Welcome to Astrosite Groningen. On these pages you mainly find information, and a presentation of results, on a number of astronomical subjects that we find most interesting. Our main interests are comets and variable stars; therefore, emphasis will be on the various aspects of observing these objects (charts, observations, photographs). But we also plan to cover other topics, albeit only as an aside, such as eclipses, and atmospheric phenomena like aurora and noctilucent clouds, mainly by presenting a selection of our photographic results. We hope you enjoy this site. We always welcome comments, and suggestions for improvement. And feel free to contribute: observations, images, whatever you want to share... Reinder J. Bouma Edwin van Dijk

Minor planet 9706 on August 17, 2002 in NEAT images.

Recent updates (over the last month)
Dec. 15, New APASS file for December/January. Observations of C/2022 E2, C/2023 A3, 29P and 333P.
Nov. 27, Observations of C/2023 A3.
Nov. 17, Images of C/2023 A3(see the link below).


SQM-L sky brightness measurements at our observing sites. Click here.


Visually observable comets
Comet
Mv
Trend
Charts
covered by APASS file
C/2021 G2 (ATLAS)
14
near maximum
no
yes
C/2022 E2 (ATLAS)
12-13
near maximum
no
yes
C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS)
14-15
near maximum
no
yes
C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
9-10
fading
no
yes
C/2024 B1 (Lemmon)
14
fading
no
yes
C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)
8
brightening, small elongation
no
no
P/2024 M1 (ATLAS)
14-15
fading
no
yes
29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
12
fading from outburst
no
yes
333P/LINEAR
11-12
fading
no
yes

NEW! December 15, a new file with comparison stars from APASS in the magnitude 10-15 range is available for the December/January
        moonless period.


Bright comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in the evening sky

This comet, after being briefly visible in de morning sky for southern observers as a 2nd magnitude comet with a long dust tail, has now become an evening object
best placed for northern hemisphere observers, with visibility improving every day now that the elongation is increasing again.

The comet briefly peaked at magnitude -4 on October 9 due to forward scattering, but at an elongation of a mere 4 degrees from the Sun was virtually
invisible for earthbound observers.
However, the situation improved rapidly over the following days although the situation was still far from ideal with the comet in twilight very low over
the western horizon, and a bright near full Moon to boot.
But over the coming days the situation will improve further. After October 20 the comet can be observed in a dark sky near the end of evening twilight
without lunar interference. Although the comet now is moving away from both the Earth and the Sun and gradually fading it is expected that it will still
show a long dust tail, which under the best conditions may still be some 20 to 30 degrees long. By the time the Moon is starting to interfere again
during the second week of November the show will be virtually over.
Nevertheless observers with proper equipment will be able to follow this comet until the end of the year. By that time it probably will have faded to
magnitude 10 or so and gradually disappear in evening twilight.
On October 14 the Earth was predicted to pass the orbital plane of the comet, and the geometry was perfect for observation of an anti-tail.
Fortunately that day brought clear skies for us, albeit with considerable lunar interference.
The image at upper right was taken close to my observing site near Westerwijtwerd by Iris Veronique Mulder with a Canon EOS R10.
It is a 8s exposure at ISO400 with a 40mm f/5 lens taken at 18:07UT and is a good representation of the naked eye view.

A larger version of this image can be viewed by clicking here.
The close-up image at lower right was taken at the Aekingerzand near Wateren by Rik ter Horst at 18:05UT.
It is a 3s exposure at ISO1600 using a Sony A7III camera equiped with a Canon 100mm f/2 lens, and is a good representation of the view in (larger)
binoculars. Note the very faint anti-tail pointing at lower right opposite the main dust tail.
A larger version of this image can be viewed by clicking here.
[RJB17102024]


Currently, mid November, C/2023 A3 has faded to 8th magnitude, but might still be visible a bit longer in larger binoculars.

The rapid fading in the second half of October is nicely illustrated by the images that Edwin obtained from Burlage.

A representative selection can be viewed by clicking here.
[Updated RJB17112024]




Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) at perihelion

This comet, discovered a year ago as the first one of 2021 is passing perihelion today.
Over the last couple of weeks it has developed into a very fine object in the evening sky, in particular for observers in the southern hemisphere.
It is very active, producing modest brightness outburst every 4 days or so since the middle of december, and showing a spectacular tail in wide
field images, unusual for a comet that never became brighter than about magnitude 3-4 in a dark sky. A good example is the image above which was
taken less than 24 hours from perihelion by Michael Mattiazzo from SWAN Hill, NSW. Currently the comet is about magnitude 5 visually.
It is expected to fade gradually over the coming weeks moving away from both the Earth and the Sun.  [03-01-2022]


Bright comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)!

This comet, discovered on March 27 by the NEOWISE satellite as a magnitude 17 object, brightened to 7th magnitude for southern hemisphere observers
before disappearing in evening twilight en route to perihelion on July 3 at slightly under 0.30 AU from the Sun. In the meantime it had become evident that this
was an 'old' object, and there was good hope that northern hemisphere observers would see a naked eye comet near about magnitude 3 deep in morning twilight shortly
after perihelion. So it was a pleasant surprise that C/2020 F3 actually emerged as a first magnitude object sporting a bright dust tail that rapidly grew longer
and longer over the last week as the comet could be seen higher above the horizon in a darker sky.
The (binned) image to the right was obtained on the early morning of July 12 by Martin Mobberley from Cockfield, Suffolk, UK and is a fair representation
of what visual observers were able to see around the same time.

A full version of this image including observing details can be viewed by clicking here.
Over the coming weeks comet NEOWISE, now placed in the evening sky, will fade fairly rapidly after its closest approach to the Earth - the minimum
distance was 0.692 AU around 23.0 July - moving south and becoming better placed for more southerly observers.







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