C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) seen against a starry night sky on the night of October 17, 2024.
C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) has faded so very much in just a few days! We wish that we could have seen it early in the week — right after it became an evening object here — but rain and clouds ruined the first nights and, as I just said, that comet is fading *fast* as it retreats toward the outer regions of our Solar System. Comet C/2023 A3 had what seemed to be an extraordinarily long tail and, while we were unable to capture its extent, you can see hints of it leading far beyond its bright nucleus. Visual sightings, for us, were binocular-assisted only and when we could finally see it, C/2023 A3 wasn’t exactly “spectacular”but it was another comet to add to our “life list”.
C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) the night of October 18, 2024, seen above moonlit, autumn-colored trees reflected in still lake waters. Photo by James Guilford.C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) the night of October 18, 2024. Photo by James Guilford.
A panoramic view of the aurora borealis as viewed from rural Medina County, Ohio, as a surge in activity occurred. The display is reflected in the still waters of a small lake. The bright light at the right-hand end above the treeline is light pollution from the city of Medina. Photo by James Guilford.
It began on Tuesday, October 8, when a sunspot called AR3848 flared explosively over the course of several hours. The detonation hurled a large and powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) Earthward from Sun. On Thursday, October 10 the magnetically-charged solar plasma hit Earth’s geomagnetic field and fireworks erupted. According to SpaceWeather.com the aurora borealis was seen as far south as Puerto Rico!
The area in the upper left-hand portion of this photograph is AR3848, the “active region” that produced an enormous solar flare on October 8, 2024. This is a view of Sun in hydrogen-alpha light, which shows the solar coronosphere layer. Photo by James Guilford.
I headed out to a remote county park location, where I have permission to be after dark, and was fortunate enough to be ready when a significant surge in activity occurred — around 10 PM EDT. That peak was amazing with colors, shapes, and movement visible across the entire northern horizon. It was particularly cool to see pillars appearing and disappearing in real time. Light from the aurora reflected upon the still waters of the park’s lake. Adding to the quiet, magical mood, were occasional calls in the darkness from perched birds. A wood duck, out on the lake, piped a sound reminding me of common loons.
During peak activity, looking east, we see intense red crowning a curved green ring, the Northern Lights reflected from the surface of still lake water. Photo by James Guilford.
The auroral surge went on for probably a bit more than half an hour, challenging me to select a spot to photograph. First one area would glow, then one at the other end of the bow-shaped display, pillars of light would appear like searchlights, then fade away. A thrill to witness as light, movement, and delicate colors were visible to the unaided eye. The camera picked up more than my poor eyes could see but I say without reservation this was the grandest aurora I’ve witnessed.
The western end of the coronal arc appeared strongest, as viewed from Medina County, through most of the evening. Here, during the surge, we see typical auroral colors, curtain-like waves of shape, and pillars that look like they reach the ground or might be mistaken for searchlights projecting from the ground. Photo by James Guilford.
All evening there seemed to be more intense activity over the western end of the aurora; that was verified by relatives in northwest Ohio whose photos showed a sky full of color directly overhead.
Although some observers were concerned that moonlight might drown out the aurora, that was not a problem during the peak or as it began to subside. This image shows the waxing Moon, low to the western horizon, with colorful patches of glowing sky nearby. Photo by James Guilford.
While I was at the lake I heard others coming and going from the park, pretty much the entire time I was there. A young couple eventually ventured away from the parking lot and encountered me at my spot around 11:30, seeking what I had found — a dark spot near the water. Their arrival had been delayed by a camera gone bad, and they had gone home to pick up another. Things petered out not long after the peak and, checking NOAA resources, it looked like the auroral ring was retreating back north. The couple had missed the best of the night and I, with frozen fingers and toes, I headed home.
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center graphic showing the predicted extent of the October 10-11, 2024 aurora borealis. Observers reported seeing portions of the aurora as far south as the Florida Panhandle. According to SpaceWeather.com it was seen as far south as Puerto Rico!
Still working without a dome, our setups are outdoors and temporary so we try and keep them fairly simple. Solar observing and imaging generally lend themselves well to brief observations due to the extreme amount of light available and resultant short photographic exposures. With a couple of clear days and nights available, we took advantage and made some experiments and observations with several successive setups on a single Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro mount.
Southern hemisphere of Sun — First Light image from ZWO ASI678MM planetary camera, via Baader Herschel-Prism, and Askar 103 APO telescope. False color applied.
We began with the Askar 103 APO telescope and its 700mm focal length, attaching our Baader Herschel-Prism, and the new ASI678MM monochrome camera. The setup worked well but for one issue: focus was only just achieved with the focuser racked all the way in with no latitude for adjustment. Image quality was very good but probably would have been better if we’d have had a bit more inward travel. Note: It was only later that we realized we might gain the needed travel if we had switched the camera’s nosepiece from the 1.25-inch to the 2-inch, allowing removal of the thick 1.25-inch adapter ring from the Herschel. A well, duh, moment!
By the way, we continue to be impressed by the build quality and optical excellence of the Askar refractor. It’s a solid instrument with great features, delivering superb results.
Askar 103 APO telescope, Baader Herschel-Prism, ASI678MM camera, on the Skywatcher mount makes an excellent combination. A Herschel wedge-style optical device does not require a filter be attached in front of the telescope’s objective lens — deflecting, absorbing, and ejecting the bulk of sunlight energy. Internal filters in the Baader apparatus reduce brightness and increase contrast.The Meade 6-inch refractor atop the Skywatcher mount and tripod. Visually, very effective, but the setup did not work with the Herschel-Prism and camera. The circular paved area is to form the floor of the observatory structure, the gray conduit to deliver power to a permanent mounting pier. Yes, the sky really was that blue that day!
The second experiment involved installing our massive Meade 6-inch telescope on the mount. The Skywatcher has a retractable rod for holding counterweights and is, therefore, a bit shorter than it might otherwise be, resulting in less leverage. It took nearly all of our available counterweights to balance the big scope. We installed the Herschel-Prism and a nice eyepiece and got beautiful views of the spotted face of our star. Attaching the ASI678MM, however, we could not reach focus — that inward focuser travel limit again — but we don’t believe the switch to the 2-inch nosepiece will help. That’s a shame! The Meade’s 1,250mm focal length would have provided amazing closeups!
The 11-inch Celestron SCT set up for a nighttime trial. This OTA was part of an integrated mount system that had failed so we “deforked” the telescope and attached a mounting rail for use on an equatorial mount.
With the mount set up we decided to try out the 11-inch Celestron SCT at night. Herschel wedge accessories are not to be used on reflecting telescopes as the concentrated unfiltered incoming sunlight can damage the scope’s secondary mirror. To our disappointment the telescope, which has set in storage for months since we attempted collumnation, displayed rather severe image distortions — comma-shaped stars. After a good bit of frustration we dismounted the telescope and planned to come out the next night with the Vixen Cassegrain telescope.
All good things… A series of clear days and nights came to an end with clouds rolling in to cover Saturn as it emerged from behind neighboring trees.
The following evening looked very promising; the sky was actually more transparent than it had been for the Celestron effort. Saturn would rise from behind trees neighboring our site some time after 11 p.m. so, at the appointed hour, we stepped outdoors and looked. Clouds, heralding a day or two of rain showers, were rolling in — broken at first but rapidly obscuring the entire sky. We tore down the setup, stowed the gear, and called it a night.
Tight crop on sunspots from the planetary camera’s First Light image of September 4. Sunspot umbra, penumbra, details are visible as are faculae and the granulated texture of the solar photosphere. Askar telescope, Baader Herschel-Prism, ZWO ASI678MM camera.
Over the period of a couple of days and nights, much was learned and the new planetary camera proved itself to be an excellent performer. We’ll continue to use the camera and telescope for solar and, probably, lunar views. Next we’ll likely try installing the focal reducer to achieve full-disk images.
Moon and Saturn had a close encounter tonight, August 20, 2024. Okay, the two orbs were about 809 million miles apart but they were close in the sky. I shot this image as early as I could, shooting through a narrow gap in the trees, with a telephoto lens and not a big ole telescope (which I’d have preferred). Still, there they were, together in our night sky, and here they are, a glowing pockmarked moon, and a distant and giant ringed world in one picture. Where is Saturn? It’s that tiny amber dot — a few pixels in size — above the lunar disk. Saturn’s ring plane is seen nearly on-edge now making the planet visually even smaller. — Photo by James Guilford
I’ve been shooting Sun images so frequently lately that I’ve neglected the night. While a recent aurora was obscured by clouds (and my sleep schedule) here, and no Perseid meteors spotted (clouds and sleep), Moon put in a nice appearance. Our neighbor in space was very low in our southern sky the night of August 14, which was good and bad. It was good because it can be hard to observe objects high overhead. It was bad because lower to the horizon means more air — and turbulence — between the observer and astronomical objects than if they were overhead. A tripod-mounted telephoto lens and DSLR were used for the capture and a bit of post-processing sharpened things up pretty well.
One of the things I enjoy most when observing Moon is looking along the terminator — the divide between dark and lit areas — at features partly illuminated by, in this case, the rising Sun. Especially noticeable is the arc of light near the upper end of the terminator — the sunlit tops of the Jura Mountains, defining the Bay of Rainbows, off of the grand Sea of Showers or Mare Imbrium.
Sunspots AR3716, AR3713, and AR3712, imaged June 22, 2024, 12:59 UTC, by James Guilford
I continued my practice of daily imaging of the sun for some weeks now. While still deciding precisely how to use and display the images I’m collecting, I’m also trying to standardize how the images are captured and establish a workflow in editing; that is in an effort to give the daily pictures the same overall size and appearance except for details, such as sunspots, where we want to observe changes. It’s not as easy as it may seem, especially when attempting to constantly improve image quality. This ought to become simpler once I have a permanent setup protected day-to-day within an observatory structure.
Sunspots AR3713 and AR3712, the more pronounced of the three large groups, have been interesting to watch as they traversed the visible side of Sun. Today (June 22), braving the morning’s already hot and humid conditions, I went to the extra work of setting up the Vixen VC200L Cassegrain telescope in an effort to achieve high quality images of the two — plus AR3716 — big sunspot groups before they disappear over the western solar limb. Both of the active regions reportedly harbor opposing magnetic energies which could, at any time, reconnect and throw off powerful flares but both have been surprisingly quiet. The next few days will be the last when an outburst from AR3713 or AR3712 might affect Earth.
The Sun, June 22, 2024 at 13:07 UTC from Medina, Ohio USA. Equipment: Canon EOS 7D Mk. 2, Canon EF 400mm 1:5.6 L Lens, 2X Extender, and Baader Film White Light Filter. False Color Applied. Image Credit: James Guilford / Stella-Luna Observatory
I meant well but still wound up posting new solar images to Instagram and Threads instead of here. Today’s image was particularly pleasing, however, so I’ve posted it in all three places!
Today was another day featuring a cloudy morning and sunny afternoon. This time, however, we experienced excellent seeing for a while — just long enough to record today’s solar portrait. We’re so pleased with the “inset” image that we’re featuring it first — it’s cropped directly from the whole-disk picture. Obviously sunspots AR3713 and AR3712 are dominant features; they also reportedly possess magnetic fields with the potential for M-Class flares.
Doing this the “old-fashioned” way, this image was a single exposure manually selected as best of a larger group of shots. The chosen image is edited to produce the best available picture from the data gathered. Today’s excellent seeing made for an unusually good photo. We’re pretty pleased.
Whole-disk image of Earth’s Sun as recorded June 14, 2024. Sunspot active regions are labeled.
An example of how I have been posting solar images on Instagram and Threads. This particular image shows giant sunspot complex AR3664 the day its coronal mass ejection from days earlier struck Earth’s magnetosphere setting off widespread and spectacular auroras.
I have been posting solar images on a near-daily basis for some time. I enjoy recording the images and sharing them with the world and Sun is an especially interesting object right now as we near Solar Maximum. Unfortunately, I am not sure the daily postings look all that great on Instagram where, now, our home page looks like a collection of spotted oranges or maybe suspect egg yolks! What to do?
My current thinking is to post only the most interesting images on Instagram and Threads — days when giant sunspots are present, newsworthy, or (eventually, when I get it working) spectacular coronal images — unusually interesting shots. To keep a public repository of the other images — the routine, daily views — a page on this website might be advised. I think I’ll try it.
So a daily posting here, on a solar imaging page, and special stuff also posted on Insta and Threads. Yeah, that sounds about right. Thanks for listening. — JG
The completed observatory base is of patio construction with a concrete pad beneath decorative concrete pavers. The color of the pavers here is more intense in this picture because they were freshly wetted. We are considering sealing the pavers to enhance the color for a longer term.
Our contractor, taking advantage of a break in the weather, applied Polybind-brand polymeric sand to the observatory’s patio base completing that phase of the project. The space beneath the patio paver stones needed to be dry to allow the sand material to freely flow into all available gaps. Once wetted, the Polybind rapidly cures, sealing out insects and seeds.
Checking with the manufacturer of our Sirius Observatory we learned that production delays will push back our project well into the summer months. Disappointing, to say the least, but good things are worth waiting for. We’re considering now whether to install the steel pier at the center of the base while we wait — with or without a telescope attached, the pier could be covered between uses. With the pier in place, we wouldn’t need to carry out a tripod and mount every time we wish to use the observing pad.
The first DSLR image of the night turned out to be the most spectacular.
It turned out to be a stronger impact than forecast, and the strongest thus far of this solar activity cycle; the geomagnetic storm of May 10 – 11, 2024 produced auroras (Northern and Southern Lights) visible at night from locations nearly pole to pole.
The Responsible Spot: The morning of the aurora, we photographed Sun, capturing this close-up of AR3664, the source of coronal materials that caused the Northern Lights or Aurora storm. It was a most impressive feature and remained intact and spewing powerful flares as it disappeared over Sun’s western limb!
The forecast of possible aurora prompted me to step outside at about 10 PM (EDT), when twilight had faded, to check the skies. At first I saw what I thought might be clouds but knowing auroras can be feeble, I watched. Sure enough, there was movement in those “clouds”.
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center’s depiction of the expected extent of aurora May 10, 2024.
Glancing overhead I saw what I found hard believe — aurora ray features directly overhead … at 41º latitude, a rare sight, indeed! Rushing back indoors, I pulled together camera, fisheye lens, and tripod and headed back out.
What most people saw with their unaided eyes resembled thin clouds. Watching those “clouds” as they ebbed and flowed, and subtle coloration betrayed their true nature to those who knew what to look for. The auroral streaks pictured here were directly overhead in Medina, Ohio — 41º latitude.
The aurora still presented itself as cloudy streaks with, perhaps, hints of color. Now also armed with my smartphone, I activated its camera and aimed it at the sky. There on the screen, light amplified by the phone’s electronics, glorious, eye-popping colors filled the sky! I’d never before experienced an aurora like it.
First image of the night came from the iPhone 13 camera, revealing the true extent of the ongoing aurora.
Only occasionally, during the time I was out, did the aurora’s color become visible to me; apparently being just below the limits of my, and others’ visual perception. Another local observer noted color was more visible shortly before I stepped outside to check on things — the actual peak of the display must have happened as twilight was ending and before 10 p.m.
During the hour we watched the show in the sky, the event slowly faded, then returned bringing forth another burst of color. The balance of images here are from a Canon EOS 5D Mk. 4 DSLR camera with a Sigma fisheye lens. The DSLR exposures are ISO 400, f/2.8, and 4 to 8 seconds.
I observed and photographed the aurora from shortly after 10:00 until about 11:30 EDT and in that hour or so, the intensity faded and then re-surged before fading away again which was my signal to shut down. I might have stayed out longer but had a commitment for the next day — sleep was needed — so, satisfied I’d seen the phenomenon at its best, I put away the camera gear.
Looking very nearly straight up, these rays appear to be emanating from a position in the east-northeastern sky. The extent of the aurora was impressive, visible well into the Deep South of the United States. The aurora australis was widely visible in the southern hemisphere.
Knowing it would be all over the news, I submitted my most spectacular shot of the night to the local newspaper — a daily that publishes on Saturday but not Sunday. It was too late for the Saturday edition but the editor gave my photo a three-column, Page 1 spot on Monday.
Colors rain down on a quiet residence, perhaps poured out from the Big Dipper seen here in an inverted position. The north star, Polaris, is a tiny dot near the center of this picture. (Note how two stars of the Dipper’s bowl point toward Polaris.) The short horizontal streak to the right of Polaris is a moving airplane’s navigation lights, captured in the several seconds of the camera’s exposure.
Our Sun is still in its peak activity period, by some accounts it won’t hit solar maximum until some time in 2025, so there may be more auroras in our near future but this was one for the history books!
Page 1 of the Medina County Gazette, Monday, May 13, 2024.
Stella-Luna Observatory 