*** The Official Astronomy & Universe Thread ***

[Blackjack Davy]

The surface of the sun in the picture seems to have a texture - does anyone reckon that's convection patterns on the surface or just noise?

Its called granulation its caused by convection cells of rising and falling plasma the bright part in the middle is the rising and the darker part on the edges is where its falling. The same applies to sunspots the darker areas are a couple thousand degrees cooler and hence appear darker

 

[Mysterae_]

Have any of you guys seen or taken an image of 3I/Atlas yet?

 

[Rroff]

Venus very bright this morning can almost see features with the naked eye.

 

[Penfold101]

Venus very bright this morning can almost see features with the naked eye.

It’s pretty much opposite us at the moment (till it goes behind the sun) so you’re getting a very well lit planet:

The Planets Today : A live view of the solar system

The planets today shows you where the planets are now as a live display - a free online orrery. In this solar system map you can see the planetary positions from 3000 BCE to 3000 CE, and also see when each planet is in retrograde.

www.theplanetstoday.com

 

[Malevolence]

 

[Malevolence]

 

[Penfold101]

The channel logo is not in the best position…

 

[Minusorange]

Comet 3I/ATLAS has been transformed by billions of years of space radiation, James Webb Space Telescope observations reveal

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has a thick irradiated crust that no longer resembles its home star system, simulations and James Webb Space Telescope observations have found.

www.livescience.com

That's one old rock if the estimates are correct at 7billion years old

It will technically be the oldest object in our solar system until it departs, it's also crazy to think that our solar system didn't even exist when it started its journey

Posted in spaceflight thread by accident, seems better in here

 

[footman]

Just a couple of images from the rare clear nights we've been having. The first is the Bubble Nebula, it's an H II region emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia, 7,100 light-years away, with a 10 light-year diameter, formed by stellar wind. Captured using a ZWO Seestar S50 and processed in Pixinsight. The star in the middle is 45 times larger than the sun.
The second is the North America nebula together with the Pelican nebula, they are both emission nebulae in the constellation Cygnus, 1,500 light years away, processed in Pixinsight.

 

[footman]

I've got a new little toy,a Svbony SV220, it's a 3nm filter which means it only lets through Hydrogen alpha and oxygen 3 data in a very narrow band so last night I gave it a whirl on the
Witches Broom nebula which emits a lot of Oiii which comes out as green/teal green and it was the first clear night here for weeks.
Because of the the restricted view I have from the garden looking south west I only managed 15 x 300 second subs before tree branches appeared.

Askar FRA300, Svbony SV220 filter, asi533MC Pro, HEM15, Svbony 50mm guidescope, asi120mm mini guide camera, Asiair plus with my usual weird framing.
Pixinsight, DxO Photolab3.

 

[ic1male]

Great pictures!

Speaking of space, Dame Maggie is doing three Royal Institution Christmas lectures this year on BBC Four talking about the search for aliens. (28-30 December).

BBC Four - Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, 2025: Maggie Aderin-Pocock - Is There Life Beyond Earth?, Destination Moon

Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock explores her favourite space rock, the moon.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Blackjack Davy]

I've got a new little toy,a Svbony SV220, it's a 3nm filter which means it only lets through Hydrogen alpha and oxygen 3 data in a very narrow band so last night I gave it a whirl on the
Witches Broom nebula which emits a lot of Oiii which comes out as green/teal green and it was the first clear night here for weeks.
Because of the the restricted view I have from the garden looking south west I only managed 15 x 300 second subs before tree branches appeared.

Askar FRA300, Svbony SV220 filter, asi533MC Pro, HEM15, Svbony 50mm guidescope, asi120mm mini guide camera, Asiair plus with my usual weird framing.
Pixinsight, DxO Photolab3.

Nice, planetary nebula or supernova remnant thats ejected material from a stellar core carbon-helium synthesis "burns" to create oxygen which gets liberated at the end of its life, the green aurora in the northern lights is also ionized oxygen. If you ever wondered where the O2 in the atmosphere and what you're breathing right now came from you're looking at it right here.

 

[footman]

Nice, planetary nebula or supernova remnant thats ejected material from a stellar core carbon-helium synthesis "burns" to create oxygen which gets liberated at the end of its life, the green aurora in the northern lights is also ionized oxygen. If you ever wondered where the O2 in the atmosphere and what you're breathing right now came from you're looking at it right here.

Indeed, makes you think about where “stuff “ comes from, we are stardust etc.

Another thing I like about the story of this supernova remnant is that when it exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years it must have been a brilliant light in the sky thought to have been brighter in the sky than Venus.

I’ve often wondered what primitive man must have thought when they saw this lighting up the sky, maybe another message from their particular deity?

 

[Penfold101]

Indeed, makes you think about where “stuff “ comes from, we are stardust etc.

Another thing I like about the story of this supernova remnant is that when it exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years it must have been a brilliant light in the sky thought to have been brighter in the sky than Venus.

I’ve often wondered what primitive man must have thought when they saw this lighting up the sky, maybe another message from their particular deity?

Grab a horse, get some gold and hit foot it to Bethlehem - some bloke is about to find out that a baby isn’t his…