Submissions: 2017 December

[maphilli14]

Michael A. Phillips' 2017 Solar System Bests
http://maphilli14.webs.com
Copyright: Michael A. Phillips

https://i.imgur.com/UBCHhVt.png

https://i.imgur.com/pBM7eje.png

[astroligu]

in twenty years as a comet photographer, it's the first time I've seen a blue one.
the "puff" that you see in N-O I think it is a remnant of the outburst a few days ago

link http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_up ... 4588ptiir3

[alcarreño]

Copyrights: Raul Villaverde Fraile
https://www.facebook.com/raul.villaverdefraile
http://astrocentejo.wixsite.com/alcarria
https://www.flickr.com/photos/113243238@N08/
Andromeda&Triangulo by Raul Villaverde, en Flickr

[Steed]

3200 Phaethon with two meteors from Geminids
Copyright: Steed Yu & NightChina.net



This year's Geminids meteor shower happened to coincide with the asteroid 3200 Phaethon passing near the Earth. On December 15th, I managed to capture Phaethon's movement from 16:30 to 17:30 UT against the star background. Fortunately, two meteors from Geminids came into the scene during this period. There are two galaxies in the picture, the Andromeda galaxy and the Triangulum galaxy.​

[checkmates]

2017 Gemini Meteor Shower (Northeast Sky Area)
http://weibo.com/checkmates
Copyright:Sun Si (Checkmates)

http://wx4.sinaimg.cn/large/7027cec1ly1 ... 0qowqw.jpg

[G.Chatzifrantzis]

IC 1805 - The Heart of Heart

Equipment :
OTA : Celestron C11 XLT
Mount : EQ8
Camera : Atik 460ex
Guiding : OAG via Lodestar X2
Filters : Baader Ha 7nm & Sii 8.5nm - Astronomik Oiii 6nm

SoftWare :
DSS - Pix - Cs

Exposure:
Ha : 9h40min
Oiii : 10h30min
Sii : 9h20min

Total : 29,5 hours

[meniero]

I'm pleasure in sending you my pictures about "Solar analemma" and "Lunar Synodic run" for APOD selection

Description:
"A person if he observed the Moon on the sky at the same time on two consecutive days, on the second day would find it moved more to the East than the day before; to find it in the previous position it should wait another 51 minutes. This happens because the Moon, during its revolution, returns to the sky at a point very close to that of the day before on average every 24h51 minutes: this is due to the combination of the orbital movements of the Moon and the Earth. Let's see why: we define the lunar sidereal month as the interval between two successive alignments between the Moon and a star on a meridian and this time span lasts 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes. This value indicates the real revolution time which also corresponds to the true period of rotation around the Earth. The synodic or lunar month is the interval between two equal Moon-Sun alignments (oppositions or conjunctions) and lasts on average 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes. This period varies during the year and also indicates the duration of a cycle of lunar phases. The temporal difference between the synodic month and the sidereal month derives from the fact that while the Moon revolves around the Earth, the Earth-Moon couple also revolves around the Sun. If the Earth does not revolve around the Sun but remains stationary with respect to it, then the synodic month and the sidereal month would coincide. But the Earth moves around the Sun of almost 1 ° a day (360 ° / 365 days a year provides precisely ~ 1 ° a day) and then in the 27 days and beyond the sidereal month the Earth (and consequently also the Moon ) moves about 27 °. To re-align with the new moon, the Moon must rotate 360 ​​° + 27 ° + another 2 ° because while it travels the other 27 °, the Earth, even if slightly, has further moved.
Ultimately, while in the sidereal month the Moon must rotate around the Earth by 360 °, in the synodic month it must rotate by about 389 °: hence the different duration of the month which is 27 days in the first case and over 29 days in second, then each day must rotate for another 51 minutes in order to return to the same meridian of the day before. Here is explained why observing the Moon day by day to the same one is seen more and more moved to the East.

Intrigued and fascinated by this peculiarity of celestial mechanics, I decided to photograph the curve that the Moon describes on the celestial vault, joining the points on which it returns day by day every 24h51 minutes and waiting every time it returns to the meridian. Later I compared this curve resulting from the lunar revolution with the solar analemma that is generated during the solar revolution.

On the web I found some curves of the lunar revolution already photographed and wrongly called "lunar analemma": this is a dialectical forcing because only the "eight" curve that makes the Sun can be called "analemma" for its etymological definition. The analemma (from the Greek ανάλημμα) indicates the pedestal of the solar sundial and therefore can not be referred to the Moon. In my opinion this lunar curve should be called a "synodic curve".

I took the photos in the time period between two full moons: from the Full Moon of November 4 to that of December 3 (the highest and brightest moon of 2017 and reaching the perigee the next day), so I placed the discs on a view facing south, placing the Meridian in the middle. The result is a heart-shaped curve with the second full moon higher than the first of about two degrees. This is because, taking off in November, I was approaching the Winter Solstice; if instead I had photographed in the months following December, the second full moon would have been lower.

The shots mounted on the frame were performed every 74h33 minutes that correspond to three days plus the respective 51 minutes of the daily lunar delay. All the shots to the moon discs were performed with a DSLR Canon 5DMK3 with the EF 24-70 / 2.8 optics closed to the focal length of 30mm, while the panorama with a Sigma 14mm f / 1.8Art. With Photoshop CC I have processed the disks taken during the day, contrasting them and darkening the sky, and mounted the curve.

The solar analemma was filmed with a Canon 5DMK3 SLR with the EF 24-70 / 2.8 lens closed to the 24mm focal length, while the panorama with a Sigma 14mm f / 1.8Art, from December 1st 2016 to December 1st 2017. The shots were always performed 1h after the passage to the Meridian of the solar disk, so it is slightly tilted to the right.

The solar analemma was filmed with a Canon 5DMK3 SLR with the EF 24-70 / 2.8 optics closed to the 24mm focal length, while the panorama with a Sigma 14mm f / 1.8Art, from December 1st 2016 to December 1st 2017.The Castle on the background is The Forte Michelangelo, a fortress that protected the historic port of Civitavecchia. The fortress was begun in 1508 and completed in 1537 under the pontificate of Paul III, with the direction of Antonio da Sangallo. The main tower of the fort, was designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti, from which the name of Forte Michelangelo."

[Ann]

in twenty years as a comet photographer, it's the first time I've seen a blue one.
the "puff" that you see in N-O I think it is a remnant of the outburst a few days ago

link http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_up ... 4588ptiir3

Amazing, astroligu.

What can the reason be? I would love to know!

Ann

[talbotj]

A Gem near the head of Orion, Barnard 30/LDN 1577/CED51
Copyright: Jon Talbot
Full res image and exposure information is available here: http://www.starscapeimaging.com/page217/index.html

[tonypan]

Amazing geminid meteor shower with 150+ZHR
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonypysm/
Copyright: Tony Pan

Click to view full size image

Larger:https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonypysm/25270600018/

[delberson]

Hi,

Sadr Region's.

Equipment: ED80 + QHY163M

Location: Silvania / GO / Brazil

Regards,
Delberson.

[delberson]

Hi,

Trifid Nebula - Messier 20.

Equipment: ED80 + QHY163M

Location: Silvania / GO / Brazil

Regards,
Delberson.

[Mikiya]

Geminids and its Parent
Copyright: Mikiya Sato

Click to view full size image

[dflipp]

The Orion Nebula by Danny Flippo, on Flickr

[KuriousGeorge]

Sh2-290 (Abell 31). KG Observatory.

Sh2-290 or Abell 31 is an ancient planetary nebula about 2,000 light years distant. A planetary nebula is created when a low-mass star blows off its outer layers at the end of its life. Sh2-290 is one of the largest known planetary nebulae, with a diameter of about 7 parsecs. The bluish interior is from energized oxygen atoms. The bright side of the nebula is due to its interaction with ambient interstellar gas.

Imaging telescope or lens: Celestron 8" EdgeHD
Imaging camera: QSI 660 WSG
Mount: Losmandy G-11
Guiding camera: Starlight Xpress Ultrastar
Focal reducer: Celestron 0.7X
Software: PixInsight 1.8, PHD Guiding 2, Neat Image V7, Photoshop CS3, Sequence Generator Pro, Maxim DL6
Filters: Astrodon 1.25" 3nm OIII, Astrodon 1.25" 5nm Ha
Accessories: Innovations Foresight ONAG SC, Optec FocusLock, Starizona MicroTouch Autofocuser
Resolution: 2730x2159
Dates: Dec. 13, 2017, Dec. 18, 2017
Frames:
Astrodon 1.25" 3nm OIII: 26x900" -15C bin 1x1
Astrodon 1.25" 5nm Ha: 30x900" -15C bin 1x1
Integration: 14.0 hours
Darks: ~20
Flats: ~40
Flat darks: ~40
Bias: ~20
Avg. Moon age: 12.70 days
Avg. Moon phase: 9.91%
Mean SQM: 19.50
Locations: Home, Rancho Santa Fe, California, United States

[moonrocks]

Cosmic Christmas from Orion

Hope you enjoy this Christmas tree with its running angle perched high above on a bejeweled nebular tree.

URL of website, http://moonrocksastro.com/wp-content/up ... lished.jpg
Copyright: Paul C Swift

Cosmic Christmas from Orion by Paul C. Swift, on Flickr

[Hermann von Eiff]

IC 5146 - The Cocoon Nebula
Copyright: Hermann von Eiff

[trobison]

NGC 247 is an intermediate spiral Galaxy located in the constellation Cetus. It is a member of the sculptor group and is located approximately 11.1 million light years away. The most striking feature of this Galaxy, the void, contain stars that are different from those around. They are older, redder and colour, and much fainter. This suggests that the star formation within the void has been arrested. It is believed that star formation slowed a billion years ago. We are still unsure how the void has formed. Recent studies suggest it might have been caused by gravitational interactions with another galaxy, or even a recent interaction with a nearly dark subhalo that collided with the disc.

The centre of the Galaxy is visible as a bright whitish patch surrounded by mixture of stars, gas, and dust. Silhouetted against the background of stars the dust and gas has formed interesting filaments.

The best month for viewing NGC 247 is in November when it is at its highest altitude. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.9, and an apparent size of 21'.4 × 6'.9. NGC247 is also known as ESO 540-22, C 62, IRAS 00446-2101, MCG -4-3-5, PGC 2758, UGCA 11.



Image Details
Center (RA, hms): 00h 47m 19.577s
Center (Dec, dms): -20° 43' 59.305"
Size: 47.8 x 31.8 arcmin
Radius: 0.478 deg
Pixel scale: 0.804 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: Up is 118 degrees E of N

Instruments:
10 Inch RCOS fl 9.1
Astro Physics AP-900 Mount
SBIG STL 11000m
FLI Filter Wheel
Astrodon Lum, Red, Green, Blue Filters
Baader Planetarium H-alpha 7nm Narrowband-Filter

Exposure Details:
37 X 900 Bin 1X1 Lum
21 X 450 Bin 2X2 Red
21 X 450 Bin 2X2 Green
22 X 450 Bin 2X2 Blue
13 X 900 Bin 1X1 Ha

Total time: 20.5 hours

Location
Australia, Central Victoria
Imaged from May-June 2017

[Rothkko]

comets on a photograph of the comet panstarrs C/2011 L4

[SpookyAstro]

Orion Rises Over The Giant Sequoias by Transient Astronomer, on Flickr

Image Credit and Copyright Tom Masterson

[tango33]

Messier 106 and some friends.

Larger version:
http://www.pbase.com/tango33/image/166701745

Thank you for looking!

Kfir Simon

[barretosmed]

SIRUS A AND B

Located in the constellation of Canis Major, Sirus A and B, it belongs to a binary system, separated between them by the estimated distance between Earth and Uranus.

1) https://www.astrobin.com/full/326680/0/?nc=user
2)https://www.astrobin.com/full/326677/0/

Copyright: Fernando Oliveira de Menezes
EQUIPAMENTS: CELESTRON C11, ASI 290 mm
Local: São Paulo– SP - BR
Date: 12-17-2017

[felopaul]

IC 1848

Click to view full size image

full size : http://www.cielboreal.com/galerie/photo75f.jpg

total frame 47Hr done with CDK20 on Paramount ME2 with Moravan G4 in Flagey , France

http://www.cielboreal.com
Copyright: Team CielBoreal with J.C CANONNE, P. BERNHARD, D. CHAPLAIN & L. BOURGON

[SpookyAstro]

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch of Iridum-4 over Los Angeles 12/22/2017 by Transient Astronomer, on Flickr

Image Credit and Copyright Tom Masterson

[mikiclinic]

Detail of NGC2239
This image was taken with 20inch RC telescope(officina stella PRO-500) and KAF 09000 cooled CCD camera(FLI).
ASTRODON 3nm narrow band filter S2/HA/O3 300min/420min/300min:Total 17hours.
http://miki-hosp.or.jp/BIND/
Copyright: Nobuhiko MIKI

Click to view full size image