Gazing at the firmament
M104 "The Sombrero Galaxy"
This famous galaxy is named for its particular shape, which looks like a true galactic sombrero. Located about 30 million light-years away, it is one of the most beautiful and delicate lenticular galaxies. Lenticular galaxies are a type of galaxy that falls between spiral and elliptical galaxies.
Visually, it's accessible to medium-sized telescopes under dark skies. It appears faintly as a ghostly plume against the dark background of the telescopic field. This changes with larger-aperture telescopes, where it's possible (using specific observation techniques) to make out more details, such as the dark dust lane of the galactic disk.
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Comet Leonard C/2021 A1 Through a Telescope
Discovered by astronomer Gregory J. Leonard, the comet was also observed with telescopes. Those with low focal length telescopes could especially enjoy the comet, as it appeared large in the sky.
We are still hoping for a comet like Comet C/2006 P1 McNaught, whose brightness and apparent size exceeded all expectations and was seen worldwide with the naked eye in January 2007. Time will tell if we'll have the chance to repeat such an experience, but for now, we're content with comets like Leonard C/2021 A1.
The Large Magellanic Cloud
This irregular galaxy is visible to the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere, but only in skies free from both light and chemical pollution.
The Great Orion Nebula
What more can be said about the most photographed nebula in the sky? Without a doubt, it's a nebula that presents significant challenges when it comes to understanding the birth of new stars and planetary disks.
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The earthshine
Everyone has seen it on a summer evening or before dawn. The "earthshine" phenomenon is related to the glow of Earth, which faintly illuminates the surface of the Moon.
Mars in 2018
The year 2018 was special for observing Mars, a planet that is particularly difficult to see and photograph.
47 Tucanae
Located near the Small Magellanic Cloud, 47 Tucanae is one of the most beautiful globular clusters. This stunning cluster is about 16,700 light-years away from us and has a diameter of around 120 light-years. From suburban skies, it is possible to see it with the naked eye as a fuzzy, unresolved star. With 7x50 binoculars, it begins to reveal its true nature. It is also a relatively bright globular cluster, with a visual magnitude of 4.0, making it ideal for a first experience with deep-sky objects.
The Small Magellanic Cloud
One of the exclusive gems of the Southern Hemisphere, this is an irregular galaxy located in the constellation Tucana. It's a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way and a member of the Local Group.
It's about 200,000 light-years away from us, with a diameter of approximately 7,000 light-years. In the photo, you can see the globular cluster 47 Tucanae to the right of the cloud, a beautiful cluster that is about 16,700 light-years away and has a diameter of around 120 light-years.
The Jewel Box Cluster, NGC 4755
This cluster is a favorite among many amateur astronomers. It's visible through good binoculars and small telescopes as a triangular formation. In long-exposure photographs, the view is amplified, revealing hundreds of fainter stars that the human eye can't perceive.
The Beehive and the Moon
The Beehive Cluster (M44), also known as the Praesepe, is an open star cluster in the constellation Cancer. It has a larger population of stars than other nearby bright open clusters. In a dark sky, the Beehive is visible as a small, nebulous object to the naked eye; it has been known by this name since antiquity. With a good pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars from a rural area, it's a truly beautiful sight. With short-focal-length telescopes with 70mm or 80mm apertures, it's absolutely gorgeous.
Occultation of Mars by the Moon
An occultation of the red planet occurred in the early morning of Sunday, August 9, 2020. The Moon, located at a distance of 399,573 km, contrasted with Mars, which was located at a colossal 89.602 million km away.
A shyly gibbous Mars is visible in terms of its phase, along with its south polar cap, the Sirenum Tholus land area, and regions of dark Martian terrain.
Occultation of Mars by the Moon
On the night of Friday, October 2, 2020, near midnight, the occultation (immersion) of Mars by the Moon began at 11:44 PM. In just 2 minutes, Mars managed to hide behind the lunar limb. But let's not be fooled, in reality, the lunar limb was what hid the planet
After the occultation, observing the visual conjunction
On the night of Friday, October 2, 2020, the occultation (immersion) of Mars by the Moon at 11:44 PM was one of the most notable events of the year. In this photograph, you can see Mars in a different position, now in conjunction, with its polar cap and highlands, next to a waning gibbous moon.
Venus in the Daytime Sky
Venus is a planet that is perfectly observable with the naked eye during the day, although it requires sharp vision with a visual acuity above 70/100. It appears as a white dot against the celestial background of the daytime sky. A small telescope shows its phases, which are constantly changing, as is its linear distance from Earth.
For some periods, the disk of Venus is barely a small, almost point-like sphere in its full phase. However, during its crescent or waning phases, it has a truly interesting apparent size, even with the smallest telescopes. This relationship between apparent size and distance keeps its magnitude relatively stable throughout the year.
Total Solar Eclipse Sequence of December 14, 2020, from Valcheta, Río Negro Province, Argentina
On a day of clouds and intense wind, we were able to appreciate the eclipse from the path of totality. Although the days before and after were marked by good temperatures and the presence of thin cloud layers, everything changed on the day of the eclipse: intense cold wind in the morning, clouds, more wind, rain showers, and even more wind!
To see more about this eclipse, go to: "In the Moon's Shadow"
Orion Among the Trees
A simple shot of the constellation Orion, surrounded by trees on a summer night in 2019. Listening to the gentle rustling of the leaves moved by the wind, occasionally covering the stars, is incomparable to any other work of art.
Jupiter Observation from Mar del Plata
Jupiter was truly spectacular in 2018. This image was captured with a 200mm f/6 telescope. The picture was created from a video sequence of over 15 minutes, followed by a process of decomposition and stacking. The frames where the atmosphere least blurred the gas giant's disk were selected.
Green Flash and the Sunrise
The "green flash" is visible during both sunrises and sunsets.
Jules Verne described it this way in his 1882 novel, "The Green Ray":
"(...) A green that no artist could ever obtain on his palette, a green of which neither the varied tints of vegetation nor the tones of the clearest ocean could ever produce an equal. If there is a green in Paradise, it is that flash" (Verne, 1882).
It is an atmospheric optical phenomenon where, for one or two seconds, a band of green light intensifies and then disappears just above or below the sun.
Green flashes are actually several phenomena converging into one. Therefore, there are different classifications for each type of green flash, depending on its shape, intensity, and duration.
To read more about this phenomenon, click HERE.
Contributing Data During a Total Lunar Eclipse
In collaboration with the scientific project of Giovanni di Giovanni from the Colle Leone Astronomical Observatory (L'Aquila, Italy), who records and analyzes the evolution of the Earth's atmospheric composition based on the luminosity of lunar eclipses.
