This week

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Auroras

We had some aurora here on Sunday Dec 20th,2015

Here's a few pics I took:

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This and that

Woke up to our first dusting of snow of the season this morning.Temps are expected to rise so it should hopefully be gone before the end of the day and mild temps are expected thoughout the Christmas week.

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So far I have had no luck imaging Comet Catalina aka C/2013 US10.Sky conditions habe not been co-operating at all.It's somewhere in this shot but not visible to me.

This week's sky events:

December 20: El Nath

The star El Nath performs double duty. It represents the tip of one of the horns of Taurus, the bull. But it also forms part of the classical pattern of the adjoining constellation Auriga, the charioteer.

December 21: Winter Solstice

Winter arrives at 10:48 p.m. CST, when the Sun stands farthest south for the year. The Sun will "stand still" for a few days more, rising and setting at almost exactly the same points on the horizon. After that, it will begin to move northward.

December 22: Sparkly Rings

Fomalhaut, the brightest star of Piscis Austrinus, the southern fish, is low in the south as night falls. It is the only bright star in that region of the sky. A giant planet orbits the star, and the planet could be encircled by rings.

December 23: Moon and Aldebaran

The bull gets an eyeful of moonlight tonight. Aldebaran, the bright star that represents the eye of Taurus, the celestial bull, stands close to the upper right of the Moon at nightfall. The two remain close throughout the night.

December 24: Long-Night Moon

Santa shouldn't need Rudolph's help tonight, because the full Moon will light up the Christmas Eve sky. In fact, there's more moonlight tonight and tomorrow night than at any other time of the year.

December 25: The Reindeer

A long-forgotten reindeer jingles across the sky tonight. The extinct constellation Tarandus vel Rangifer snuggles close to Polaris, which marks the north celestial pole. It's above the pole this evening, to the right of M-shaped Cassiopeia.

December 26: Winter Circle

The just-past-full Moon joins a bright pattern of stars known as the Winter Circle or Winter Hexagon tonight. The group climbs into good view by about 9 p.m. Look to the upper left of the Moon for the twins of Gemini, the stars Pollux and Castor.

-- Al C 

AL_IN_NS

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Waiting for meteors

The annual Geminid meteor shower is expected to peak tonight.I did an all night sky photo session last night and only picked up a few.Hoping that the sky stays clear tonight for another photo session.

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Other things to look for this as posted on Star Date:

December 13: Breaking Down

Look for the beautiful thin crescent Moon shortly after sunset this evening. The crescent is illuminated by sunlight, while the dark portion of the lunar disk is illuminated by earthshine, which is sunlight reflected from an almost-full Earth.

December 14: Crab Nebula

A colorful crab scuttles across the sky on December nights. The Crab Nebula is a cloud of glowing gas in the constellation Taurus that spans about a dozen light-years. It's called the crab because its tendrils of gas resemble a crab.

December 15: Northern Cross

Look to the northwest after nightfall this evening for the Northern Cross, a grouping of stars in the constellation Cygnus, the swan. As it begins to set, a few hours after sunset, the cross stands upright, as though it were anchored to the horizon.

December 16: Perseus

Perseus, the hero, stands overhead by 9 or 10 p.m. Many of its stars are immersed in the glow of the Milky Way. As you look at Perseus, you are seeing stars in three of the galaxy's spiral arms, named for the constellations Orion, Perseus, and Cygnus.

December 17: Evening Constellations

December's evening skies abound with bright constellations, especially in the south and east. Look for Orion, the hunter; Gemini, the twins; and Orion's dogs, Canis Minor and Canis Major, home of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

December 18: Switching On

The constellation Pisces, the fishes, stands high in the south at nightfall, spreading out above and to the upper left of the Moon. It has few bright stars, so you may need a starchart to help you find it.

December 19: Last Visit

The planet Saturn is just climbing into view in the morning sky. It's quite low in the southeast at dawn tomorrow and looks like a moderately bright star. The giant planet will climb into much better view by year's end.

This week's upcoming sky events + forecast

Things to look for this week:

November 29: More Moon and Gemini

The constellation Gemini, the twins, climbs into good view in the east by about 9 o'clock. The gibbous Moon rises directly below the twins late this evening, and follows them across the sky for the rest of the night.

November 30: Orion Rising

One of the icons of winter nights is climbing higher into the evening sky. Orion the hunter is in good view in the east by about 9 p.m. Look for his "belt" of three moderately bright stars pointing straight up from the horizon.

December 1: Venus and Spica

Spica, the brightest star of the constellation Virgo, is in the southeast at dawn tomorrow. It stands close to the right of Venus, the brilliant "morning star."

December 2: Orion Nebula

Orion climbs into view in the east by 9 p.m. To the right of its three-star belt, look for a row of three objects that make up Orion's Sword. One of those objects looks fuzzy because it's a nebula, a cloud of gas and dust that's giving birth to new stars.

December 3: Moon and Jupiter

Jupiter keeps company with the crescent Moon early tomorrow. The planet looks like a brilliant star. It rises just above the Moon in the wee hours of the morning, and they remain close together at dawn.

December 4: Moon and Mars

Mars is in the morning sky, shining like a moderately bright orange star. The planet will stand close to the lower left of the Moon at dawn tomorrow, and to the upper right of the Moon on Sunday.

December 5: Moon and Companions

The Moon is surrounded by bright companions early tomorrow. Venus, the "morning star," stands to the lower left of the Moon. Two fainter companions are closer to the Moon — Spica below it and Mars above.

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This week wx forecast:

Today A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of flurries this afternoon. Wind northwest 20 km/h. High plus 2.

Tonight Partly cloudy. 30 percent chance of flurries this evening. Clearing before morning. Wind north 20 km/h. Low minus 6.

Mon, 30 Nov Sunny. High minus 2.

Night  Clear. Low minus 4.

Tue, 1 Dec Sunny. High plus 3.

Night  Cloudy periods with 60 percent chance of showers. Low plus 3.

Wed, 2 Dec Periods of rain. High 9.

Night  Periods of rain. Low 6.

Thu, 3 Dec Periods of rain. Windy. High 8.

Night  Cloudy periods. Low minus 3.

Fri, 4 Dec Sunny. High plus 2.

Night  Clear. Low minus 2.

Sat, 5 Dec Sunny. High plus 2.

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Been experimenting with CHDK on my Canon A-610.Really need some clear moonless nights to really give it a workout but so far I am impressed with the enhancements via the software.Anyone not familiar with it can read more here: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

Check out a couple of videos I made showing some of the features:

1  Camera showing factory settings

2.Running CHDK

Test photo:

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---- Al C

@al_in_ns