Saturday, September 19, 2009

Black Brant Rocket Chemical Release




Rocket launch & chemical release from Black Brant rocket launch, Wallops Island, Virginia. As seen from East Point, New Jersey September 19, 2009. Click on the images for a larger view.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Minotaur Rocket Launch


On May 19, 2009 at 7:55 PM a 4 stage Air Force Minotaur I rocket carrying the Air Force Research Laboratory’s TacSat-3 satellite was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia. I and 3 friends watched from East Point, NJ as the rocket could be seen over the Delaware Bay. The view in binoculars was outstanding!

This is a photo I took with Nikon Coolpix 4500 camera as the rocket blasted off into space. Click on the image for a larger view.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Comet Lulin at Opposition


In this view taken February 25th comet Lulin is directly opposite the Sun in the sky and out all night long.

The gas tail points away from Earth & Sun and is unseen.

The dust tail is well presented & seen at it's longest & brightest.


This photo shows over 1.5 degrees of dust tail. It was taken at low power with my 80mm F/5 refractor with -0.5 focal reducer.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Comet Lulin Approaches Earth


I took this photo of comet Lulin on February 20, 2009 as the comet neared it's closest pass with Earth February 23rd. The reddish dust tail, the anti-tail, seen on the left, grows larger as the faint gas tail, at upper right, shrinks in size.
When comet Lulin reaches opposition on February 25th, it will be directly opposite the Sun in the sky, the gas tail should completely disappear. After opposition the gas tail, if still visible, will still point away from the Sun, but it will be pointing in the same direction as the anti-tail.
At this point the comet will have crossed the meridian and the anti-tail will really no longer be an anti-tail. Both tails will be pointing away from the Sun in the evening sky!

The Two Tails of Comet Lulin


Comet Lulin passes near the Earth on February 23, 2009 at the same time that it appears to pass 2 degrees south of Saturn.

I first observed comet Lulin August 3, 2008 as it passed 2 degrees north of Jupiter. This comet appears to pass so close to the planets because comet Lulin is closely aligned with the ecliptic, the Sun & planets path through the sky.

Although the rule of thumb is that comet tails point away from the Sun, a comet aligned with the ecliptic with an angular distance from the Sun that is increasing, can display an anti-tail that appears to point toward the Sun.

This is because the dust tail, although it initially points away from the Sun, curves as it is spread out along the orbit of the comet as it recedes from the Sun. At the same time the gas tail can be seen pointing directly away from the Sun.

I took this photo on the morning of February 1, 2009 with my 4.5" scope. The dusty anti-tail points to the upper left, the gas tail can be seen to the lower right.