September Seestar

 Rare Clear Sky

I waited almost four months since May 18, 2026, for a few cloud free moonless nights to use Seestar again. Summer months here in Williamsburg, VA are rarely good for astrophotography. Nevertheless, on September 7th, 2026, conditions were decent enough to set Seestar outside and continue trying for long exposures using equatorial mode. 

Variable haze and a few drifting clouds were present on September 7th when I made the following 157-minute (2 hour 37 minute) exposure of the Eastern Veil Nebula using equatorial mode, mosaic mode, and the light pollution filter. During roughly four hours of operating time 942 ten-second subframes were stacked with only 8 rejected. I wanted to get a longer exposure, but the session ended at about 1:00 am EDT when clouds increased. Click on the image for the best view. I'm very happy with this result.  

The Veil Nebula is a supernova remnant located in the constellation Cygnus. Uncertain estimates for the time of the explosion vary from 5,000 to 8,000, to 10,000, to 20,000 years ago - a long time ago to be sure. The explosion's shock wave travelled outward, encountered gases, and caused them to glow with ionization. The Eastern Veil Nebula is one example of these glowing gases. The entire supernova remnant is about three degrees in diameter - too large to fit in Seestar's field of view even with mosaic mode.

On September 14th another clear sky arrived. Cygnus was near the zenith, and I set out to capture other portions of the previous supernova remnant - the Western Veil Nebula and Pickering's Triangle. Success! The following 184-minute exposure (3 hour 4 minutes) shows the Western Veil Nebula next to the bright star 52 Cygni on top and Pickering's Triangle below on the left. Click on the image for the best view. During more than four operating hours 1104 ten-second subframes were stacked and only 17 were rejected. Equatorial mode, mosaic mode, and the light pollution filter were used again. Unfortunately, I had to cut the exposure short at about 1:10 am EDT because the target was about to set behind my roof. Once again, I'm amazed at how well Seestar performs!  

Hours of clear sky remained after 1:10 am EDT on September 14th so I decided to try a longer exposure on the well-placed Pleiades in the constellation Taurus. Using equatorial mode and mosaic mode I captured the next 150-minute exposure (2 hours 30 minutes) which shows more dusty blue reflection nebulosity than previous attempts. I think I did a better post processing job on this as well. Seestar stacked 900 ten-second subframes and rejected only 16. I ended operation a bit after 5:00am EDT.  

One more clear night happened on September 16th. I aimed for the nebulous region IC1396 featuring The Elephant Trunk Nebula in Cepheus. I've attempted this before but failed to properly center the Elephant Trunk. Looks like I failed centering again because in the 210-minute (3 hour 30 minute) exposure below, the Elephant Trunk is above and left of center. Using equatorial mode, mosaic mode, and light pollution filter Seestar stacked 1260 ten-second subframes and rejected zero! The zero-rejection rate is probably due to the nebula's nearness to the celestial north pole. Although the target nebula is off center, a pretty nearby partial oval of stars occupies center spot underneath. The edges of dark dust clouds are illuminated by the star HD 206267. In the enlarged image look at the brightest star within the dark nebula to the upper left of the pretty partial star oval. This appears as a close double. The right-hand member of the double is HD206267.  

I'm still waiting for a dark winter night with eight, ten, or more hours of available exposure time to spend on one object. I'd like to see what Seestar can do in those circumstances. 

Neighborhood Halloween 2026

 New Displays This Year

Each year several neighbors construct elaborate Halloween displays. It's always fun to see what's new - like this violin playing skeleton atop a gravestone. While violin music plays, he asks if you want to join his "twisted harmonies". 

I particularly like the Plague Doctor figure added to my neighbor's impressive display. The black overcoat was said to be coated with wax to prevent fleas or infected fluids from sticking. The conical nose piece would have been filled with strong smelling substances in order to block disease odors or "bad air". When this guy showed up at your bedside, you were probably done for. 
This animatronic skeleton presents his hidden cargo - a severed head.

While on a bike ride, I came upon this tall, shrouded figure guarding a driveway. 

My son-in law is quite creative. He assembles a new scene each year. In 2026 it's skeletons bathing in radiation hazard tubs.
An elaborate system of tubes and water pump makes the skeletons appear to be vomiting water. Continuous smoky fog is produced from ordinary water by an ultrasonic generator.
The entire display is illuminated by UV black lights and looks very colorful at night! 

The mailbox doesn't escape skeltonization!

Trick or treat? 

Dawn Rocket Launch

Space X Falcon 9 Heads to Space Station

Viewing conditions were excellent near dawn on October 13th for the 6:33 am EDT launch of Falcon 9 CRS-35 to resupply the International Space Station. About 5 minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral at 6:38 am the rocket first appeared as a tiny fuzzy light rising above trees and rooftops in the southeast in the first image below. At this point the Falcon 9 first stage had completed its burn. It typically operates for about 2.5 minutes before ejection and eventual return to Earth for reuse. So, all the following pictures show the second stage rocket propelling the spacecraft toward orbit.  

The next four consecutive images spanning about a minute of time show the rocket rising above the horizon. 

The trajectory gradually became more parallel to the horizon. 

The rocket was now heading north beautifully illuminated by the rising Sun. 

At about 6:42 am EDT the second stage rocket shut off leaving the upper stage to continue on to orbit as shown in the next two images. The second stage typically operates for about 6.5 minutes, so I witnessed only about four minutes of second stage action.  

The upper stage with the Dragon 9 capsule continues on to orbit. 

This was definitely the best launch I've ever seen from my backyard! 

Best Solar Images - Part 6

Equipment

Continuing my recent "Best Solar Images" posts one more time I thought it would be good to include pictures of the equipment used to make all previously posted solar images.

The next picture shows my Lunt 100mm solar telescope on its solid Software Bisque Paramount MX mount. The cardboard box contains a laptop which controls the mount and the imaging camera: 

The cardboard box and maroon cloth drape shield the laptop from bright light. Otherwise, it would be impossible to read the computer screen. A live image from the camera is displayed by the camera control software called Firecapture.

The next picture shows equipment and wires attached to the telescope.

A closer view below shows important equipment in more detail. The red cylindrical device on the left is the ZWO174MM camera. It is connected to a stubby black cylinder called a tilt adjuster which I tweak to remove unwanted interference fringes from the camera image. Next in line moving left to right toward the telescope is the smaller diameter black cylinder of the 3X Barlow lens which adds magnification to recorded images. Finally, the Barlow lens is attached to the telescope where an eyepiece would go.

The white rectangular box attached to the side of the telescope tube is the Hinode Solar Guider which keeps the Sun centered in the camera's field of view. The guider sends repeated commands to the telescope mount to correct tracking if the Sun begins to stray off center due to imperfections in the mount alignment.

To the right of the guider is a cylinder perpendicular to the telescope tube. The black portion of this cylinder screws either towards the tube or away to tune the etalon filter within the scope to the specific red color of excited hydrogen in the Sun's chromosphere. The camera produces a black and white image of this red light. I usually add a slight pale blue color to the black and white images eventually produced.

It takes almost an hour to set everything up, connect all the wires, and get the computer ready. Often, it's a nervous race against time as clouds begin to move into fleeting clear observing windows. Once everything is working properly it's a pleasure to watch solar activity from my very own backyard!

Best Solar Images - Part 5

Sunspots!

My solar imaging activities are coming to an end. I've spent 15 years happily watching the ever-changing solar chromosphere and capturing images with my solar telescope. Now is a good time to look back at some highlights and gather my best images together in one place. In this fifth post I'll present my best sunspot images.

All images presented here were made with a Lunt 100mm single-stacked hydrogen-alpha solar telescope. Images captured before May 5, 2015, were made with a DMK41AUO2.AS camera and a 2X Barlow lens. Images captured after May 5, 2015, were made with a ZWO ASI174MM camera with a 3X Barlow lens. Often, single image fields of view were combined to include larger portions of the Sun. These separate panels were later stitched together into a single combined image using Photoshop.

The Sun's color seen by eye through the Lunt telescope's eyepiece is not yellow but rather a deep hydrogen-alpha red. The cameras I used are monochromatic cameras which produce only black and white images. I have arbitrarily added different colors to the original grayscale images below. These added colors have no physical significance. I merely liked them better than grayscale.

Finally, these images are best viewed at full size on a monitor, laptop screen, or projected on a TV. Smart phone viewing is a disappointing experience. Click on the images to get the full-size version.

My observing time from 2011 to 2025 included two eleven-year sunspot activity cycles: numbers 24 and 25.  Cycle 24 began in 2008 and reached a maximum in about April of 2014. I had plenty of opportunities to watch sunspot activity rise and fall through maximum. Cycle 24 ended in 2019 and cycle 25 began a slow activity rise reaching a maximum in about October of 2024. Once again, I was able to see lots of action centered on the peak. Now sunspots are slowly winding down again as my observing ability declines. Let's look at some sunspots!

Begin with one of my earliest detailed images - double umbra sunspot 1263 from August 1, 2011. 

Next is one of my first successful mosaics from November 8, 2011. This 9-panel mosaic has everything: several sunspots, filaments, and prominences. Sunspots 1341, 1342, 1343, and 1339. 

A 10-panel mosaic from June 7, 2014, show a wonderful sunspot collection with a spectacular c-shaped prominence in the middle. Three sunspot pairs on the left are connected by magnetic loops. Sunspots 2077, 2079, 2080, 2082, and 2085.  

October 21, 2014, featured astounding sunspot 2192 seen below in the next three images. October 21st was four days before it erupted in a powerful X-class flare. 

I inserted a picture of Earth to scale for comparison with the enormous sunspot. 

Next is a time lapse of 35 minutes of roiling, slightly flaring activity around sunspot 2192 on October 21st. Unfortunately, clouds interfered and ultimately ended my recording. 

In sunspot group 2403 on August 25, 2015, two umbra regions seem to be reaching out to magnetically connect across the gap between.  

I like the 3D appearance of sunspot 2529 on April 16, 2016. Filaments rise up like jets from a lawn sprinkler. Notice the small white flare emerging from the umbra's right.  

Sunspot group 2645 on April 2, 2017, was another example of magnetic loops in the midst of umbras.  

A flare and giant prominence accompanied sunspot group 2665 on July 8, 2017.  

On April 2, 2022, sunspot 2976 was near the limb.  

Also on April 2, 2022, an odd comma-shaped white eruption emerged from the umbra of sunspot 2978. (Click to enlarge.) 

The next image from April 20, 2022, is one of the nicest solar portraits I've made! Sunspots 2993, 2994, 2995, filaments, active areas, and prominences all in one picture! 

Sunspot 3055 is centered among filaments on July 12, 2022, in the next image. 

A spike eruption originates in a white area near sunspot 3329 on February 18, 2023. A dark magnetic arch also rises to the sunspot's left. (Click to enlarge.)  

Sunspots 3313, 3311, and 3314 form a line pointing toward prominences on May 22, 2023.  

Another sunspot line from June 5, 2023, includes sunspots 3323, 3321, and 3320. 

Emerging sunspot 3372 with spiky eruptions is rotating into view around the limb on July 11, 2023. 

The next 2-panel mosaic from July 11, 2023, shows sunspots 3361, 3362, 3366 and 3367 along with prominences on the opposite side of the Sun from the previous image.  

Yet another July 11, 2023, image, a 5-panel mosaic, shows the oddly shaped umbra of sunspot 3363 along with prominences.  

2023 was a good year for sunspots. The next image shows a portrait of sunspots 3500, 3494, and 3493 on November 23, 2023. A giant prominence adds to the scene.  

Also, on November 23, 2023, in a region above the one in the previous picture we see a "filaprom" along with sunspots 3491, 3192, and 3190.  

Peak activity of sunspot cycle 25 was approaching on April 23, 2024, when complicated sunspots 3647 and 3645 appeared near the limb.  

At least seven separate umbras were visible in this image from July 28, 2024.  

An odd flare spews from the side of sunspot 3852's umbra in the next image from October 9, 2024.  

Whoa! Check out the close sunspot grouping in the next 3-panel mosaic from October 25, 2024!  

I couldn't resist including a cropped version of the previous picture processed to include prominences! This is another of my favorite images.  

The two bottom most sunspots in the next 12-panel mosaic from January 17, 2025, show really nice magnetic connections when the image is viewed at full size.  

Finally, one last close sunspot grouping from August 27, 2025 is next. This 2-panel mosaic shows a nice "filaprom" on the bottom limb.  

As solar cycle 25 begins to wind down it's less likely I will ever use my solar telescope again in 2026 or beyond. Conditions would have to be nearly perfect: good health, clear sky, mild temperature, little wind, and some exciting scenery on the Sun. It's not impossible, but getting more unlikely by the day. I'm content and happy with the images I've produced over the past 15 years. The next post will describe the equipment used to capture all my solar images.