Stellarvue

Kevin LeGore captured this outstanding shot of the total lunar eclipse "Blood Moon" using his SVX180T. Kevin is the winner of our Total Lunar Eclipse Contest and will receive a $200.00 Stellarvue Gift Certificate as his reward. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the Earth's umbra and blocks all direct sunlight from the Moon's surface. Some sunlight still reaches the lunar surface via the Earth's atmosphere, bathing the Moon in a reddish, yellow or orange glow. https://lnkd.in/gEFzbBNw #stellarvue

Kevin LeGore captured this outstanding shot of the total lunar eclipse "Blood Moon" using his SVX180T. "As the Moon moves slowly through the Earth’s shadow, we first see only part of the Moon darkening (partial eclipse). But then, as the Moon moves fully into the Earth’s shadow, we see its entire disk of the Moon become dark and reddish (total eclipse). The total eclipse lasts 1 hour 5 minutes, and then it’s partial again." -Andrew Fraknoi https://ow.ly/wuBz50Vif1R #stellarvue

Tonight, there will be a total lunar eclipse. The maximum eclipse will occur at midnight Pacific Time or 2:59 am (EDT). This is when the dark center of the earth’s shadow covers the moon, giving rise to the red-hued "Blood Moon". This image of a “Super Blood Moon” (the combination of a total lunar eclipse, a supermoon and a blue moon) was taken by Brian Poole with his Stellarvue 80mm back in 2018. Here is a very informative webpage on this topic authored by Andrew Fraknoi, a retired astronomer, textbook author, and college professor: https://lnkd.in/gPBwR6Hn If you plan to shoot tonight’s lunar eclipse using a Stellarvue refractor, send your images to [email protected]. Please give us permission to use your images. We will post them next week and award the winner a $200 Stellarvue gift certificate. Images must be received by this Saturday. Enjoy the eclipse!

Larry Amann caught this impressive shot of M81 (Bode’s Galaxy) and M82 (Cigar Galaxy) with his SVX140T. M81 is a grand design spiral about 12 million light-years away. It has an active nucleus with a 70 million solar mass black hole. M82 is a starburst galaxy with H-alpha streamers that are the result of interactions with nearby M81. NGC 3077 appears to be an ordinary elliptical galaxy, but this image reveals ribbons of gas and dust from gravitational interactions with its larger neighbors. https://lnkd.in/gEFzbBNw #stellarvue

This year, the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) will be held April 5-6. Vic and Jan Maris of Stellarvue will be there with our friends. See Stellarvue's telescopes including our highest resolution SVX180T on display. Pre-purchase display telescopes at deep discounts at NEAF and take them home with you on Sunday! For more information on these extremely limited opportunities, call us now at (530) 823-7796 Mon - Fri, 9 - 5 Pacific Time or email [email protected]. #stellarvue

Bob MacArthur's March Update for In the Sky is here. Get an inside track on everything in the sky this month and try your luck at spotting the phenomena that he lays out. Among other events are a total lunar eclipse and a partial solar eclipse. Watch the video for more details and a full briefing. Clear Skies! https://lnkd.in/gVHhvnW2 #stellarvue

Gergo Baldauf and the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society caught this stunning shot of NGC 2261 (Hubble's Variable Nebula) with their SVX152T. Located in the constellation Monoceros, this nebula rests 2,500 light-years away from Earth. Its shape and brightness slowly change over weeks and months. Astronomers believe that this variability comes from the dense knots of dust that pass by the young variable star R Monocerotis. The star illuminates this dust, casting a shadow on the surrounding nebulosity that reflects the star's light. Due to this phenomenon, the nebula sometimes resembles that of a small comet. https://lnkd.in/gDWhw6Ds #stellarvue

Brian Meyers caught this mystifying shot of the Crab Nebula (M1) in Taurus with his SVX152T. This supernova remnant is located approximately 6,500 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent diameter of 11 light-years. At its center, is the Crab Pulsar, a neutron star 17-19 miles across with a spin rate of 30.2 times per second. The star emits gamma rays and radio waves at such high levels, that this nebula is thought to be the brightest persistent source of gamma rays in the sky. https://ow.ly/INFO50V6A7i #stellarvue

Tom Wideman caught this spectacular image of Abell 85 in Cassiopeia with his SVX130T. This supernova remnant is located approximately 9,780 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent diameter of 98 light-years. Estimated to be around 10,000 years old, its red color comes from light emitted by energized hydrogen atoms, while the blue and green color is the result of energized oxygen atoms. https://ow.ly/yYUa50V2f9z #stellarvue

Larry Ammann took this stellar shot of the Cone Nebula in Monoceros with his SVX140T. This nebula is an HII region that rests approximately 2,500 light-years away from Earth. It is neighbors with the popular Christmas Tree nebula, which it sits south of. Both of these objects make up the larger region of NGC 2264. The Cone Nebula’s shape stems from a dark absorption nebula made up of cold molecular hydrogen and dust in front of a faint emission nebula, containing hydrogen ionized by S Monocerotis, the brightest star in NGC 2264. The nebula itself is roughly 7 light-years long and has an apparent magnitude of 3.9. It gets its name due to its conical shape in ground-based images. https://ow.ly/Znht50UY1JE #stellarvue