Hersey – Page 8 – The Suffolk Sky

04/13/2024 – Messier 51, The Whirlpool Galaxy

April 14, 2024 by Hersey

It is galaxy season! It was a nice night for observing. A crisp clear sky and temperatures in the mid-to-low 50s F. Not a lot of humidity in the air, so seeing was nice and dew was at a minimum. Last nights…

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Learning KStars/Ekos – Back to the Future… Working with Time

April 11, 2024 by Hersey

The ability to adjust the date/time in a planetarium program is extremely handy when planning an observation session. What will the sky look like, or what will be visible, later tonight/2 days from now/1 week from now/etc from now at 10 PM?…

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Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024 – It. Was. Amazing!

April 9, 2024 by Hersey

Beautiful weather the April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse. Temperatures in the mid-70s and a nice mostly clear sky. Just a few passing thin clouds. The weather forecast had been a bit all over the place in the days leading up to the…

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04/07/2024- The Leo Triplet – M65, M66, and NGC 3628

April 8, 2024 by Hersey

Nice clear night. A little cool, but still a nice clear Moonless night. I was setting up more to make sure everything was ready for the Solar Eclipse, but decided to have a quick go and capturing some light since it was…

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This is only a test… Getting ready for the Solar Eclipse

April 5, 2024 by Hersey

Took a few minutes to test things out to make sure all is ready for the Solar Eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024. Some time ago I 3D printed a Solar Finder I found on Thingiverse, it worked great! I was able…

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A Surprise in the Mail…

April 2, 2024 by Hersey

Received a nice surprise in the mail today… the SkyWatcher USA Target of the Month (TOTM) 2024 25th anniversary patch. Actually got a pair of patches and a neat deck of cards. My TOTM submission can be found here. This month’s TOTM…

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Penumbral Lunar Eclipse – March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024 by Hersey

In the early morning of March 25, 2024 there was a penumbral lunar eclipse. At 3:12 AM EDT around 95% of the Moon was in Earth’s penumbral shadow. I captured images of the Moon from just after the start of the eclipse…

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Looking Back… STS-133 Space Shuttle Discovery Final Launch

March 19, 2024 by Hersey

Back on February 24, 2011 Sandy and I took the opportunity to travel down to Titusville, FL to witness the final launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on Mission STS-133. We actually made the trip down twice to see Shuttle Discovery fly this…

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Planning for the April 2024 Solar Eclipse

March 13, 2024 by Hersey

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible across a good portion of North America: passing over Mexico, the eastern half of the United States, and Canada. Even though Virginia is not in the path of totality we still…

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03/11/2024 – Headphone Nebula March 2024 TOTM

March 12, 2024 by Hersey

It’s been a bit since we have had a nice Moonless clear sky. Monday night, 3/11/2024, was a very nice night for looking up. Cool, but not too cold, with temperatures in the mid-to-low 40s. Very clear, no Moon, and only a…

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