orion25

Nice animation, Neil! Mars fever is upon us again

Thanks, Gus. I always loved studying ancient cultures and rituals

DID YOU KNOW that the Ocmulgee Earth Lodge was an ancient observatory and ceremonial chamber for the Mississippians over a thousand years ago? Research indicates that on November 5 (October 22 our time), sunrise entered the earth lodge and illuminated the chief's seat on the eagle platform. The smoke hole at the top of the lodge allowed the lodge dwellers to view the Pleiades star constellation and the Taurid Meteor shower that was prominent at the time (circa 1014 AD). Here are some pictures I took at the Earth Lodge from October 14-22 commemorating the event. Because of trees, you aren't able to see the sunrise reach the eagle platform, but you can see the sunlight enter the chamber at a considerable distance along the walkway. Now is a great time to visit the Ocmulgee Earth Lodge! I hope you enjoy my pictures! Location: Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, Macon, GA, U.S. Sunrise through the entrance of the earth lodge: This interior shot of the earth lodge shows the raised eagle platform where the chief and two other important men sat. The sun would shine on them on this particular morning at daybreak. You can see a reflection on the protective glass enclosure of the sun in the lodge entrance: Daybreak on Coleman Hill a mile west of the Ocmulgee Earth Lodge. Because of trees, it is not possible to see daybreak at the Earth Lodge site: You can see why it's not possible to see daybreak at the Earth Lodge site and, therefore, not possible to actually see the sun's rays reach the eagle platform. Here, it is about an hour after daybreak and the sun is just beginning to peer through the trees: The sun shining on the exterior entrance of the Earth Lodge: The Pleiades (here, shot at my own home observatory) was visible through the smoke hole in the Earth Lodge at zenith during this time a thousand years ago, and the Taurid meteor shower (which was very active at the time) was also visible. Research indicates that this was the reason the lodge was oriented with the sunrise on this date. These prehistoric earth lodge dwellers likely performed ceremony to either the Pleiades, the Taurids or both: Cheers! Reggie

Brilliant image, Geof. It will only get better!

I got this image of Jupiter around the time of opposition. You can see the Great Red Spot and the Io's shadow (which was coincident with the moon itself) near the GRS. Clear skies! Reggie

Mars is unmistakable after midnight and into the morning sky as a brilliant ruddy beacon! Dark albedo and polar cap features are easily visible even through modest scopes (best with some good magnification). I nabbed this image before dawn prior to work (made me want to call in)! Clear skies! Reggie

Great review, as always, Zeta. I have the complete Expanse set that I use almost exclusively with my 127mm and 180mm Maks. The 9mm and 15mm are probably my favorites. How are things on your planet ?

Thanks, George! How are things?

Thanks, Angie. I noticed the rings were noticeably brighter than the planet visually as well.

Thanks, Pete. Yes, Seeliger in full effect!

Here are my images of the Saturn opposition with Jupiter (and moons Europa and Io) in tow using my ZWO ASI 224mc and 180mm Mak-Cass. Seeing was very good if not excellent: Saturn is slowly losing its "tilt" from our perspective, moving towards an edge-on apparition by 2025. Clear skies! Reggie 🤩

Saturn is emerging above the horizon around midnight and will reach opposition (position opposite the sun) on August 14 when it will be closest and brightest. I imaged this shot with my ZWO ASI-224MC space camera and 180mm Mak-Cass telescope. Clear skies! Reggie 🤩

Thanks, my friend!

Thanks, Pete!

Thanks, wookie!

Brilliant images!

Thanks! It's such a peaceful time before dawn

Thanks, Gus!

Got up again before dawn to capture some shots of the morning planetary action. This time, Jupiter and Mars were intimately close (about 38 arc minutes apart)! The first shot is at prime focus through my 127mm Mak-Cass and the other two are with a 300x zoom lens: This is the most astronomy I've ever done during the pre-dawn hours. There is a peacefulness that I cannot describe at that time of morning. It's worth getting up at 4:30 a.m. to experience it (sometimes, lol). Clear skies! Reggie

Thank you, Roy!

Nice work, Neil!

Thanks, Pete. I wish you could have seen the full eclipse from your location.

I've been spending much time outside at dawn with all the planetary action going on. I snapped these shots of the Mars/Neptune conjunction, Jupiter and the waning gibbous moon, all at prime focus using my Nikon D3200 and my 127mm Mak: Cheers! Reggie

Here are some prime focus shots and standard zoom shots of the total lunar eclipse from the United States Sunday night into Monday morning: I framed this last shot with Scorpius in the lower left using the standard zoom lens on my camera: Cheers! Reggie

Great shots, Luke. I know it was a challenge to see in the U.K. I got to see the whole thing from about 10:30 to 3 a.m. EDT over here in the states. I will post my pics Clear skies, Reggie