A near disaster

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The Vixen VC200L Modified Cassegrain telescope on a good evening in 2020. The Sky-Watcher mount now sits atop a permanent pier inside the observatory, no longer on the grass.

On July 12, we had just finished installing the Vixen telescope on to a new rack that attached to our Sky-Watcher mount, and were fine-tuning the system’s balance when it happened. There, in front of us, out of reach for rescue, the telescope slid along its railing, down the new rack like a skier down their ramp! Horrified, we watched as it cleared the bottom of the mount, plunged five feet to the floor, bounced, and landed upon its side just outside the observatory door!

Expecting the worst, we lifted the poor thing up and looked down the tube to check the primary mirror … and it was intact. The outside of the tube showed a long, thin scratch and a little scraped spot, and the finder ring was loose and ajar but looked repairable. A set screw for the visual back had sheared off. Fortunately, the finder scope was undamaged, and the flip mirror eyepiece accessory had not been installed so it escaped the crash. Apparently the telescope, which slid bottom end first, struck the polyethylene observatory door threshold, bouncing from there possibly softening the impact — a bit better than directly hitting the concrete floor!

The next day, after thoroughly examining the OTA, straightening out the finder rings, and removing the offending mount rack, it was time to see whether we could see. It being daytime we clamped the scope directly to the solid Sky-Watcher mount atop its pier, attached the solar filter, and aimed skyward. Surprisingly, the two large sunspots present could be seen clearly in full-disk viewing and the edges of Sun looked good; the telescope was actually usable! Higher magnification and later imaging were not as impressive. After dark we attempted photography of M57 — the Ring Nebula — to look at star shapes. Not surprisingly the stars showed distinct signs of a telescope out of collimation. The scope needs work.

We will attempt collimation soon after we receive a replacement visual back for the telescope but would really prefer to have the instrument checked and serviced by professionals.

Daytime Moon redux

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Earth’s Waning Crescent Moon, July 9, 2026, at 15:05 UTC / 11:05 AM EDT. The image was rotated clockwise by 90° for aesthetic reasons. Credit: Stella-Luna Observatory / James Guilford.

Once again, following a Solar observing session, we turned our telescope to Moon during daytime. This time, we employed the same monochrome camera we used imaging Sun but, after removing the solar protections, added an infrared pass filter. The result, via the Askar 103 APO telescope, was spectacular! Only minimal processing was needed to achieve a sharp, contrasty, detailed image of Earth’s nearest neighbor.

Sun and Moon

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The northwestern Solar quadrant shown via hydrogen-alpha light, false color applied, shows the chaotic surface of the chromosphere, with several filaments visible. Along the rim are prominences contrasted against the blackness of space.

The morning presented an excellent opportunity for Solar observing and imaging — the sky was clear and, these days, Sun is rising between trees instead of behind them! While we have been following our star’s singular large sunspot for a few days, it turned out our best image from the morning was of the northwest Solar quadrant. Details in the chromosphere were beautifully rendered and several interesting prominences of various shapes and sizer graced the rim.

During one of the Solar imaging runs, we looked up and out through the dome aperture at the deep blue morning sky. There, floating on the denim background, was the Last Quarter Moon. Once finished with Sun, we aimed the scope at Moon, removed the solar gear from the white light telescope, and did a portrait of old Luna. We’ve done this not so long ago but still get a kick out of our daytime Moon.

Earth’s Moon in its Last Quarter phase is shown in this two-panel image made at 9:15 AM EDT, July 8, 2026.

By the way, the latest addition to our setup is a rig by ADM that allows two scopes to be held simultaneously on a single mount; that has been a wonderful way to quickly change between Solar wavelengths, and to use the individual telescopes without swapping out and rebalancing the system. The ADM rack is very well made, fully adjustable, and we have no fear of equipment coming loose and crashing to the ground — possibly the most important feature!

Multi-telescope rack by ADM allows two telescopes to ride the pier mount at the same time, delivering flexibility and efficiency to our setup.

Three (very) active regions mark the sun’s surface

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Whole-disk view of Sun as it appeared late morning July 2, 2026. The sunspots are nearing Sun’s western horizon (right) but still pose a threat of geomagnetic storms from their flares. This image was captured using our Canon EOS 5D Mk. 4 DSLR, 400mm telephoto lens with 2X extender, and white light Baader film solar filter. False color added.

Three active regions nearing the western solar horizon have been busy, exploding with multiple flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). That solar material is expected to reach Earth beginning July 3 and continuing into the U.S. Independence Day weekend. The CMEs impacting Earth’s magnetosphere could produce auroras. Those blessed with clear night skies should be alert for a possible *quiet* fireworks display! Respect.

A closeup view of the three active regions mentioned in this post was recorded using our Askar 103APO telescope, and Baader Planetarium Herschel safety wedge. The image was recorded the morning of July 2, 2026 in monochrome and is reproduced here in that state. Photosphere granulation, faculae, and sunspot details are visible here.

Impressive sunspot commands attention in midday heat

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Sunspots at Solar Active Region 4478 imaged with an Askar 103APO telescope, Herschel wedge, and Tele Vue Powermate 5X under poor seeing conditions. Credit: James Guilford

June 29, 2026 — Morning clouds and the usual trees kept us from working in the cooler, quieter air today so, nearing local (EDT) noon in heat and roiling atmosphere, we took our first shot at Solar Active Region 4478. The region featured a pair of massive sunspots that have been exciting observers lately. Using the Askar 103APO telescope with Baader Planetarium Herschel wedge in white light, we caught the impressive sight. Now aimed squarely at Earth, both AR4478 and 4479 pose a threat of powerful X-Class flares.

Several of the sunspots in Solar active regions as imaged via Askar 103APO telescope, Herschel wedge, and Tele Vue Powermate 2X under poor seeing conditions. Credit: James Guilford

Small scope provides big results in moonshot

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Full disk image of Earth’s Moon at 97 percent illumination, as imaged on June 27, 2026, at 11:51 PM EDT local time! Askar 103 APO refractor, ProPlanet 642 nM IR pass filter.

After recent struggles in an effort to get sharp images from the old C11 telescope, it was a pleasure to observe Earth’s Moon through the Askar 103 APO refractor! Clouds drifted through at various densities but — oh, my! — what a fine view! What the little Askar lacks in focal length, it possesses in sharpness. So we excitedly present this image of our Gibbous Moon!



Crater Copernicus and vicinity, with Moon at waxing Gibbous phase, 97 percent illumination. Askar 103 APO refractor, ProPlanet 642 nM IR pass filter, Tele Vue 2X Barlow. Image Credit: James Guilford

Lunar Crater Copernicus (above), with its expansive web of ejecta rays, dominates this scene captured June 27 (local time). To the left of Copernicus is Crater Kepler, with a smaller but still visible “splat” mark, both contrasting well against the dark field of Mare Insularum. Left still farther, on the terminator, is a figure-eight ring feature formed by Craters Cavalerius (top) and Hevelius (bottom). This is our favorite image from the brief Saturday night session.

Southern Moon and telescope trial

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The heavily-cratered south-eastern area of Earth’s Moon is seen here, imaged just before midnight, June 23, 2026. Stella-Luna Observatory / James Guilford

This is the southern end of Earth’s waxing gibbous phase Moon, as imaged late Tuesday night. The heavily-cratered area along the terminator includes Crater Tycho — with a central peak lit by the rising Sun — and the dark circular expanse of Clavius, with the top of its western crater wall extending into the deep shadows of the terminator. We used the old Celestron C11 for this session as we continue to evaluate its performance and condition. We continue to be concerned about whether the telescope’s focus issue is simple collimation or some more serious combination of problems.

Not in the southern area of our Moon but certainly visible, even without a telescope, is Mare Crisium, shown at the center of this image made light night June 24, 2026. Stella-Luna Observatory / James Guilford.

Afternoon sunshine enjoyed side-by-side

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The morning was filled and, though it is best to observe Sun before the heat of the day sets in, the skies were still clear this afternoon so we opened the dome. Happily, there were points of interest, particularly the two plumes of prominences on the northwest rim!

Just emerging over the eastern limb (left edge, above) is a large sunspot which should prove interesting to observe, the next time we enjoy clear skies here!

This was also our first use of a new bracket that allows side-by-side mounting and simultaneous use of two telescopes on the pier. The apparatus, made by ADM Accessories, and purchased from High Point Scientific, is sturdily-built and not excessive in weight. Presently we have the Askar 103APO and the Sky-Watcher 76Ha scopes up but will likely experiment with other configurations.

Two telescopes are installed side-by-side on the observatory mount and pier employing an ADM Accessories mounting system purchase from High Point Scientific. The arrangement allows use of two telescopes simultaneously or separately without the need for rebalancing or alignment when switching between them.

Lunar Blueprints

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The northwest quadrant of Earth’s Moon, viewed during morning daylight reveals many wonderful details with an appearance that differs from nighttime views in more than just color. A few points of interest: The crater with impressive ejecta rays at lower left is Kepler; to its right is large, distinctive Crater Copernicus with its central peaks. Just above Copernicus are the peaks of Montes Carpatus. The bright spot at upper left is Crater Aristarchus with Herodotus, just to its left. Finally, at the upper right corner, is the distinctive C-shape of Sinus Iridium.

This morning, before stowing equipment for the duration of upcoming days of cloudy weather, we aimed the 11-inch scope at Earth’s waning gibbous Moon. Images were captured at about 7:50 AM EDT, after the sky had turned to blue, lending its color to Moon as viewed from Earth.

Celestron 11-inch telescope is shown aimed at Moon — a tiny white dot — in the clear, blue morning sky.

The big Celestron SCT remains in need of adjustment or, possibly, overhaul but does deliver some pleasing results! We’ve been struggling but have not yet achieved best acceptable collimation, so the scope hasn’t spent much time on the permanent pier in the observatory.

The sort of flaw that one will see from telescopes that are out of collimation — alignment of the light path within the telescope — is stars that look a bit like comets, and focus difficulties. After several efforts we are not where we need to be with the C11 to use it as our primary observatory instrument.

Unfortunately, due to lack of space, we can have only one telescope at a time on a permanent mount beneath the dome. We are considering next steps which include acquisition of a new primary telescope, upgrading of the mount, and means of mounting two instruments at a time on the pier.

As mentioned, cloudy, rainy weather is expected to be the rule for the week ahead so the telescope is parked, and accessories stowed. We’ll be working a bit on our meteor camera and thinking about where to go from here.

Our favorite image from the morning’s “Daytime Moon” efforts shows Moon’s heavily-bombarded southwest quadrant: craters, within craters, within craters. As with the other blue sky image shown here, this one is darker and more vivid than its actual appearance; we couldn’t resist giving the picture a bit more “snap” to bring out detail.
This image of the northwest quadrant of Earth’s Moon shows the image as a photographic negative — amber in color, not blue as in a previous post. Ejecta rays are especially visible around Crater Kepler, near the center of this picture. We enjoy images like this because they feel like a throwback to the early days of astrophotography, and because they tend to reveal delicate details — I mean, just look at the ejecta rays around the craters, especially Kepler just below center of this picture.

Our Sun has a flare, or two, for drama

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Active Region 4455 as it appeared at 13:55 UTC on June 2, 2026. Viewed via hydrogen-alpha light, the chromosphere has a mottled appearance due to magnetic field lines affecting the distribution of Solar plasma. Image by James Guilford

June 3, 2026 — Multiple flares with associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have been observed over the past 24 hours, originating from Solar Active Region 4455, shown here. “Closely-spaced impacts on June 5th could produce strong G3-class geomagnetic storms,” reports SpaceWeather .com, “with auroras in Europe and the USA at mid-latitudes.” Of course, we are expecting cloudy skies, here in Northeast Ohio, when the aurora may occur. #spaceweather #aurora #sun #sunspot #solarastronomy #astronomy