Astronomy

[krummholz]

On Dec. 12th, Betelgeuse will be back in the news as the asteroid Leona will briefly eclipse Orion's most famous star.

Those interested can view the event online here:

https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/

I hope I can remember, this sort of event is quite rare. The odds against such a prominent star being eclipsed again anytime soon are... well, you know. 

Indeed, quite a rare event. No chance to see it here as it's been cloudy for over a week - at least until today.

[relm1]

Indeed, quite a rare event. No chance to see it here as it's been cloudy for over a week - at least until today.

I don't think it was visible from the US.  It had a very narrow occultation path.
 

[LKB]

A small portion of Florida had a view.

I watched a recording of the event, Betelgeuse noticeably dimmed for several seconds, but was never fully eclipsed. So not quite as dramatic as the hype, but still interesting enough that l wish l could have had a view through the eyepiece.

[JBS]

A small portion of Florida had a view.

I watched a recording of the event, Betelgeuse noticeably dimmed for several seconds, but was never fully eclipsed. So not quite as dramatic as the hype, but still interesting enough that l wish l could have had a view through the eyepiece.

And not even that. For last couple of days there's been a stationary front over the southern part of the state, much wind, some rain, almost completely overcast (and forecast to stay this way until a cold front comes through sometime Sunday/Monday).
Almost no chance of seeing the sky.

[krummholz]

A small portion of Florida had a view.

I watched a recording of the event, Betelgeuse noticeably dimmed for several seconds, but was never fully eclipsed. So not quite as dramatic as the hype, but still interesting enough that l wish l could have had a view through the eyepiece.

Not surprising, given that Betelgeuse and Leona have about the same angular size (45 millarcseconds), and Leona is elongated, so it's very possible that it didn't completely cover the disc of the star anyway.

[relm1]

I saw the total eclipse on Monday and captured this image!  It was my first time to experience totality and was absolutely stunning.  Pictures don't do it justice.  It was a very moving experience and hard to verbalize but the closest I can say is in a sudden, the sky goes from sort of dark to night revealing the universe, stars visible, corona jetting way out from the sun, brilliant deep red solar flares visible with your eyes...it's as if the curtain was suddenly pulled away and you see this great cosmic drama that surrounds us which we are a very tiny part of and experience this with all your senses.  It's over in just a few minutes but during that time you feel very insignificant. 

[LKB]

I saw the total eclipse on Monday and captured this image!  It was my first time to experience totality and was absolutely stunning.  Pictures don't do it justice.  It was a very moving experience and hard to verbalize but the closest I can say is in a sudden, the sky goes from sort of dark to night revealing the universe, stars visible, corona jetting way out from the sun, brilliant deep red solar flares visible with your eyes...it's as if the curtain was suddenly pulled away and you see this great cosmic drama that surrounds us which we are a very tiny part of and experience this with all your senses.  It's over in just a few minutes but during that time you feel very insignificant. 

An elegant description of a wondrous spectacle. And thanks for the pic, even if it doesn't quite convey the totality of the experience. 

[LKB]

Maybe old news, but here's a link to NDT's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@StarTalkPlus/videos

[Iota]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68787534

An interesting little moment.

[krummholz]

I saw the total eclipse on Monday and captured this image!  It was my first time to experience totality and was absolutely stunning.  Pictures don't do it justice.  It was a very moving experience and hard to verbalize but the closest I can say is in a sudden, the sky goes from sort of dark to night revealing the universe, stars visible, corona jetting way out from the sun, brilliant deep red solar flares visible with your eyes...it's as if the curtain was suddenly pulled away and you see this great cosmic drama that surrounds us which we are a very tiny part of and experience this with all your senses.  It's over in just a few minutes but during that time you feel very insignificant. 

As I understand it, the pinkish jet-like structures at the bottom of your image were prominences rather than solar flares. But they were indeed impressive!

I saw the eclipse from a little hamlet on the Quebec border called Norton, VT. I chose that location to get as far ahead as possible of the high clouds that were marching steadily in, and I was rewarded with a perfect, unobstructed view of the eclipse through totality. I was unable to take any gear with me (e.g. telescope, camera) as others were using the available equipment, but a fellow eclipse watcher in Norton had a 60mm Coronado refractor with Sun filter and even an H-alpha filter. Through the telescope, there was nothing visible at the location of those naked-eye prominences - not surprisingly, since they were only a few times brighter than the corona, and obviously the corona isn't visible through a telescope with an approved Sun filter either.

The only pictures I have of the eclipse were taken with an iPhone and have poor resolution - you can't even see those prominences - so I won't bother trying to post them here.

[DavidW]

@krummholz I also used a Coronado for the whole school to see.  Mostly I spent my time readjusting the scope.  Funny enough the faculty cut in front of the students!

[relm1]

As I understand it, the pinkish jet-like structures at the bottom of your image were prominences rather than solar flares. But they were indeed impressive!

I saw the eclipse from a little hamlet on the Quebec border called Norton, VT. I chose that location to get as far ahead as possible of the high clouds that were marching steadily in, and I was rewarded with a perfect, unobstructed view of the eclipse through totality. I was unable to take any gear with me (e.g. telescope, camera) as others were using the available equipment, but a fellow eclipse watcher in Norton had a 60mm Coronado refractor with Sun filter and even an H-alpha filter. Through the telescope, there was nothing visible at the location of those naked-eye prominences - not surprisingly, since they were only a few times brighter than the corona, and obviously the corona isn't visible through a telescope with an approved Sun filter either.

The only pictures I have of the eclipse were taken with an iPhone and have poor resolution - you can't even see those prominences - so I won't bother trying to post them here.

You're right.  Those are prominences.  When I wrote that post and saw them, I thought prominences were solar flares but have since learned they're not. 

I think the most important thing was to have experienced the eclipse, not necessarily to photograph it.  The photographer I was next to stopped taking pictures entirely during totality to just experience it and I don't think he was wrong though I managed to do both, I'm glad I took it all in and took some pictures too even if others got way better shots than me, these are a part of me and my experience and I love them not because they are flawless but because it was deeply linked to my personal experience of that unique event and what it meant to me. 

[krummholz]

You're right.  Those are prominences.  When I wrote that post and saw them, I thought prominences were solar flares but have since learned they're not. 

I think the most important thing was to have experienced the eclipse, not necessarily to photograph it.  The photographer I was next to stopped taking pictures entirely during totality to just experience it and I don't think he was wrong though I managed to do both, I'm glad I took it all in and took some pictures too even if others got way better shots than me, these are a part of me and my experience and I love them not because they are flawless but because it was deeply linked to my personal experience of that unique event and what it meant to me. 

Yes, that's another reason I didn't make any huge effort to take anything with me: it was my first total eclipse, and I just wanted mostly to take it all in, including the twilit ambiance on the ground and the 360º sunset effect.

BTW I can see assuming that the naked-eye prominences were solar flares - there were plenty of prominences visible elsewhere on the Sun's limb through the Sun and H-alpha filters, but they were NOT visible during totality because (evidently) they didn't reach up to the altitude of the ones you photographed. The fact that this one extended well above the Moon does support the idea that they might have been solar flares. But they didn't reach high into the corona, and their strong H-alpha coloring (the pinkish color is from the H-alpha emission line of hydrogen) suggests that they were lower altitude, less violent prominences (though they might have been surge prominences).

Your photo shows something I didn't notice during the eclipse: the corona appears to be missing just to the left of the brightest prominence. A coronal hole, would be my guess - a window through which the solar wind streams out.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

@krummholz I also used a Coronado for the whole school to see.  Mostly I spent my time readjusting the scope.  Funny enough the faculty cut in front of the students!

Were they thinking "This is the last one--or only one--that I might ever see in my life [again]"?

PD

[DavidW]

Were they thinking "This is the last one--or only one--that I might ever see in my life [again]"?

PD

It was just partial here, there will be more partial eclipses in the next few years.  We are after all in eclipse season.

I was surprised for that reason that so many came out.  It wasn't the totality that we had a few years ago.  That will not be here again in SC until 2052.

[relm1]

Yes, that's another reason I didn't make any huge effort to take anything with me: it was my first total eclipse, and I just wanted mostly to take it all in, including the twilit ambiance on the ground and the 360º sunset effect.

BTW I can see assuming that the naked-eye prominences were solar flares - there were plenty of prominences visible elsewhere on the Sun's limb through the Sun and H-alpha filters, but they were NOT visible during totality because (evidently) they didn't reach up to the altitude of the ones you photographed. The fact that this one extended well above the Moon does support the idea that they might have been solar flares. But they didn't reach high into the corona, and their strong H-alpha coloring (the pinkish color is from the H-alpha emission line of hydrogen) suggests that they were lower altitude, less violent prominences (though they might have been surge prominences).

Your photo shows something I didn't notice during the eclipse: the corona appears to be missing just to the left of the brightest prominence. A coronal hole, would be my guess - a window through which the solar wind streams out.

Interesting that there were many more prominences visible in H-A then with the eyes.  I recall seeing texture in the corona.  You could see gaps and details, just something I considered an example where pictures don't do it justice.  In pictures you don't get the dynamic range your eyes see.  How vibrant the reds were of those prominences just doesn't come through.  I'm also experimenting with processing techniques so might find a way to capture the best elements of multiple images into a single frame. 

[LKB]

There's a YouTube channel for the Subaru Telescope, part of the complex at Mauna Kea:

https://www.youtube.com/live/d18XWwB1hL8?si=uZYvR6M0SuyjOrVB

[Mapman]

I saw the aurora tonight! It was my first time seeing it!

[LKB]

I saw the aurora tonight! It was my first time seeing it!

Congrats!

I still have hopes for seeing it someday. One of three ephemeral spectacles on my bucket list, the other two being sprites and blue jets. ( More atmospheric than astronomical, but still up there. )

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Too cloudy in my area alas.   

PD