By Emmanuele Sordini
Astronomy: images
20 January 2024
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Shooting wide-field is for sure not my specialty, but the view I was treated to on December 13th was just too beautiful to miss out on. Upon leaving the office, I saw a wonderful a rising Full Moon piercing through the clouds, low above the eastern horizon. The Moon was surrounded by a beautiful halo caused by thin cirrus clouds. Furthermore, all this was nicely framed between some barren trees which gave it a sort of an evanescent and mysterious […]
It’s been almost four years since a Lunar eclipse was visible in Western Europe (June 2011). Therefore, the one of September 28, 2015 was most welcome after such a long abstinence . Moreover, it was particularly interesting in that it would take place just around perigee, with the Moon at its largest possible apparent size. Diagram and world map for the total lunar eclipse of September 28, 2015 (Courtesy Sky &Telescope) Unfortunately, the weather forecast was rather unfavorable for almost all of […]
In late June 2015, Jupiter and Venus (together with the Moon) put on a really nice show with a breathtaking multiple conjunction. Around mid-June, the two planets were already quite close to each other. Around June 20th, they formed a really nice triangle with the crescent Moon, fitting in a circle of just a few degrees. But the best was yet to come. As the days passed, they got even closer, until they reached the minimum distance on June 30th, […]
One, two, three and four! Four as the number of eclipses I’ve observed so far in my life: this one took place in Siberia. As you’ll see, it’s been no easy task, but at the end of the day what really counts is that it turned out to be a great success, whose memories will last for a long time. The Aug 1, 2008, solar eclipse was the my fourth one, taking into account only the eclipses Id seen the […]
Nowadays, high-resolution imaging of the solar system bodies is one of the few sectors of astronomy where amateurs can still make their significant contribution not only from a purely esthetical, but also from a scientific standpoint. However, this type of activity is very demanding and unforgiving of even the tiniest flaw, as every single bit of the instrumentation (from the optics to the imaging detector) is pushed to its limits. The Gladius is a telescope specifically optimized for high-res imaging. […]
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.
On Jan. 22, 2008, it was a crystal-clear night on the Po river flatland (Northern Italy), as the dry foehn wind was blowing steadily from the Alps’ leeward slopes, thus draining every single bit of humidity from the air. A full Moon disk was also shining bright high up in the sky. By no means, would I ever miss this terrific opportunity of shooting it… So, I grabbed my ‘scope (Vixen ED103SWT), slammed it on my G11 mount along with […]