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Twas an ugly process but the Vern’s Astronomy Weblog is back online, at least partially.
No images yet, thats next.. and the stock theme is ugly, working on that too.

But it is not going well… Switching the main website to drupal. Unfortunately, I initially had problems with url-rewrite rules, I panic-ed, switched nameservice back to original isp. I found problem with rewrite rules and corrected. However, now the new sites cpanel went down. Some of my browsers are pointing raben.com to the new [...]

The following is a list of a few of the objects that may be seen up in the sky, this week May 11 to May 17, 2008.

International Space Station

There are no bright passes this week. Several passes are visible early in the morning before sunrise but all are low, not bright, and visible for only a minute or two.

Sun

There are no active regions visible on the solar disk as of Sunday. For those of us around 40 degrees north latitude, the sun rose at 5:51 am and set at 8:07 pm MDT on Sunday, May 11....

A few of the many objects that may be viewed up in the sky, this week May 4 to May 10, 2008:

International Space Station

Some nice bright passes of the ISS are visible in the early morning before sunrise this week.
On Monday morning May 5, the ISS is visible in southwest at 4:32 am and disappears in the northeast at 4:36 am MDT (magnitude -2.4)
On Tuesday morning May 6, the ISS is visible in the west at 4:53 and disappears in the northeast at 4:58 (magnitude -1.1)
On Wednesday morning May 7 the ISS...

The following is a summary of just a few of the many objects that may be seen in the sky, this week April 27th to May 3rd, 2008.

International Space StationOn Fri May 2 the ISS appears in the south at 4:57 am and disappears in the east at 5:02 am MDT (magnitude -0.4)On Sat May 3 the ISS appears in the southwest at 5:19 am and disappears in the northeast at 5:25 am MDT (magnitude -2.3)SunNo active regions are currently visible on the solar disk as of Sunday.On Sunday April 27th sunrise occurred...

Some astronomical objects to view up in the sky during the week of April 13 to 19, 2008.INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATIONNo bright passes this week.SUNOur closest star, the Sun, is currently at solar minimum As of today,Sunday, there are no active regions visible on the solar disk.For those of us at 40 degrees north latitude the [...]

The following is a summary of some astronomical objects that may be observed during the week of April 6 to April 12, 2008. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATIONMon Apr 7 ISS appears at 9:12 pm Wed Apr 9 ISS apopears at 8:21 pm Thur Apr 10 ISS appears at 8:42 pm Fri Apr 11 ISS appears at [...]

The following are a few of the many astronomical objects that may be viewed during theweek of March 30 to April 5, 2008.International Space StationThe ESA Automated Transfer Vehicle will be maneuveringclose to the ISS this week. Unfortunately, the passes overthe continental United States are far north this week.SunThree regions are currently visible on the [...]

Nice loop prominence was visible on the sun’s southwest limb.Image taken with Solarscope Ltd. 50mm h-alpha telescope, Televue 2.5X Powermate, DMK 21AF04.AS camera 1/82 sec, 60 fps. Sky was clear, 5 mph wind, temperature 68 °F, turbulence about 6/10, transparency very good, location Louisville, CO.

Image of active regions 10989 (lower left) and 10988 (top center) in h-alpha about 3:20 pm MDT.Image taken with Solarscope Ltd. 50mm h-alpha telescope, Televue 2.5X Powermate, DMK 21AF04.AS camera 1/500 sec, 60 fps. Sky was clear, 5 mph wind, temperature 68 °F, turbulence about 6/10, transparency very good, location Louisville, CO.

Here is the full disk image of the sun in h-alpha, not oriented. North pole of the sun is to the upper left.50mm Solarscope Ltd H-alpha Telescope, DMK 21AF04.AS video camera, 1/10000 sec shutter, at 60fps. Sky was clear, 5 mph wind, temperature 68 °F, turbulence about 6/10, transparency very good, location Louisville, CO.

The sun about 2:06 pm this afternoon in h-alpha. Solarscope 50m, DMK 21AFS04 camera 1/10000 sec, 60 fps, 1 minute video. Mosaic of 4 images.Sky clear, no wind, turbulence about 5/10, temperature 65 °F.

The following is a summary of some things to see up in the sky for this week, March 23 to March 29, 2008. International Space StationThere are a number of good passes of the ISS this week. The ESA Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) precedes the ISS passes by about 4 or [...]

The following is a summary of some objects to view in the sky, this week March 16th to March 22nd, 2008.International Space StationMon Mar 17 at 6:29 am in NW disappears in NE at 6:34 (mag -0.8)Tue Mar 18 at 5:39 am in NNW disappears in E at 5:44 (-0.8)Wed Mar 20 at 6:01 am [...]

The following is a summary of some objects to view in the sky, this week March 9th to March 15th, 2008.International Space StationThere are no bright passes this weekSunOn Sunday March 9, the sun rose at 7:23 am and set at 7:02 pm MDTOn Saturday March 15, the sunrise is at 7:13 am and sunset [...]

Some things to check out in the sky this week, March 2 to March 8, 2008The following is a summary of some things to see in the sky this week, March 2 to March 8, 2008. International Space StationThe ISS makes some bright passes in the early mornings this week. On Sunday morning Mar 2 [...]

Summary of some things to check out in the sky during the week of Feb. 24 to Mar. 1, 2008 Note the planetary diameters are stated in the video as being “arc minutes” across; they should of course be “arc seconds” across!!! International Space StationIf you get up early around 5:40:41 am MST on Saturday [...]

The following is a brief list of some things to see in this sky, this week Feb 17 to Feb 23, 2008. International Space StationNo bright passes this week. USA 193Sun Feb 17 at 5:56:59 appears in the SE and disappears in the ESE at 5:58:24, magnitude 3.8Mon Feb 18 at 5:49:02 appears in the [...]

Saturn will be at opposition on Feb 24 so now is a good time to photograph the ringed planet. Image below taken last night just after 11 pm.Sky was clear, turbulence varied between 5 and 6/10, transparency was fair (inversion), temperature around 24°F, location was Gary’s observatory near Niwot, CO using Pete’s scope, a [...]

Comet C/2008C1 (Chen-Gao) was passing through a beautiful star field with several small clusters when these images were taken. It showed up quite well through the eyepiece of 14 inch dob. The comet was in Cassiopeae. Estimated brightness is around magnitude 13.Image was taken at dark sky site we call Roland’s Astro Corral on [...]

The following is a brief summary of some things to see in the sky this week, Feb 10 to Feb 16, 2008.International Space StationTue Feb 12 at 6:20:28 pm the ISS appears in the NNW and disappears in the NE at 6:23:25 pm (-0.4 magnitude)Wed Feb 13 at 6:40:29 pm the ISS appears in the [...]

Saturn from last evening just before midnight taken with Nexstar11 and Phillips webcam 840KAnd one just a few minutes after midnight with Nexstar11, Televue 2.5X Powermate, and Phillips 840K webcam.12 deg. F, no wind, transparency was good, and turbulence was better than usual, about 6/10. Aligned, stacked, and wavelet filtered with Registax4.

Image below is of NGC 2392, the Eskimo Nebula in constellation Gemini. The one from the Hubble is admittedly just a tad bit better.Image from last night, Feb 5 after 11 pm, 12 deg. F, no wind, transparency was good, and turbulence was better than usual, about 6/10. All images from Nexstar11, F3.3 [...]

NGC 2371 and 2372, the double-bubble nebula in constellation Gemini. A couple teardrops with 14.8 magnitude star in between.Images acquired from Louisville, CO. Temperature was 12 deg. F, no wind, transparency was good, and turbulence about 6/10. All images from Nexstar11, F3.3 focal reducer, and Stellacam II video camera, (4 second integration, [...]

NGC 2903 is 8.9 magnitude spiral galaxy in constellation Leo:It was great ccd weather last night here in Louisville, temperature was 12 deg. F, no wind, transparency was good, and turbulence was better than usual, about 6/10. All images from Nexstar11, F3.3 focal reducer, and Stellacam II video camera, (4 second integration, 9/14 gain). [...]