Planet Scenes May 2024


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May 30

The morning of May 30, 2024 was clear, so even though the Moon was a day past last quarter just to the right of Saturn, I was able to capture the view of three planets arrayed along the ecliptic among the watery constellations of Aquarius and Pisces.

May 28

On this beautifully clear, calm and dry evening, we checked in on the Blaze Star, T Coronae Borealis.  It appears to still be in its pre-eruption phase, with no sign of any brightening.

May 22 - 24

Two images from late afternoon on May 22 and 24 with different optics show how the same sunspot group has rotated toward the limb, which in this orientation is toward lower right (with Solar north being pointed toward the 2 o'clock position).  The first image was on a day of poor seeing with a 500 mm mirror-lens, while May 24 was a clearer day with one of my C-90 1,000 mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes.  I adjusted the size of both to show the Sun at the same scale.

May 11 - 16

I finally got some shots of the large sunspot group responsible for the CME which gave rise to the auroras visible to much of the world on May 10.  The rotation of the Sun is clear to see from one day to the next.  My pictures are not focused very well, but check out this shot from Civitavecchia, Italy!   By the 16th, the large sunspot group was around on the other side of the Sun and several smaller ones have rotated into view.

May 10

A solar storm with a massive CME erupted on the Sun a few days ago and ended up causing auroras in both northern and southern skies that were stronger than have been seen in decades.  Unfortunately the skies here in Fredericksburg were completely clouded over, but my lady friend in New York sent pictures of the northern lights that she and her daughter (in Massachusetts) experienced.

May 1

On this beautifully clear, calm and dry evening, we checked in on the Blaze Star, T Coronae Borealis.  It appears to still be in its pre-eruption phase, with no sign of any brightening.

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