Penang Astronomy

Comet Tsuchinshan/ATLAS taken last night. I can still see the comet with my naked eyes. However it is noticeably dimmer compare to yesterday.
Taken on 22nd October 2024 from Lim Choon Kiat Observatory at Balik Pulau, Penang. Sony 7s with Sharpstar 76EDPH 120x10sec @ 6400asa

Comet Tsuchinshan/ATLAS taken last night 21st Oct 2024 from Sg Batu beach, Penang.
Sony A7II with 200mm F/4 160x5s @ 2000asa
The comet is now very high but getting dimmer. The tail can still be seen with naked eyes. To fully appreciate it, you can use a binoculars such as 8x42mm.
It won't be long before the comet fades further until it can't be seen with naked eyes.

COMET ALERT
This comet is currently on track to become on of the best comet in years. In fact, I estimated that the comet is twice as bright as its predicted brightness. If it follows the prediction, then it could become the brightest comet since Comet West in 1976 (not verify, but I am sure true from Malaysia). The last bright comet many have seen was probably Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.
My first attempt at observing the Comet C/2023 A3. This comet is now visible in the morning time around 6am to about 6.20am before the sky gets too bright. Best to observe with a pair of binoculars looking towards the east sky.

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If you have not heard about the upcoming "planet parade" that will happen on 3rd June 2024, you must be living in a cave.

By now, many people would have heard about this supposedly rare event. Almost all big news outlets have published articles about this event and warned the public not to miss it.

And if you are the few that are not aware of it, that is really great. You don't miss anything. Go back in your cave. Nothing to see here.

For those who have heard about it, and wanting to know more about it, I am sorry to disappoint you.
Although it is true that there will be six planets located in the morning sky that morning, you can only see two of them clearly. The rest are not easily visible.

Jupiter, Mercury and Uranus will be very close to the Sun, thus not visible due to the Sun's glare
Neptune is high enough in the sky, but you won't be able to see it without some kind of optical aid.
Only Mars and Saturn can be seen, and they are pretty high up in the sky. Mars will appear as a red star, while Saturn will appear like a bright yellow star.

On the bright side, if you do wake up on the morning on 3rd June 2024, look for tiny crescent Moon. It is due East, halfway up in the sky. Beside the Moon on the right side, there is a red star. It's Mars. Now, you can boast to your friends that you saw Mars with your naked eyes.

The Astronomical Calendar for July 2023, featuring "Elephant's Trunk Nebula" by SJ Richard.

The Astronomical Calendar for June 2023

The Astronomical Calendar for June 2023, featuring "The Beauty of Comet Leonard C/2021 A1" by Farid Hamidi Bin Ibrahim.

The Astronomical Calendar for May 2023, featuring "IC2944 - Running Chicken Nebula (Hubble Palette)" by Tommy Lim Kang Wen.

This week, planet Venus will visit The Seven Sisters - the Pleiades open cluster in the western evening sky after sunset.

The Pleiades are a group of hundreds of stars located about 410 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ta**us. It is an example of an open star cluster — a group of stars that were all born around the same time from a gigantic cloud of gas and dust.

The pair will get as close as 2.5° from each other on the evening of 11 April 2023 (Tuesday).

The Astronomical Calendar for March 2023, featuring "A Timeless Trailing of the Midnight Hunter" by Fan Qing Ping.

The two bright planets Venus and Jupiter will meet each other in the evening sky during the coming week. The pair can be seen shining brilliantly above the western horizon after sunset. They will get as close as 34' on 2 March.

Planet Mercury will visit planet Saturn in the morning sky during the first few days of March. The pair can be seen above the eastern horizon (

The Sun is always too bright to be seen clearly with naked eye. However, with the help of proper equipment, we can reveal the ever changing dynamic of the Sun. The 11-year solar cycle measures the Sun’s activity in terms of variations in the number of observed sunspots on the Sun’s surface, with the highest number of sunspots occurring during the solar maximum. The current Solar Cycle 25 is predicted to peak in 2025. Therefore, the Sun will be getting more active and producing more sunspots in the next few years. Have you ever wondered if we can take a clear image of the Sun?

GOOD NEWS!

The Astronomical Society of Penang will be conducting an Solar Imaging for Beginners Online Workshop on February 26, 2023 (Sunday), conducted by renowned astrophotographer Mr. Michael Teoh.

Michael is an amateur astronomer residing in Penang, Malaysia. He is the founding committee member of the Astronomical Society of Penang and coach of the Heng Ee High School Astronomy Club. Michael is well-known for his acute attention to detail resulting in highly detailed planetary images that he contributes to the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) for research purposes. In recent years, Michael was recognized for his image of a sunspot on NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day, as well as winning prizes in international astrophotography contests with his solar images.

In this workshop, you will learn how to capture beautiful images of the Sun using various equipment.

Visit ASP website astronomicalsocietyofpenang.com for more information and to register. Registration closes on 24 February 2023.

A 2-day-young crescent moon will meet the "evening star" planet Venus on Wednesday 22 February 2023 after sunset.

The thin crescent get closest to the bright Venus (mag -4.0) at 7:34 pm with an angular separation of 1° 32' 11.4" (about 3 moon width).

The comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will visit the red planet Mars this weekend at a separation of slightly less than two full moons width.

Despite the two appear close to each other in the sky, Mars (145.6 million km away from Earth) is more than twice as far as the comet (64.4 million km from Earth).

The pair will be visible high up the northern sky on Saturday 11 Feb after sunset, reaching a maximum altitude of about 70° around 8:40 pm.

The comet will gradually move away from Mars as the night progresses. Mars will eventually set at 2:52 am the next morning, followed by the comet at 3:00 a.m.

The Astronomical Calendar for February 2023, featuring "That's My Star" by Chin Kok Chung.

The Astronomical Calendar for February 2023, featuring "That's My Star" by Chin Kok Chung.

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