgow

In Loving Memory

Patrick Shane Glasgow
September 9, 2010 - March 14, 2018

We miss you.

Lunar Lunacy

I had time for a few quick lunar imaging experiments with the new scope.

The first image was made with the Canon EOS Rebel T3 (1100D). It has been enhanced to bring out the Moon's colors. The bluish areas are rich in titanium oxides, while the orange areas are relatively poor in both titanium and iron.

The rest of the images were made with the Mallincam SkyRaider AG monochrome camera.

These cropped images were produced using an Orion 2X Barlow:

I did not think that I would get images like this with a 430 mm focal length scope. I am seriously considering getting a better Barlow to see what else this scope can do.

Messier 78

Messier 78 is a reflection nebula in the Orion constellation. I have always found it a difficult object to image due to its intrinsic visual properties and the sheer bad luck I sometimes have with equipment and weather.

I think that a good, detailed image of this nebula can only be attained using a specialized CCD astroimaging camera, a long focal length scope, and a mount that can perform accurate tracking for long periods of time. I have none of these, but overall I'm fairly pleased with this image.

If you are viewing this on a laptop screen, phone, or tablet, then it is likely that you are going to miss a lot of the details in this image. The main part of the nebula is relatively faint, but the surrounding nebulosity is VERY faint. In fact, it is practically invisible as it absorbs nearly all of the light from the stars in and behind it. Examine the image. Where you don't see stars: that's the nebula. Pretty spooky, huh?

Messier 78

If your monitor brightness is fairly high, then you might see a splash of red on the lower-left corner. That is a portion of Barnard's Loop.

Exposure: 42x120@ISO1600
Telescope: AT72EDII
FF/Reducer:  ATR8 (f/4.8)
Mount: Vixen Super Polaris
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3
Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop CS6

Sword of Orion, Again

Edit:  I originally posted the wrong image to this article. It was corrected on May 6, 2018.

If you have been following this blog for very long, you probably more than suspect that the Sword of Orion is one of my favorite targets. You would be right! I think it is a beautiful group of nebulae, and it is a fun and challenging object to image and process.

The sky conditions were almost perfect about a week ago, so I decided to try the new AT72EDII on the Sword. The results were superior to my previous attempts. I really like this little scope!

Sword of Orion
Click here for full size.
A 1920x1080 wallpaper version is available here.

Exposure: 23x120+12x60+12x30+8x15+8x4+8x2+1x1+1x0.5@ISO1600
Telescope: AT72EDII
FF/Reducer:  ATR8 (f/4.8)
Mount: Vixen Super Polaris
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3
Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop CS6

Yes, I really did shoot all of those different exposure times. I was trying to capture the detail all the way down to the Trapezium Cluster. It was only marginally successful. I think I was pushing the limits of the scope, camera, and mount.