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Admin

8 dic 2019
3 min.

Northern lights in August

Iceland is an incredible destination to see nature. At the end of August, the conditions are excellent to enjoy the amazing landscapes of the island; the displacements are easy without snow in the highways and the temperature is pleasant with a little shelter, being thankful a rest of the heats of August in Spain. However, it is not the best time to see the auroras borealis, as the chances of them appearing are slim, although on the contrary the options of a cloudless sky are

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Get accurate timestamp in your measurements

Admin

10 nov 2019
1 min.

Get accurate timestamp in your measurements

If you are interested in photometric or astrometric measurements with your equipment, you can get high precision in the timing of your data. I have added a project that explains how to obtain timestamp with high precision (below the millisecond) in your measurements . It's a fast and economical project to implement. #EN

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Calculating the size of the Moon with a photo

Admin

12 ago 2019
3 min.

Calculating the size of the Moon with a photo

Already Hipparchus of Nicea around 150 B.C. relied on the shadow of the Earth on the Moon during lunar eclipses to calculate the relative size of the Moon relative to the Earth, and deduced that it was 3.7 times smaller. The data is very similar to the one currently being handled, although Hipparco made several mistakes, but some compensated others and obtained a value very similar to the correct one. One of Hipparchus errors was to estimate that the Sun was far enough away t

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Admin

4 ago 2019
1 min.

Sun without spots

Today is August 4, 2019, and since July 25 the sun shows no sunspots or active regions on the visible surface towards the Earth. They are 11 consecutive days that can still be prolonged and that fit with a sun is in the period of reduced activity that occurs every 11 years, in this case the Solar Cycle 24 that began in 2008. The photo, taken on 1 August 2019 from Rota (Cádiz), shows a sun that is completely clean, but not free from other types of activity. For example, in the

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Partial Moon Eclipse on Apollo 11 Anniversary

Admin

16 jul 2019
1 min.

Partial Moon Eclipse on Apollo 11 Anniversary

On July 16, 2019 there was a partial eclipse of the moon. The photo shows a moment of the eclipse, photographed from Majadahonda (Madrid) , which was not very lucid since the bias in itself made the phenomenon unquestionably unattractive, but in addition the moon was shown during the eclipse at low altitude in and out of clouds. However, the occasion was especially notable because that day was the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 11 mission, the incredible feat by

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Admin

20 ago 2018
1 min.

Why build a stellar photometer?

Building a stellar photometer clearly goes against the current trend. Almost all amateur photometrists use CCD cameras, and yet I have completed a complicated project to build a stellar photometer based on a photomultiplier. Why?. I could give two main reasons: Using a photometer allows you to take photometric measurements that are different from the usual ones for a photometric amateurs, so you can go into less explored areas. An example might be high brightness variable sta

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Admin

1 ago 2018
2 min.

Total moon eclipse at the planetarium

During the total eclipse of the moon on July 27, 2018, the Madrid Planetarium organized an observation in its esplanade with telescopes attended by members of the Madrid Astronomical Association and I had the pleasure of participating by contributing and operating one of the 20 or 25 telescopes that allowed the public to see the eclipse through these equipment’s. I can't tell you how many people participated, but I'm not really wrong when I say that there were thousands of pe

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Measurement of sky quality based on the analysis of the image of the AllSky camera

Admin

4 feb 2018
1 min.

Measurement of sky quality based on the analysis of the image of the AllSky camera

The images that the AllSky camera captures are a great help to know the current state of the sky. Being the camera in color we can observe the state of the sky with the same clarity as when we look up and we get an idea of whether it is worthwhile or not to put the telescope to work. The color also gives us relief and allows us to determine the type of clouds at nightfall. We can also determine by color of the image if the urban lighting has been turned on. The image on the

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Variable stars discovered with the Mini Observatory

Admin

20 ene 2018
2 min.

Variable stars discovered with the Mini Observatory

During the months of November and December 2017, I dedicated the newly built Mini Observatory to the search for variable stars, finding 6 new variables that were approved and added to the VSX (The International Variable Star Index). The equipment has proven to be a good tool for the observation of variables up to a magnitude of approximately 17V. This is the relationship of stars: Variable USNO-B1.0 1482-0082390 AAVSO UID 000-BMM-349 Constellation Cassiopeia J2000.0 01 51 0

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Put the camera in the suitcase!, sometimes the stars are in your favor

Admin

9 dic 2017
2 min.

Put the camera in the suitcase!, sometimes the stars are in your favor

On the occasion of a work trip to Helsinki, Finland, I decided to take the Canon 60Da camera and the tripod to the suitcase. I did not have much hope of being able to use it because I was not going to have time to leave the hotel, nor did I have anything planned to photograph. Yes, there was one aspect that seemed interesting, and that is that the hotel was close to a lake, which in Finland is not uncommon as the country has almost 190,000 lakes and practically any location o

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Design and assembly of a mini terrace observatory

Admin

7 dic 2017
1 min.

Design and assembly of a mini terrace observatory

I have completed the design and assembly of a mini terrace observatory. With this system I have a second operational telescope using an old 8" SC tube disassembled from an LX200. The set allows you to automate operations such as planning astronomical photography, searching for variable stars, etc. It can operate in parallel with the main SC telescope of 11" in the dome, occupying a very small space on the terrace. The system is not suitable for visual observation since there

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Solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 in the US

Admin

20 sept 2017
6 min.

Solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 in the US

The eclipse of August 21, 2017 was more than an astronomical event. In South Carolina there was no store without a sign referring to the event and it was the perfect excuse for all the parties the days before the key date. The luminous signs of the huge interstate highways warned of the eclipse. If you went through a town and there was a street market, you could find a place explaining the event or promoting an event. In Columbia, the capital of South Carolina and practically

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Admin

10 ago 2017
1 min.

Lunar Eclipse on August 7, 2017

From Cádiz I have been able to observe and make some photographs of the partial lunar eclipse on August 7, 2017. From this latitude, the moon's departure was around 9:15 PM., but it was visible at 9:43 PM after the fog on the horizon when it was at a height of about 4º. The partial eclipse had happened before the moon came out and what could be observed was the penumbral eclipse caused by the shadow of the Earth. The first photograph showed a very reddish color and clearly ma

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Testing the C11 to the limit in urban environment. Arp 104 / Keenan System.

Admin

26 jun 2016
2 min.

Testing the C11 to the limit in urban environment. Arp 104 / Keenan System.

A complicated objective of photographing with 11" telescope aperture and in urban environment is the intergalactic bridge between the galaxies NGC 5216 and NGC 5218, formed after the collision of both galaxies, both already have magnitudes of 13.6 and 12.3 respectively, but capture the filament that joins them is a good challenge for this telescope, with 26 shots of 900s each with clear filter, tracking with Lodestar in OFF AXIS mode, mount EQ8 and capturing with camera ST8XM

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Admin

14 may 2016
1 min.

Transit of Mercury

On 9/5/2016 the weather in Majadahonda gave prediction that it would not be possible to see the transit of Mercury. And so it was until the late afternoon, that time gave us a small window without clouds. Shortly before 8 o'clock in the afternoon Mercury could be seen to the southeast of the Sun among the clouds. This is a photo with Canon 60Da, a single shot in RAW. The camera coupled to a TSED70Q with Barlow and mounted in piggyback on a C11 on mount EQ8. The telescope was

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Admin

24 abr 2016
1 min.

Giant sunspot

The sunspot called AR 2529 came into view on April 7, 2016. The photograph shows his status on April 9. Sunspots are regions of very high magnetic activity. In this case, the stain is of enormous dimensions, larger than the diameter of the earth. The dark zone measures more than 20,000 km. Photo on 4/9/2016 from Majadahonda, Madrid (Spain) Sunspots can cause solar flares, more or less likely depending on the shape of the magnetic field. Stain AR 2529 promised little chance of

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Photo of supernova discovered on 1/19/2016

Admin

7 feb 2016
1 min.

Photo of supernova discovered on 1/19/2016

Supernova recently discovered in IC2207 with magnitude 17.5. The photo has been made with 14 stacked shots of 300s with LX200 8" and STE8XME camera to primary focus without filter, and guided with QHY IMG2 Pro and EZG 60 tube of Lunático. The magnitude measured with the MaximDL photometry option is 17.44. #EN

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