Astronomy: website and activity updates

Labor Day’s Saturn

On May 1st, 2008, I managed to take this shot of Saturn, most likely the last of this season (which has been haunted by really bad seeing conditions) until the Ringed Planet emerges back from sunlight next winter. All data are in the picture.

Saturn and its companions

On March 18th, 2008, the weather was once again clear, but the Foehn wind was sweeping Northern Italys flatland, as it has (too) often happened during this past winter. No surprise the seeing was really crappy. In spite of that, I managed to pull off the following image featuring Saturn roaming the heavens with five of its satellites! The satellites in the above picture are numbered as follows (verified with WinJupos): 1, Japetus; 2, Rhea; 3, Tethys; 4, Dione; 5, […]

Moonset over Mottarone

On Jan.24, 2008, another crystal-clear day had just started, when I spotted a waxing, almost-full Moon setting over the snow-covered slopes of the Mottarone, a well-known mountain (and ski resort) overhanging Stresa, renowned touristic resort on the western banks of Lago Maggiore. In no time, I was out on my balcony shooting a sequence of exposures which I later put together into the animated GIF “movie” shown above.