Tuesday, November 2, 2021

November 2021

November 29th 0630 GMT Moon

The month ended with a dawn Moon shot. For some strange reason, I found focussing difficult and got an "almost" shot but felt it was a disappointing end to a difficult month.


   

November 27th 2335 GMT Betelguese and Meteor Hunt

It was clear after a cloudy and wet day but very cold. I saw Betelguese and compared it with Procyon, Rigel and Aldebaran. It was about magnitude 0.3.

I then set a camera to take 6 second exposures at ISO 6400 and 18mm focal length.

I stacked ten early shots to show Orion and Canis Minor.


At 2350 GMT, I caught a bright meteor with a short trail and deduced that it was probably a Northern Taurid.


I stacked a later set of 10 images where Gemini 
had joined Orion and Canis Minor.


 At 0049 GMT, I caught a mystery object near Castor and Pollux in Gemini.


 I stacked another set of frames to show  Gemini with Canis Minor.


                             

November 26th  Moon  Reprocess                           


I reprocessed another shot from November 3rd 2020.



November 25th 0600 GMT Moon

I snapped the Moon in the morning before going to work, using my DSLR at 300mm  focal length, ISO 100 and 1/160 second exposure.



November 23rd 0700 GMT Moon

I snapped the Moon in the morning before going to work, using my DSLR at 300mm  focal length, ISO 100 and 1/200 second exposure.


       

November 22nd 2130 GMT Moon

The clear day turned into a cloudy evening but I managed to catch the evening moon using the same settings as for the morning shoot.



November 22nd 1700 GMT Venus

Before leaving work, it was deep into twilight and I photographed Venus at 300mm focal length, ISO 100 and 1/200 second exposure. The phase change since my last photo was obvious.
                                    


November 22nd 0725 GMT Moon

 

I arrived at work and the Moon was still high in the west. I snapped it with the same setup as the evening before.



November 21st 2000 GMT Moon

You may have noticed that four days had passed since my last photo or observation and I had not done any reprocesses. For those unfortunate enough to suffer my books, I updated my "Webcamming" booklet but did not feel totally happy with it. I decided that it needed some information about processing. I did not feel quite in the right headspace for that but did a lot on my annual summary "2021 An Astronomer's Year", which I hope to release in January.

So, reading my last entry for Nov 17th, the Moon was the only credible object. I used the usual settings of 300mm focal length, ISO 100 and 1/200 second exposure. Even though it sounds big-headed, I thought "that'll do".


             
                                                   

November 17th 2215 GMT Moon 

 

The day was clearer than the day before but a mackerel sky accompanied the sunset and evening. I snapped the Moon at 300mm focal length, ISO 100 and 1/200 second exposure, as the evening before. I could not see Betelguese and there was no chance of seeing any meteors. The Moon was the only credible object.




November 16th 2235 GMT Moon and Betelguese

 

After a cloudy and wet day, it finally cleared somewhat to reveal a waning gibbous moon. I snapped it at 300mm focal length, ISO 100 and 1/200 second exposure.

 


 

Procyon was not visible but I was able to see Rigel, Aldebaran, Pollux and Capella. It was hard to discern whether Betelguese was as bright as Rigel, due to the difference in elevation. Nevertheless, I estimated its magnitude at 0.2.


November 16th Moon Reprocess

It had been 5 days of hurt with no live actions so, I reprocessed a lunar image from February 2nd 2020.



November 15th Sun Reprocess

With  persistent cloud continuing, I reprocessed a solar image from December 1st 2020.



November 14th Moon Reprocess

With another few days of persistent cloud, I reprocessed a lunar image from December 1st 2020.



November 11th 1930 GMT Moon and Jupiter

The Moon and Jupiter were visible in the night sky in hazy conditions, I caught the Moon on camera but the result was poor.


I used a wider field of view (70mm focal length) and two different expoosues to catch the Moon with Jupiter.



November 11th Jupiter's Moons Shot Reprocess 

With another day of thick cloud, I reprocessed a shot of Jupiter's moons from September 1st 2020.



November 10th Moon Shot Reprocess 

 

I processed a lunar shot from September 1st 2020. as I had a few days of bad weather.























































































































































































































































































































































November 7th 1050 GMT Sun

 

Conditions were hazy but a large sunspot was visible on the Learmonth images.

I increased my exposure time with my DSLR and filter to 1/500 second.








November 5th 1050 GMT Sun

There was some thin cloud around but I had a go at photographing the Sun 

anyway with my DSLR and filters, using my normal settings.





November 4th 2300 GMT Betelguese

 

Before bedtime, I saw that Orion had cleared the horizon. Procyon was not visible, so I used Rigel, Aldebaran 

and Capella to estimate its brightness, so arrived at a magnitude of 0.3.



November 4th 2015 GMT Meteor Hunt



I was planning to spend some time with my wife, so tried a different approach. I set my DSLR at 18mm focal length, 

ISO 800 and 30 seconds exposure. I aimed at Perseus, as the evening before, with the hope of getting one or 

both Taurid meteoroid streams.


I processed the first shot to show Cassiopeia and Perseus.



Unfortunately, I was unable to capture any meteors


November 4th 2000 GMT

 

I did a short photo shoot at 300mm focal length, ISO 6400 and 2 seconds exposure.

 

Targets were:

 

Jupiter’s Moons




 

Pleaides (M45)




 

Melotte 20



November 4th 1220 GMT Sun

 

I snapped the Sun with my DSLR and filters at 300mm focal length, ISO 100 and 1/2000 second exposure.



November 2nd 2041 GMT Meteor Hunt

I went for my usual meteor hunting set-up of 18mm focal length, ISO 6400 and 6 seconds exposure, set on repeat.

I processed a single early frame to reveal several winter constellations in their entirety and parts of others.


At 2240 GMT, I saw a "guest star". I zoomed in and found it looked like a broken trail. It is difficult to speculate what it was.


After the Earth rotated, Taurus was fully visible and I processed a shot.




November 2nd 1230 GMT Sun

 

The Learmonth and Big Bear images were showing some small sunspots. I tried to catch them with my DSLR and filter set at 300mm focal length, ISO 100 and 1/2000 second exposure. However, I did not detect any.



November 2nd 0555 GMT Moon and Beletguese

 

I revisited the Moon and Betelguese, having followed them at times during October.

 

The Moon was a thin waning crescent and I photographed it at 300mm focal length, ISO 100 and 1/250 second exposure.



Estimating the magnitude of Betelguese was rather tricky. Superficially, it was slightly fainter than Procyon but much brighter than Aldebaran. It seemed a little brighter than Rigel but Rigel appeared fainter than Procyon, mainly due to extinction near the horizon. I settled for an estimate of 0.4.