Author: Tracey
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The Practical Astronomy Show
Every year, amateur astronomers, astrophotographers, and space enthusiasts gather for one of the most exciting events in the UK astronomy calendar—the Practical Astronomy Show. Held at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, this free-to-attend event brings together leading manufacturers, retailers, and experts, making it an unmissable experience for anyone passionate about the night sky. After years of virtual meet ups…
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Planetary Imaging
Imaging planets is a whole new ball game and I am fully appreciating the efforts of those who do this successfully. I can’t lie, I always felt planetary imaging was easy in comparison to deep sky astrophotography. An easy misconception to assume that in just a new minutes you can snap up a great planetary…
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The Monoceros molecular cloud
The Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237-2239, Caldwell 49) is a vast emission nebula located in the constellation Monoceros, about 5,200 light-years away from Earth. It is a stellar nursery with active star formation and is associated with the open star cluster NGC 2244, which lies at its center. The area surrounding the Rosette Nebula, including the Fox Fur Nebula, Cone Nebula, and Christmas Tree Cluster, is…
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The Flaming Star Nebula and Tadpoles
The Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405) is a stunning emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga, about 1,500 light-years from Earth. It is a mix of glowing hydrogen gas (emission) and dust that reflects the light of nearby stars (reflection), creating a beautiful, fiery appearance. What I find suprising is the nebulosity which appears…
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Video Meteor Cam
At Black Cat we currently only have 1 camera set up to feed into the UKMON and GMN networks. We operate under Rhos_a UK001M. The camera is posistioned in a SW (220 degree) and the Google earth shots below show the area of coverage for the UK001M. We cover a portion of Wales and into…
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Radio Meteor Detection
Meteors that enter the atmosphere have ionisation trails of excited molecules that we observe as bright streaks. Those ionised areas are more reflective to radio waves and it is this characteristic that can be used to detect a meteor at any time of day. Using radio these meteors can be broadcast as distinct and unique audible pings.…
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Setting Up a Home Radio Meteor Detector
Introduction Radio meteor detection relies on the ionized trails left by meteors as they enter the atmosphere. These trails reflect radio waves, allowing us to detect meteors at any time of day. The forward-scatter method is commonly used, where a transmitter’s signal is reflected forward to a distant receiver. This document outlines the steps to…
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Orion’s Belt and Sword
The constellation of Orion is a favorite winter target for many astronomers. As autumn nights grow longer and colder, Orion’s distinctive belt rises, alerting us to the arrival of crisp winter skies. During the winter months, Orion dominates the night sky, offering a treasure trove of targets. This region is home to some of the…
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RGB imaging
A clear evening run on a RGB data capture on the Tadpole nebula located in the constellation of Auriga. I had a couple of blips along the way, such as starting to run images with bathinov mask still attached (doh!!) but finally managed to get a set of data including luminance and hydrogen alpha. I…
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Total Lunar Eclipse of January 2019
A total lunar eclipse happened in the early hours of the 21st January 2019. With most of the UK forecast to have cloud we were very lucky to have clear sky for the entire duration. The penumbral eclipse began at 02:37 followed by the partial eclipse starting at 03:35 and total eclipse beginning at 04:42.…