AstroBackyard Inc.’s Post

I took this photo about 40 minutes before totality through my solar filter. Lots of interesting solar features I was able to capture. The most obvious are two large sunspot groups. Because sunspots are where charged particles can blast towards Earth and disrupt communications and power grids (solar flares), sunspots are closely tracked and monitored for changes in their activity- they get four-digit designations as a result of this close monitoring. The big group in the center is Region 3628 by the Moon's disk (five spots total) and I was able to capture the dark umbra (the center of the sunspot) and the lighter penumbra that surrounds the umbra. The dark appearance is the result of the sunspot being relatively cooler than the surrounding area. The other prominent area is Region 3633 (six spots total). There are a total of 79 sunspots facing Earth the day of the #eclipse, up 8 from the day prior. The Sun does not rotate evenly- different latitudes of the Sun rotate at different speeds and this can cause the powerful magnetic fields to get tangled. Areas where they get tangled are where the sunspots form because the magnetic "tangle" blocks the normal convection in that area and it cools relative the rest of the Sun. When the field "untangles", it can snap back with enough energy to release a solar flare. A solar prominence is a high energy plasma loop that connects two sunspots. If the tangled magnetic field snaps back hard enough, that prominence is ejected away from the sun and become a solar flare. I also able to catch a bit of the granularity of the solar surface (though not as spectacularly as what a hydrogen alpha filter can catch!). Solar granules are individual convection cells on the Sun. I wasn't able to catch that back in 2017 with my smaller telephoto lens and older DSLR. Then: Nikon D7000/Sigma 18-250 Now: Nikon D810/Sigma 150-500 36 hours prior to the eclipse I was sure the weather in Dallas/Fort Worth was going to make this a bust. I had to travel to chase the 2017 eclipse to southern Illinois- this one was nice to enjoy in my own backyard with my family! #Astronomy #ScienceGeek #ScienceNerd #SolarEclipse #Photography

I set my DSLR camera to 18mm focal length, ISO 800 and 15 seconds exposure. This image shows Mars near the tree at the bottom of the photo. https://lnkd.in/gPUTnaym

Title: "Astronaut Within the Red Triangle" This image features an astronaut standing against a bold, red triangular backdrop. The astronaut is dressed in a dark spacesuit, which is highly detailed with straps, patches, and a chest-mounted life-support system. The helmet's visor is black and reflective, hiding the astronaut’s face, adding an element of mystery. Red and black smoke or dust swirls around the lower half of the figure, blending into the background and creating a dramatic, dynamic effect. The red triangle dominates the upper half of the composition, contrasting sharply with the lighter gray tones that fade out on the sides. The vibrant red brings intensity to the scene, while the muted smoke below adds depth and texture. The combination of bold geometric shapes with abstract splatter effects gives the artwork a modern and futuristic feel. #astronaut #redtriangle #modernart #spaceexploration

Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components with two boosters, Image: Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components with two boosters, : Image: Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components with two boosters

Experience nature as colorful as it is with our Leica binoculars. Identify even the finest details and experience the joy of bright, crystal clear and high-contrast images every time. Learn more about Leica Sports Optics: https://bit.ly/3zytaRf #leicanature #wildlifeobservation #nature #natureobservation #birdwatching #LeicaSportsOptics

Since it proved to be of some interest on Mastodon, I thought I'd cross-post this here, if only to provide distraction from other events today. Ugh. Last week, Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) made its closest approach to the Sun. While doing so, it made a dramatic appearance sweeping through the wide-field LASCO C3 coronagraph of the ESA/NASA SOHO mission over a few days. Here’s my take, a triplet of Deep Red, Orange, & Blue filter images taken over an hour around 09:00UTC on 14 January, as an RGB composite. I make no claim that this is a scientifically accurate representation of the comet. It was changing shape as it moved rapidly around the Sun during its perihelion passage & the three filter images were taken separated by roughly 30 mins each. After downloading the images as FITS files from the SOHO archive & processing them to maximise the dynamic range, I simply shifted & rotated them to align. No scale or distortion terms were used. So it’s close, but certainly not perfect. The short horizontal spikes either side of the head of the comet are artefacts due to saturation of the detector. The comet was very bright & even in these short 4 second filtered exposures, slightly over-exposed. The 17 sec clear / white light images also taken show the tail better but are heavily wiped out in the head region. The green diagonal spike from the head is real though & must indicate a specific ionised gas emitting brightly in the LASCO Orange filter (shown as green in the RGB). #C2024G3  #CometATLAS  #Perihelion  #Photography  #SpaceScience

Northern Lights (Aurora Borelais) will be viewable for most of North America tonight while the larger solar storm since 1859’s Carrington Event is striking the earth. It may be a good precaution to unplug sensitive electronics from the wall and make sure you have backups of your important data on disconnected media. Photography Settings (DSLR) ————————————- Accesories: Sturdy tripod and Remote release Lens: Wide angle at max ideally f2.8-1.8 Mode: Manual Color mode: Standard or Vivid File type: RAW White Balance: 3200k ISO: 100 to 1600* Shutter Speed: 1-15 secs* When shooting auroras depending on how bright and lively they are, you’ll need to experiment with ISO and Shutter Speed. Use the histogram to dial it the sweet spot. Use a 2 sec delay with remote to not add any blur to the photos. Happy shooting. #solarstorm #carringtonEvent

Remote sensing is obtaining information about an object from a distance. Photography is a very common form of remote sensing. There are different ways to collect data, and different sensors are used depending on the application. Some methods collect ground-based data, others airborne or spaceborne.

https://lnkd.in/gMUDNg3K a great illustration of multiple dimensions