Comet Imaging Session - August 21, 2026

The sky this evening is partly cloudy and hazy but I proceeded to take a chance to try to image the comet 220P McNaught in the constellation of Cetus. Comet has already passed its sudden brightness burst and is dimming fast again at magnitude +8.8 :( I try to capture it with my Dwarf 3 Smart Scope at Astro Mode with VIS Filter at AZ Mode with a 10 minute integrated exposure (20 x 30sec) at Gain 60. I try a 5 minute exposure but it didn't come out thus had to do 10 minutes with minimal comet trail to show it dimly in the field of view. After I took the shot, the sky clouded out totally thus ending my session. Nevertheless, I'm still happy to capture it even if it is dim. As they say, better than nothing at all!

Lunar Imaging Session - August 20, 2026

The sky this evening is partly cloudy but the Quarter Moon is clear so I image it using my Dwarf 3 Smart Scope at Astro Mode with VIS Filter at AZ Mode with a stack of 20 images at 1/200 sec exposure at Gain 0 . Also visible on the image are the famous Lunar X and V .

Solar Imaging Session - August 20, 2026

The sky this morning is clear and seeing condition is good. AR4507 Region is nearing the western limb already while a new AR4513 Region is emerging from the eastern limb. Not big though but hopefully will develop a little more to replace AR4507 Region as the region to monitor in the days to come. In Ha wavelength, AR4507 Region in tandem with a huge western Eruptive Prominence is the area of interest for today. Very photogenic image indeed!

Lunar Imaging Session - August 19, 2026

After several days of non stop rain, the sky this evening is still cloudy and I was able to get a small hazy opening in the sky for me to break the cloud jinx to do a quickie capture of the Quarter Moon using my Dwarf 3 Smart Scope at Astro Mode with VIS Filter at AZ Mode and a stack of 20 images at 1/60 sec exposure at Gain 0. Image not perfect but it's better than nothing at all :) LOL

Solar Imaging Session - August 15, 2026

Finally after almost 2 weeks of continuous rain, there is some clearing in the afternoon for me to do a solar imaging session again through partly cloudy sky despite seeing a half arc Sun Halo which signifies a not good weather later in the afternoon or evening again :( Fortunately, with some patience on my part to wait it out a bit and I was able to get some good clearing through thin haze after an hour wait! AR4507 Region is the largest group on the Sun's disk right now followed by a slightly smaller AR4508 Region which looks nice as well. The rest of the active regions are small and pore like groups. In Ha wavelength, all active regions are quiet and only the huge eruptive prominence in the SW limb and a smaller but still large prominence can also be seen in the eastern limb are nice to view visually after my imaging session. After I packed up, it rained! Whew! :) LOL

Solar Imaging Session - August 1, 2026

The sky this lunchtime is partly clear with thin clouds hovering the sky. I did a quickie solar session as I saw a Sun Halo around the Sun thus indicating the weather later might get bad or even rain. Seeing condition is good though. AR4498 Region and AR4500 Region are getting bigger a bit while AR4499, AR4501 and AR4496 Regions remain constant in size. In Ha wavelength, AR4498 Region shows some flaring activity inside its structure. Rest of the active regions are quiet. There is a nice large group of Hedgerow prominence in the NE limb.