Skywarden

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

Ursa Astronomical Association

Markarian chain in spring night

20.3. Tero Hiekkalinna made a star photography trip to the Vironlahti in mid-March. The target was a group of galaxies called the Markarian chain. It curves from the middle to the upper left in the picture. The galaxies are part of the larger Virgo cluster, which includes about 2,000 galaxies.

Markarian's chain in Vahti »

Northern lights on the Thursday night

17.3. Twenty photographers have dropped in Skywarden their shots of the aurora on Thursday night. Only from southern Finland was represented this time, it was cloudy in the north. The shown picture was taken by Pirjo Koske after 1 o'clock on Thursday in Laitila. During the same hours in Juva, Petri Martikainen took stereo images with cameras located five kilometers apart. "It worked out surprisingly well for the first time," he writes.

Northern lights 15/16.3. »

12-22.3. A possible rocket launch in the nort

A rocket lounch will happen between 12.3.-22.3. from the Esrange space center in Kiruna, Sweden. The launch takes place between 19:30 and 20:40 on an evening that is as clear and windless as possible. So the exact launch time is not yet known. The launch will be best visible in Northern Finland, but from a completely unobstructed and clear observation site, it can be seen low on the horizon even as far as the Tampere - Sundsvall line. Observations of the launch are collected using the Rare clouds -form, from which "Rocket launch" is selected as the main target. The picture in the news is Tytti Mørkvedi's shot of a previous rocket launch from Andøya in Norway.

Read more about the topic »

Elliptical halo and circumzenith arcs on Monday

7.3. This year's second elliptical halo was visible on Monday in Kuusamo's Käylä. Jani Päiväniemi's observation was the result of experience, he writes that the conditions were such that an ellipse could very well appear. On the same day, there were also better-than-usual circumzenith arcs in the sky across Finland. The shown photo of this halo was taken by Heidi Joupperi in Vantaa, at the heads-up from a kindergarten child.

6 March halos »

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Newest commented observations

All-sky aurora

All-sky aurora

24.3.2023 at 00.30 - 03.00 - Mäntyharju, Miekankoski (V)
Jukka Kytömäki

The sky is full of corona, corona and corona again. The whole sky is full of handsome shapes and colors. Also plenty of fluttering in every direction, as well as at the top. Figure 1. to the north. Figure 3. to the south. Figure 8. to the south.

Images: 8 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Rocket-related clouds

23.3.2023 at 20.24 - 20.55 - Tampere (IV)
Markku Lintinen, Tampereen Ursa

The Kiiruna rocket launch, which had been awaited for many nights, and its observation finally succeeded in overtime. The clouds lingering in the northern sky until the very end kept the tension high. The picture is a speeded-up video of the brightest phase of the event.

Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Rocket-related clouds

Rocket-related clouds

23.3.2023 at 20.26 - 20.38 - Kuusamo, Käylä (IV)
Jani Päiväniemi, Ursa (Pohjois-Suomi)

Many evenings were spent in vain, but this evening was rewarding. A handsome rocket launch from Kiruna was perfectly visible in Käylä. The fine popping phases were visible one after the other and finally turned like the northern lights, apparently due to the earth's magnetic field. After the launch, the aurora borealis lit up the entire sky. Great evening!

Images: 6 pcs • Comments: 4 pcs

Observation information »

Rocket-related clouds

Rocket-related clouds

23.3.2023 at 20.35 - Oulu (V)
Jaakko Asikainen, Oulun Arktos

The Swedish Space Corporation's probe rocket BROR was finally able to set off from Kiiruna, I was filming a light show at Oulu's Pyykösjärvi. The rocket rose to 100 kilometers, spreading colorful barium clouds for research purposes. Surprised at how fast the rocket rose (the first cloud appeared less than a minute after launch), I excitedly clicked the pictures. The plane going north conveniently hit a couple of pictures, but as a much nicer surprise, the northern lights themselves decided to take part in the show. Unbelievable luck, this was the last chance to launch the rocket and th...

Images: 7 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Quiet aurora arc

Quiet aurora arc

22.3.2023 at 01.45 - 02.15 - Puolanka (II)
Tapio Lahtinen, Tampereen Ursa

I booked a cabin in Puolanga mostly for skiing purposes. However, the time was such (spring equinox) that the aurora borealis would occur more easily. Well, nothing miraculous was promised, but last night when I woke up, looking out the window, I still saw a reposcar. So I put on warm clothes and went outside to photograph and admire. Worth it. I can't remember the last time I saw clear green in the northern lights. As a dot on the i, I still saw a moderately bright shooting star. The last photo is the first and was taken with a cell phone camera from the inside through the window.

Images: 4 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Telescopic comet PANSTARRS

Telescopic comet PANSTARRS

21.3.2023 at 22.16 - 23.10 - Valtimo (II)
Veli-Pekka Häkkinen

New comet imaged 364P/2018 A2(PANSTARS). Brightness class 13.98m. Using TS 0.67X Reducer.

Images: 3 pcs • Comments: 3 pcs

Observation information »

Starlink-satelliitit

Starlink-satelliitit

22.3.2023 at 03.20 - 03.22 - Hankasalmi, Murtoinen (III)
Arto Oksanen, Jyväskylän Sirius

The line of Starlink satellites in the images of Hankasalmi observatory's automatic allsky camera.

Images: 3 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Cosmos 1626

Cosmos 1626

22.3.2023 at 00.20 - Vaasa (V)
Timo Alanko, Vaasan Andromeda

OsmoAction was on duty again on the roof. At 9:35 p.m., the fireball didn't hit the filming area, but later there was an incredibly bright short flash in one of the photos. That satellite seems to have traveled with those screams at that time. Must be its twinkle. Later, the northern lights also appeared. His own observation about them.

Comments: 1 pcs

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Auroras seen through breaks in the clouds

Auroras seen through breaks in the clouds

21.3.2023 at 22.16 - 22.25 - Keitele (II)
Tuija Liunala, Ursa (Itä-Suomi)

first I saw a green plant and then a "bundle of rays" green color pale and bright.

Images: 3 pcs • Comments: 2 pcs

Observation information »

A fireball at night, brighter than the venus

A fireball at night, brighter than the venus

21.3.2023 at 21.36 - Mikkeli (III)
Jarmo Villstedt

Images: 2 pcs • Comments: 8 pcs

Observation information »