Gfamily

A good article here, that summarises the routes by which elements are synthesized.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2016/05/11/which-elements-will-never-be-made-by-our-sun/

Direct fusion in the sun works for a small number of lighter elements

Then there is the s-process, by which free neutrons released by some He fusion reactions can be captured piecemeal to synthesise some heavier elements. This will occur at the end of the sun's life when it goes into the red giant phase.

The process that the sun won't use to generate elements is the r-process, which occurs in supernovae, when the huge number of free neutrons can be rapidly absorbed to make a greater range of heavier elements. 

One thing I'm not sure about is whether there would be any significant recycling of s-process elements (generated in the core during the red giant phase) back into to the interstellar medium, or whether the elements will remain locked up in the white dwarf formed by the core of the sun where the elements were generated.

1 hour ago, ollypenrice said:

A huge loss. The first thing to say is that he was, quite simply, an extraordinarily nice man. He was so 'available' to the amateur community that, like many others, I met him several times and pestered him with questions which he answered with endless patience.

What a very, very sad blow.

Olly

Very true. 

We first met met him at a Peak Star Party in 2010 or 11, where he was excellent at giving encouragement and advice to anyone that came to him. It was notable that he was an enthusiastic camper, despite being in his late 60s by then. 

Subsequently we heard him talk several times, including at Lovell Lectures at his old workplace at Jodrell Bank. He also gave generously of his time to talk to local Astronomical societies, including my own club in November 2022.

I'd noticed that the Jodrell Bank Monthly sky notes hadn't been updated for a while, so I did wonder if he was unwell.

A big loss; his Astronomy Digest posts will be a lasting legacy I hope.

25 minutes ago, peanutcol said:

Ha ha ha. I know what the removed word is. That's the other carpark mate. The one they had to put a steel gate across 😂

Always good to hear from someone who knows! 🙂

Imaged yesterday from Astrofarm France

On 09/04/2024 at 12:50, rotatux said:

Hello... what is this showing exactly ?

If I assume this is the result of stacking, then these tracks may be from hot pixels moving with sub-frame registration. Then yes dark frames and/or bias should help, but not only...

I also suspect something else : as these hot pixels move with the result of registration, they should be eliminated by the stacking algorithm rather then leaving a trace. That is, if you used the correct stacking algorithm => You should activate and use some form of outlier rejection, which is often an option in stacking programs, they are called differently so I will just cite "sigma clipping" or "winsorized sigma clipping" but there are others. If you tell which program you use, maybe others using the same will be able to complement this answer.

Thanks Fabien

I re-ran the stack using Sigma Clipping and it removed the effect. 

1 hour ago, rotatux said:

Hello... what is this showing exactly ?

If I assume this is the result of stacking, then these tracks may be from hot pixels moving with sub-frame registration. Then yes dark frames and/or bias should help, but not only...

I also suspect something else : as these hot pixels move with the result of registration, they should be eliminated by the stacking algorithm rather then leaving a trace. That is, if you used the correct stacking algorithm => You should activate and use some form of outlier rejection, which is often an option in stacking programs, they are called differently so I will just cite "sigma clipping" or "winsorized sigma clipping" but there are others. If you tell which program you use, maybe others using the same will be able to complement this answer.

Thanks 

I'll have a go at trying some of the other options. 

I'm using DSS for stacking.

1 hour ago, TiffsAndAstro said:

I'm a noob, so please take what I say very lightly, at least until pros have replied, but, while darks should be taken at same temperature as lights, take 5 or 10 now and use them to restack your lights what harm can it do? I reckon hot pixels will be there whatever the temp  so recent darks might fix/reduce the problem.

Thanks 

I can certainly give that a go. The main issue is that this was a set taken just after I'd spent about 25 minutes taking 15s exposures of another area of the sky, so the camera had been fairly busy.

Using a tracking alt az mount I took about 9 minutes of exposures (30s each) and ended up with these multiple tracks.

I assume these are hot pixels of some sort, and because the stacking matched on the stars they show as separate dots in the final stacked image. 

Would taking a 30s dark frame in the same session have helped?

If you're an android user, Google Play Books has a sample (that includes the pictures) to see what you think of the quality on a phone or tablet.

£16.22 as an ebook for the full text

I have generally been happy with books by the Mittons (my first 'proper' astro book was 'Exploring the Galaxies' by Simon Mitton) 

Look up tonight and I guarantee your won't see the moon*

My brother spent a few years working in a rural village in India, back in the 80s before the village had an electrical connection.

Every month had a 'social' couple of weeks, when people would sit out under the moon and play, make music and chat, followed by a second couple of weeks when the moon only rose after midnight, and it was too dark to sit out.

There are probably 2 or 3 days a month when the moon is too close to the sun to guarantee being able to see it even as a very slender crescent as the sun sets or rises.

* Unless you're in the part of the globe that can see the solar eclipse, in which case you can see the moon in front of the sun, but that'll be in the daytime.

50 minutes ago, LondonNeil said:

Are there any fellow members that are in,  or close to,  South London,  Se19?  Upper Norwood, crystal palace,  Streatham. 

It would be great to get hints and tips from anyone with local experience.  What local spots to use for views in different directions and what targets to realistically try for/ enjoy given local conditions?  That kind of thing.  Maybe meeting up for a session if the clouds clear too.

The Baker Street Irregular Astronomers are a group that meet in Regents' Park to share their interest in astro 

Their next meeting is on Tuesday 16th April.

https://www.bakerstreetastro.org/meetings/

Alternatively, the GoStargazing website has an events map that might help you find a group 

https://gostargazing.co.uk/events-map/

The website also has a map showing recognised locations that might be suitable 

https://gostargazing.co.uk/location-map/

32 minutes ago, Stickey said:

This is the trick I've used from the beginning. It's very simple and works. No complicated technical hacks. It was shared with the astro-photographers in our society by Ian Morison of AstronomyDigest website and several books book fame.

The only thing to watch out for is when you want to take flats, you've got to switch it off. Otherwise you get 3 times as many flats as you intended and they're at different exposures 😳.

Then of course, don't forget to switch it back on again for the next imaging run. 

It was a talk by Ian that prompted me to buy the A5000 body when I saw one second hand in the London Camera Exchange shop in Chester. 

To be honest, he was also behind me getting my Pentax K5 when he recommended the sensor at one of the Peak Star Parties about a decade ago.

I really can't afford to hear him talk again 🙂

As is mentioned upthread, the easiest way to switch off the automatic dark frame exposure is to use the autobracket mode BRK C 0.3ev, when using Bulb. 

The camera then thinks the image you're taking is the first of three and doesn't do the dark frame.  

Very easy. 

I'm on the AstroMailBox mailing list, and the following has come in from Prof Andew Newsam at Liverpool John Moores University

This may be of interest to someone here, or alternatively, you may know someone who would find this worth following up. 

Subject: Job: The Schools' Observatory: Liverpool, 5 year, full-time, Closing Date 29/4/24
Hello.

We've got an exciting new role at the Schools' Observatory (https://www.schoolsobservatory.org/). We're on the lookout for someone passionate about astronomy to help us integrate the Faulkes Telescope Project with The Schools' Observatory. Your role? Develop exciting and educational observing experiences for schools using our Go Observing system and the Las Cumbres Observatory network.
What we're after:
* Knowledgeable in astronomical observation techniques
* Ready to expand our catalogue of celestial objects for schools
* Can connect telescope data to educational materials
Ideal candidate:
* Degree or equivalent in astronomy or related field
* Hands-on telescope observing experience
* Loves school-level education
* Team player extraordinaire
Sound like you? There is more information here: https://jobs.ljmu.ac.uk/vacancy/observational-data-and-development-officer-fixed-term-for-5-years-554934.html

All the best
Andy
(Schools' Observatory Director)

1 minute ago, Priesters said:

We’ll be going all Cloudy Nights next.

Actual cloudy nights is probably why this has expanded to almost 60 pages.

HEQ5 with Rowan Belt mod - £1300; Starfield 102 - £900;  ASI 585 - £380

vs

Seestar 50 - £550 

58 minutes ago, Jessilee said:

I'm trying to figure out how to do that! 😂 every time I try to post a status I can't find how to do it ... help! 😂

On the Welcome forum, 

Welcome anyway, but we'd love to hear more about you.

If you go to Google Books, you can use the filters to only look back at books from the 19th Century, and then search for solar observations - this might give you some insight into how solar astronomy was done in the past. 

Not necessarily good science (after all, it's less than 100 years since anyone knew that the Sun was mostly made of Hydrogen and Helium rather than the heaviw elements found on  Earth), but a good record of observations. 

Oh well, if you insist...

The view from the coffee benches 

and (as it happens) most of the scopes visible in the image would have been Skywatcher branded.

Yes, though it has to be said, there's a lot of new glass, either 'big' or 'interesting' so would catch attention.

An alternative suggestion is to remove the dovetail and pair it with Tube Rings to hold the OTA.

Ah, scratch that - Mercury won't be visible, as it's between us and the Sun, and less than 2% illuminated. 

A thought though.

In preparing my "What's up in April" sides for yesterday's Club meeting, I mentioned that the only planets visible in the night sky next month are Jupiter and Uranus, as the others are all too close to the Sun

I now realise that for anyone living on the track of the Total Solar Eclipse, this gives the chance for a Solar System Family Portrait using a panorama of two or three images. 

Uranus and Jupiter are about 30 degrees from the Sun, whereas Mars and Saturn are about 36 degrees on the other side. 

Worth a go, if the opportunity arises - and if you include the horizon, it'll be the full 8 planets. 

It did strike us that some of the space near the cafe area could have had a small stage where people could give talks. 

Would need chairs etc setting out, but I gather that the absence of speakers was a disincentive for some previous patrons of the PAS. 

It's the first trade event we've been to since before 2020, so it's hard to compare.

It was nice to run into a few familiar faces, some from close to home, and some from further afield that we'd met at things like the much missed Solarsphere.

Bought a couple of filters and a second hand book, and admired some of the glass and mounts on display. 

On 20/03/2024 at 21:30, peanutcol said:

Erm, no. No I haven't 😭

Don't worry, none of them are essential, though practicing aligning the RDF is something worth trying before you want to do it in earnest. Streetlights or distant aerials can be good substitutes for stars or the moon.