Monthly Archives: October 2023

Not “First Light”

 in Blog  tagged Flying Bat Nebula / LDN673 / NGC6914 / Northern Cross / Squid Nebula / SVA

Astronomers often use the phrase “first light” in reference to the first time some new equipment is used, especially a telescope.  I’m looking forward to first light for my new observatory in Santa Fe, but these images are from my trip to the Pacific Northwest in August.  The only new equipment there was my travel trailer! I stayed at SkyView Acres (SVA) for most of the trip, and did all the imaging from there (see the Sept. 23rd post for a photo of my setup).  I used the SVX80T ‘scope (with 0.74X reducer) for all the images, and it worked […]

Annular Eclipse (Oct. 14, 2023)

 in Blog  tagged annular eclipse / Bob Yoesle / contact points / Lunt / solar eclipse

I guess I should have reminded you before the day of the eclipse, but I suspect most readers here were well aware of it, and/or unable to see it.  Although complete annularity was visible from my home in Santa Fe, I decided to drive an hour south to be close to the centerline.  In a total eclipse you want to be close to the centerline to get the longest period of time in totality.  In an annular eclipse this is also true, but perhaps the more important consideration is that the Moon passes through the center of the Sun, so […]