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Skywarden,
Ursa Astronomical Association
Kopernikuksentie 1
00130 Helsinki
taivaanvahti(at)ursa.fi

Ursa Astronomical Association

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Only observations that have a description and at least one image attached.

Venus and Jupiter

1.3.2023 at 19.29 - Järvenpää (IV)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

As has been typical this past winter, there was a little tension in the air today regarding the cloudiness. The day was mostly cloudy, but in the evening, that heavy concentration of water vapor started to crack and just when I arrived home, half of the road was already clear. Fortunately, also the direction where Jupiter and Venus were still getting closer to each other. Contrary to my habit, I marched straight inside with my boots on. I found a camera in my hands and a tripod in the other hand and headed for an adventure outdoors. A long way from home. About three (3) meters from the door an...

Binocular comet ZTF

10.2.2023 at 21.50 - Orimattila (II)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

The whole early winter had been spent staring at the clouds and, even on those rare clear nights, marveling at the colors of the city lights in the sky. Now, however, the direction was towards Tähtikallio and we knew a little less light pollution and a higher probability of spending time outdoors, and the forecast was also clear. So. Ursa's Solar System meeting was about to begin. Then in the evening, I carried the tripod with the tripod outside and pointed the lens towards Mars, near which I knew the comet was currently collapsing. Search shooting and adjusting and finally the camera scre...

Diffuse glow

14.3.2022 at 17.16 - Järvenpää (I)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

The forecasts promised weak northern lights, so without a larger research expedition we headed to the edge of a nearby field to film. They were weak, but they were visible.

Diffuse glow

12.2.2022 at 18.03 - Järvenpää (I)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

A little late departure (again) and the best was already over. However, I snapped a picture with my cell phone and I got a little bit.

Starscape image

10.2.2022 at 23.07 - Järvenpää (II)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

The intention was to photograph the northern lights, but as the show was already fading, I turned my nose and camera in the opposite direction and stayed looking at the beautiful combination of the Moon and the starry sky. It's just a pity that the lights of the train station were a bit disturbing.

Transit overcast

11.11.2019 at 14.35 - 15.05 - Järvenpää
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

The much-anticipated crossing hit comfortably on Monday and to a moment where there was room, even in chronological order. In practice, I was able to leave the workplace a quarter before the start of the overpass and headed towards Järvenpää Tervanokka beach, which would have had the best views towards the Sun and the overpass. However, the opposite happened and four members of the Altair stared at the gray horizon for a moment and ended up noting that this might then be here. When I got home, I used to watch the transit through the internet, first from Norway and then a little further afield.

Moon

27.7.2019 at 10.32 - Järvenpää (II)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

Although there is often an instrument in the hands that does not have any more telephoto, the zoom of the Moon in the daytime sky is always an equally attractive object. Maybe because many fellow travelers don’t even notice it.

Starry sky image

27.7.2019 at 00.29 - Hamina
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

At Cygnus in Vehkalahti, I tried to describe the constellations, but the cell phone and the still bright summer sky didn’t quite work together. In the end, only the title pattern of Kotka, his own star society, Altair, was recorded at the published level.

Partial lunar eclipse

16.7.2019 at 22.01 - Järvenpää
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

As in the previous year, we gathered with the Altair group in Vanhankylänniemi to watch the lunar eclipse. This time, the press didn’t advertise super-wolf-ver, so our company was joined by only a handful of other celestial starers. All of us had a dozen photographers and spectators on the beach. The eclipse itself was, as usual, a sluggish event and the light summer sky drowned our wanderers at the beginning of the brainstorming event. Fortunately, the end then showed better.

Images: 6 pcs

Arcus cloud

22.5.2019 at 17.05 - 17.20 - Tuusula (III)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

Sometimes you get lucky and on the band’s gig trip you sit in the co-driver’s seat while driving towards a thunderstorm. Or well. Under one. Unfortunately, the flashes that appeared were not recorded on the camera cell, and did not actually appear during the day. A little light here, here. The water eventually came just by pouring, but at the venue, a couple of miles away, it was quite dry.

Images: 2 pcs

Sun

6.5.2019 at 18.17 - Järvenpää (II)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

Tuning your cell phone and Coronado PST tube together isn’t the easiest thing to do, especially if you want to get something saved. This time, however, a couple of small brains were left in the wounds.

Sun

5.5.2019 at 20.55 - Järvenpää (III)
Matti T. Salo

After a long pause, a small comma appeared in the Sun and it was a picture of it. An excellent good opportunity for this was provided by the Vipinää Vanhiks event, held for the first time in Järvenpää's Vanhankylänniemi, where Altair had a presentation point for a couple of tubes and three actors.

Sun

15.4.2019 at 19.08 - Järvenpää (III)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

Finally a dot in the Sun.

One halo form

12.4.2019 at 20.33 - Järvenpää (I)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

A quick flick of a phenomenon that was only visible for a moment. During the search for a better place, the whole halo disappeared.

Sun

1.4.2019 at 18.06 - Järvenpää
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

We tried once again to bring out something noticeable from the Sun but, as we have done several times recently, the club crowd was disappointed and watched the spotless ball. Maybe again we will see more.

Venus ja Jupiter

22.1.2019 at 08.13 - Järvenpää (IV)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

I tried to capture the encounter between Jupiter and Venus and the eclipse of the previous morning, but the autofocus of the compact camera refused to cooperate. Now I dug up the wit, which of course also has manual focus, with which I got the planets reasonably accurate. Easy to spot and make you wonder why I don’t spot these more often.

Light pillars

21.1.2019 at 06.37 - Järvenpää (II)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

Nice side activities while watching the lunar eclipse.

Total lunar eclipse

21.1.2019 at 05.34 - 09.22 - Järvenpää (IV)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

The lunar eclipse in January reached us, like a stealth. Sure, we had taken that into account in Altair’s annual plan, but the short break at the turn of the year and the start of the new year in the association’s work took a toll and we began to prepare to follow the eclipse with only a week’s notice. Admittedly, that was enough, as most already had experiences of previous eclipses. However, pessimism was very prevalent in relation to the weather, and even a day earlier there was even snowfall in the forecasts. But the opposite happened and the eclipse was visible from an almost clear sky. A ...

Images: 6 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Mars

29.10.2018 at 19.00 - Järvenpää (II)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

Had to try shooting from hand to hand through a tube, and the result isn't terribly miraculous. However, it was proven that the picture could be taken. The same was done by the boys of Tähtikerho Nova, each with their own mobile phone.

Starscape image

18.10.2018 at 20.38 - Järvenpää (II)
Matti T. Salo, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

On those few occasions, when it is clear during Altair’s club night, it has become customary to also stop outside and often also photograph the sky, as it happens to appear.

Images: 3 pcs

Search result contains observations from time period 1.1.2000 klo 00.00 - 8.6.2023 klo 12.30.