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Martz-Kohl Observatory
non-profit organization devoted to the amateur astronomer
Author: Andy Felong
Members only!
Andromeda Galaxy
Member, Dave Wilkins, assembled this fantastic image of the Andromeda Nebula (M31, NGC 224) from 55 images of 1-minute duration. Images were taken near Kinzua Point, close to Warren, PA in July, 2020. The nebula is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth and the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. The galaxy’s name stems from the area of Earth’s sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda
Welcome to the observatory
Welcome to the Martz-Kohl Observatory
Photo by Richard Carlson. Taken in August 2019 after renovations were complete.
Cold Day at the Observatory
A bit of snow, some clouds, some sun – 17 degrees F – possibly good seeing at night!
Photo by member, Dave Wilkins. January 2020
Observatory at Night
There is actually very little light around the observatory but the long exposure makes it seem pretty bright.
Night-time photo by Dave Wilkins, member from Warren, PA. Taken in April 2019 after renovations were complete
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Yes, Neptune has rings and a bunch of moons. What do we see in Webb's latest image of the ice giant Neptune? Webb captured seven of Neptune’s 14 known moons: Galatea, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Proteus, Larissa, and Triton. Neptune’s large and unusual moon, Triton, dominates this Webb portrait of Neptune as a very bright point of light sporting the signature diffraction spikes seen in many of Webb’s images.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Alexa Nicole Corbett
Jupiter’s auroras in infrared from the James Web Space Telescope (JWST). Wow!Earth's auroras are cool, but Jupiter's auroras are next level. They are the most powerful auroras in the Solar System, and they are absolutely huge.
JWST, the new space telescope, got this view of Jupiter in infrared light. Human eyes can't see in infrared, so citizen scientist Judy Schmidt recolored this image into shades of visible light to reveal all the gorgeous details.
Jupiter's auroras appear in redder colors in this image, while the hazes near the poles are mapped to greens and yellows. The famous Great Red Spot, a storm larger than the Earth, is the big swirly white object on the lower right of the planet. So beautiful!
Have you seen the auroras on Earth?
(Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team/Judy Schmidt)First Light for the International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT).
In 1686, Isaac Newton said, a spinning "vessel, by gradually communicating its motion to the water, will make it begin sensibly to revolve, and recede by little and little from the middle, and ascend to the sides of the vessel, forming itself into a concave figure." I.e. take a (circular) container of liquid, spin it around its central axis and the liquid will take the shape of a parabola. Primary telescope mirrors are usually in the shape of a parabola as this reflects light onto a point, the focus of the parabola.
There have been attempts since Newton published his paper to create a telescope with a liquid mirror. Conceptually simple but many factors impeded actual performance. Vibrations will cause ripples in the liquid and even wind passing over the liquid will disturb it. You can also only look straight up at the zenith as the liquid and its container need to spin evenly with the assist of gravity.
With evolving technology however, old ideas become practical. A unique liquid-mirror telescope now sits atop a mountain in the Himalayan range at the Devasthal Observatory. Built by astronomers from India, Belgium and Canada, the novel instrument employs a 4-meter-diameter rotating mirror made up of a thin film of liquid mercury to collect and focus light. It is located at an altitude of 8,000 feet. The International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) is the first telescope of its kind in India, the largest in Asia, and made solely for astronomical surveys.
First light for the telescope was in June, 2022. When regular science operations begin later this year, the ILMT will produce about 10 GB of data every night, which will be quickly analyzed to reveal variable and transient stellar sources,” said Dr. Brajesh Kumar, ILMT Project Scientist. Project astronomers are enthusiastic about the application of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) algorithms that will be implemented for classifying the objects observed with the ILMT.
More info is available on the ILMT website: www.ilmt.ulg.ac.be/home/Very cool.
WEDNESDAY, July 20, 2022 7:30pm. Observatory Lecture Series: The Man on the Moon. Ray Garner III, a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, will present live at the Martz-Kohl Observatory a talk entitled “The Man on the Moon.” Over fifty years ago, America became the first (and so far, only) nation to put a man on the Moon. That momentous event is one for the ages and was watched by millions of people worldwide. What is less remembered are all the smaller steps required to get to the Moon. This talk will take you through that journey. martzobservatory.org/zoom/
We encourage you to come to the observatory to meet our speakers either in-person or virtually on our high-resolution, conference screen and join in our always lively Q&A after presentations. Later, if the weather cooperates, we offer tours and viewing opportunities.First released image from the James Webb Space Telescope covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground – and reveals thousands of galaxies in a tiny sliver of the vast universe.
Webb’s sharp near-infrared view brought out faint structures in extremely distant galaxies, offering the most detailed view of the early universe to date - some 13 billion light years distant!That is just amazing - almost beyond comprehension.
I hear President Biden got to see the first image with NASA.
Audra Ralston Brandon Ralston And here is the Martz-Kohl Observatory I need to get to, lol.
Rodney Thehotrod Redeye
Beautiful!
Holy Smokes! A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday (June 19) at 12:27am EDT carrying a communications satellite for the Louisiana-based company Globalstar to orbit. Member, Dave Wilkins, was in the right place and time (2:20am) to capture these images from the Martz-Kohl Observatory parking lot. These bright clouds are called noctilucent clouds. They are brighter than any surrounding clouds because they are significantly higher, 100,000s of feet up. At this height in the atmosphere, the contrail is made up of tiny ice crystals.
The five naked-eye viewable planets are hanging out together in the pre-dawn sky for the month of June. The alignment is very rare as the planets are lined up in order from distance from the sun. The alignment will be at its peak before sunrise on June 24. Look toward the east and south around 4:30-5:00 AM EDT to see our neighbors in the solar system put on a dazzling display. Mercury may be difficult to see as it is close to the sun and low in the sky but you should easily see Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Get up early and enjoy! Photo by observatory member, Dave Wilkins.
I hope I will be able view the alignment! Peak viewing, June 24th, is on my granddaughter's 7th birthday! Ironically, her birthday theme is astronomy!
Phooey, my SE view is hidden by tall trees.
Thank you for sharing
Great
Chelsea Gardner
What remarkable views to. Share.
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