{"id":33579,"date":"2022-07-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=33579"},"modified":"2022-12-15T12:09:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T12:09:30","slug":"interactive-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/2022\/07\/20\/interactive-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Interactive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Emails \u2013 Letters \u2013 Tweets \u2013 Facebook \u2013 Instagram \u2013 Kit questions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Email us at inbox@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MESSAGE OF THE MONTH<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New love for lunar photography <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I thought you may be interested in this image I took of the Strawberry full Moon on 14 June at 11.20pm, when it was at 99.6% illumination and just 4.33\u00b0 in altitude. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was created from a 30-second 4K video clip and processed in PIPP, AutoStakkert!, Topaz DeNoise and Sharpen, plus a final edit in Photoshop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Covid I have moved away from my usual hobby of field mycology (the study of fungi) and wildlife photography and taken up astronomy, a subject that has always fascinated me. I have been helped considerably by members of the Mexborough and Swinton Astronomy Society who have taken me under their wing and taught me so much. I can certainly recommend people new to astronomy to search out their local society. Now I photograph the Moon almost daily when the weather allows using a tripod-mounted Olympus OM-D E-M1 MkIII camera, plus an Olympus 300mm Pro lens and x2 extender.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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John\u2019s fantastic shot of the Strawberry Moon <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a micro four-thirds camera with a crop factor of 2x vs a full-frame sensor, giving me a total focal length of<\/span> 1,200mm, which is ideal for filling the image frame. I also use the same equipment plus a Baader Solar filter for solar photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Leach, via email <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a wonderful capture, John. At that low an altitude, the redness of Earth\u2019s atmosphere has given the Moon a truly strawberry-like complexion, and the white craters look rather like the seeds on the outside of the fruit! \u2013 Ed. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

This month\u2019s top prize: two Philip\u2019s titles<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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The \u2018Message of the Month\u2019 writer will receive a bundle of two top titles courtesy of astronomy publisher Philip\u2019s: Nigel Henbest\u2019s Stargazing 2022 <\/em>and Robin Scagell\u2019s Guide to the Northern Constellations<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winner\u2019s details will be passed on to Octopus Publishing to fulfil the prize<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Polaris point <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Polaris, a triple when you take a closer look <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Each time I align my 8-inch Sky-Watcher telescope and EQ5 mount with Polaris, I set up my focusing on it while the star is in the viewfinder and take a test shot with my Canon 600D DSLR camera. I noticed recently that I had captured another star close to Polaris in one of these test images. This prompted me to investigate further and I discovered that the single point of light that we see as Polaris is actually a triple star system: three stars orbiting a common centre of mass. The primary star, Polaris A, is a supergiant more than 2,000 times brighter than our Sun. The next closest companion, Polaris Ab, is a main sequence star. Polaris Ab orbits 3.2 billion km from Polaris A. Much farther away from the first two is the third companion, Polaris B. Polaris B is located approximately 385 billion km from Polaris A, and is the extra star I had captured on my shot. I think it\u2019s great that I could find out something new to me by accident: it keeps the hobby fresh and interesting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Consadine, Dereham, Norfolk <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vampire slayer <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The June issue\u2019s Sky Guide Challenge was to locate the planet Venus during the day, and I\u2019ve just completed it! I\u2019ve been wanting to do this for years and on 26 June I spotted Venus to the south of the waning crescent Moon with my binoculars at noon. Thank you for the article. I think I once heard finding Venus in the daytime sky described as vampire hunting! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zenon Kowalewski, via email <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helpful hints <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Thank you very much for hosting the interesting webinar with Steve Richards last evening (Telescopes Masterclass: \u2018Increase Your Observing Productivity with a Home Observatory\u2019, Thursday 26 May).<\/span> I learned a lot and there are many ideas I want to follow up on. I appreciate Steve kindly pointing me towards the chapter in his book, Making <\/em>Every <\/em>Photon <\/em>Count, <\/em>about drift alignment. I own the book and I intend to try this technique out. I also want to get my head around plate solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel I might get better value from my William Optics 71 and EQM35 mount if I can master them. Polar alignment has never been good enough with the lights of Dudley and Wolverhampton just up the road. I am also keen to try out some narrowband filters, which I hear can be a workaround in light-polluted skies. The three talks in the series, and especially the Q&A sessions, have been most helpful. I watched parts one and three live, but was travelling when number two was on, so will be watching Will Gaters\u2019s talk in due course via the link to the video recording. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colin Prior, via email <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glad to hear it Colin! Our next webinar is all about the hunt for alien life with Prof. Lewis Dartnell on the evening of Thursday 14 July, and we have another three-part Masterclass series starting in September. Visit <\/span>skyatnightmagazine.com\/virtual-events<\/a> <\/strong>for more details. \u2013 Ed.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunset snap <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Michael caught this striking shadow as the Sun set in Tenerife <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I was at Mount Teide Observatory in Tenerife, Spain, back at the beginning of June. It was sunset and I snapped this photo with my iPhone 12 Mini. I was rather pleased with how it came out and have given it no additional processing before sending it to your enjoyable magazine.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Hubbard, Birmingham <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a wonderful composition, Michael, made all the better by the striking Belt of Venus off on the horizon. \u2013 Ed. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moon shot <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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The glider obligingly passes the crescent Moon <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I attended the Midlands Air Festival at Ragley Hall on 2\u20134 June, a three-day balloon and aircraft event. On Thursday evening there was a balloon nightglow and airborne pyrotechnics and, of course, I was keeping an eye on the position of the 10% waxing crescent Moon. With it over in the west, I was hoping to capture an aircraft near it and I struck lucky with this photo of a Grob motor-glider. Keep up the good work with the magazine.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ian Preece, via email ><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tweet <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Kevin Earp @KevinAstrokev \u2022 Jun 21<\/span>
Just messing with the last image on my phone before turning in for the night. You can get a half Moon, but we don\u2019t often see a half Sun.<\/span> Cropped like this shows the main active regions 3030\/32 so much more clearly!
#astrohour @skyatnightmag #solar<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ON FACEBOOK <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

WE ASKED: Which astronomer from history would you love to go back and meet? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick Williams <\/strong>Galileo would be my choice. I\u2019d love to hear him describe how he felt first seeing the moons of Jupiter and Saturn\u2019s rings, which have inspired countless \u2018wow!\u2019 moments for observers ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Komarek <\/strong>I\u2019d choose Carl Sagan. To be able to talk to him about life, the Universe and everything would be the most thought-provoking experience ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emma Hugo <\/strong>I would speak with Caroline Herschel. She had such an interesting life and was an amazing astronomer in her own right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stuart FR <\/strong>I don\u2019t want to think of Patrick Moore as history, but to hear him speak of what he thought of the discoveries over just the last few years would be amazing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Terrell <\/strong>William Hershel, to chat about the process behind his mirror making and the discovery of Uranus, and then his thoughts on today\u2019s modern optics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andy Sage <\/strong>I\u2019d want to ask and see how they got or made their own telescopes in the past \u2013 no Argos back then! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol Miller <\/strong>Carl Sagan would be the one I\u2019d like to have a chat with, and I would not want to do any serious talking, I\u2019d just like to spend a few hours in his company. I\u2019m sure whatever he\u2019d talk about would be immensely interesting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instagram <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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tanya_captured momentimages \u2022 26 June <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First sighting of the season of noctilucent clouds, Llandudno 22\/6\/22 @ 00.15hrs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noctilucent clouds are extremely rare collections of ice crystals, occasionally appearing on clear, late-summer evenings after sunset, but before it gets completely dark. #lowlightphotography #noctilucentclouds #nightskywales <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SOCIETY IN FOCUS <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Vectis Astronomical Society on the Isle of Wight (IoW) was started about 46 years ago and our observatory was opened 25 years ago. We are a registered charity and have about 50 members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Located in a largely agricultural area in the east of the island, the observatory has clear views to the east, south and west. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are currently updating the observatory, including the dome and its telescope, having made improvements to the teaching rooms with more networked computers and four large monitors. We have several telescopes including 18-, 12- and 10-inch Dobsonians, a 300mm Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain and a modern 4-inch refractor for astrophotography. Already some impressive photos have been taken. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hold open evenings every Thursday and also host monthly talks. We are regularly involved in community outreach projects, including the ongoing IoW Primary School Space Camps project, science events for families and talks to community groups across the island.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vectis AS members set up telescopes outside the society\u2019s observatory <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We are in the process of a final push, with the help of the local AONB, the CPRE and IoW council, to obtain International Dark Sky Association \u2018Dark Sky Park\u2019 status for a site in the southwest of the island. Street lighting in that area is being improved and we hope to celebrate a Dark Sky Park on the Isle of Wight later this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryn Davis, Chairman Brian Curd, Observatory Director > www.wightastronomy.org<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
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SCOPE DOCTOR<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Our equipment specialist, Steve Richards, cures your optical ailments and technical maladies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Email your queries to scopedoctor@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any recommendations for a remote-controlled motorised focuser? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus position of an imaging system alters with a change in temperature and usually when changing filters as, although many filters are marketed as being parfocal (meaning that they all have exactly the same effect on the light path), this is often not the case. It is, therefore, often necessary to refocus your telescope during an imaging run and this can be done automatically using a motorised autofocuser controlled with a computer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The SharpSky Pro motorised autofocuser with hand controller <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are two main components to an autofocuser: an electric motor and gearbox with an encoder that attaches to the focuser shaft, and the software that analyses sample star images and adjusts the focuser until the stars are sharp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lakeside and SharpSky Pro both produce excellent autofocusers that can be used with a wide range of telescopes and controlling software, but with the SharpSky Pro there is the added advantage of having a built-in, four-channel dew heater controller. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WWW.SHARPSKY.NET<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Steve\u2019s top tip<\/strong><\/em> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Why do I need a dew heater?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dew forms on a lens when the surrounding air temperature reduces to the dew point, and the air becomes saturated with water vapour, causing the water to be lost from it in the form of liquid water droplets. Dew shields are reasonably effective at stopping dew formation. They trap a small pocket of air in front of the primary lens and reduce the rate and direction in which the air\u2019s temperature can drop, but this is often not enough. Wrapping the band of a dew heater around your telescope tube close to your optics will cause the gentle heat to travel inwards and keep the optics dew-free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Richards is a keen astro imager and an astronomy equipment expert <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

Photos: WWW.SHARPSKY.NET<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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