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Ursa Astronomical Association

29.3. Rocket launch from Plesetsk

28.3. On Wednesday 29.3. after 23:00 it was again possible to witness a rocket launch, when the Soyuz 2.1v launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome took a reconnaissance satellite into space. Even though the launch site is located 500-1200 km from Finland, the launch was seen in most parts of Finland. You can send an observation about the launch by using the Rare clouds form. The picture shows the launch as witnessed by Reija Smith, Pyhtää Finland.

Observation images of the launch »

M78 in the Orion constellation

28.3. Spring is progressing, but there is still time for deep sky sessions. Jussi Koponen published a picture of the reflection nebula M78 in the constellation Orion, located a more than thousand light years away from us. Koponen tells the picture has 8 hours of exposure. A lot of files have gone to waste. "The target is really challenging", he writes.

M78 observations »

Rocket launch on Thursday evening

24.3. The barium cloud experiment that took place in Kiruna, Sweden had been expected since March 12 and in the evening of March 23. it finally happened. "Many evenings were spent in vain, but this evening rewarded," writes Jani Päiväniemi , who took the photo in Kuusamo's Käylä. The weather favored seeing the event, sightings have come from all over Finland. At the same time, spectacular aurora borealis were also blowing in the sky.

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 »

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Rare halos

Rare halos

31.3.2023 at 08.15 - 08.22 - Naantali (IV)
Lasse Nurminen

Yesterday, the surface halo workshop, which was found to be promising in my own eyes, did not seem quite as impressive today when the car whizzed by. However, I decided to watch the series because I was prepared for that in time. It took seven minutes to click 101 pictures. After all, there would have been enough for more than a hundred people in the field, but the shoulders and hands started to get tired from holding the camera with the camera. It must have been a smart-looking action in the eyes of a possible bystander, when the guy taps one side step after another in front of the camera. :D...

Images: 5 pcs • Comments: 2 pcs

Observation information »

Active aurora band

Active aurora band

30.3.2023 at 22.00 - 05.00 - Vaasa (III)
Timo Alanko, Vaasan Andromeda

The northern lights of the night in 1.27 min timelapse. The most active phase seems to have been at 11 p.m., but after a calmer period that followed, the fires started again and continued until dawn. Unfortunately, the OsmoAction fisheye lens still hasn't arrived. The video is composed of vertical images to include the zenith. Something like Corona would have been available. https://youtu.be/4Uostf4aCbg

Images: 3 pcs • Comments: 2 pcs

Observation information »

Moon surface feature

Moon surface feature

29.3.2023 at 20.08 - Kauhava (IV)
Jari Kankaanpää, Lakeuden Ursa

Yesterday I skied a 7km run on the ice of Lappajärvi. In the middle of an open glacier, the crater lake certainly seemed huge. I related my experience to the Ptolemaic group I photographed on Wednesday by transferring Lappajärvi to the surface of the moon in the correct scale.

Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Half-sky auroras

Half-sky auroras

30.3.2023 at 22.00 - 23.45 - Keitele, Porttila (III)
Tuija Liunala, Ursa (Itä-Suomi)

down in the sky a bright green arc above which all kinds of rays across the sky up to the moon. the density number was not perfect and the bright moonlight consumed visible colors, but from time to time even pink rays were visible to the eyes.

Images: 6 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Active aurora band

Active aurora band

30.3.2023 at 22.30 - 23.30 - Kurikka, Jurva (III)
Timo Nevala, Ursa (Länsi-Suomi)

I was looking at the moon with binoculars when the northern lights started to appear. The object of observation immediately changed to them. It was such a short "burst" of northern lights that lasted about an hour, the most active phase not even that. I probably wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't already happened to be in the yard looking at the sky with binoculars. The aurora borealis rose at its strongest almost to the zenith. The green color was momentarily very clear and strong even when seen with the eyes. The clouds were moving in the sky, sometimes disturbing. There were probably...

Images: 3 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Rocket-related clouds

29.3.2023 at 23.03 - 23.08 - Kokkola
Johannes Karhula

Soyuz - rocket launch as seen from the mast camera. The camera was pointed at about 50 degrees at the time of shooting. The video has been sped up 600%

Comments: 3 pcs

Observation information »

Rocket-related clouds

Rocket-related clouds

29.3.2023 at 23.05 - 23.10 - Rauma (IV)
Tapio Nylund, Porin Karhunvartijat

Soyuz 2 rocket launch filmed at Rauma Lamminkulma.

Images: 2 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Rocket-related clouds

Rocket-related clouds

29.3.2023 at 23.02 - 23.05 - Hyvinkää (III)
Senni Rytkönen, Turun Ursa

I knew how to wait for the rocket launch, so I headed to the balcony around 11 pm to see if I could see it. The sky was clear and the background sky was also nicely dark. I barely had time to open the balcony glass when I noticed a comet-like object traveling in a northeast-northwest direction (classic ysäri model) emerging from behind the trees, which I immediately recognized as the object I came to visit. I had just come from light to dark, so my twilight vision wasn't great, but I could still see my back in the sky, albeit low. I managed to grab a photo as proof with my cell phone and f...

Comments: 2 pcs

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Rocket-related clouds

29.3.2023 at 23.03 - 23.06 - Kouvola (IV)
Tero Sipinen, Ursa (Etelä-Suomi)

I thought I'd be in a hurry to watch the launch of Soyuz 2.1, but I didn't have time. When I got to the shooting hill with a gust of wind, I looked at the countdown on my cell phone and realized that three princely minutes were left to prepare. I focused and took a couple of test exposures in the sunta of the east and then looked around. The conditions were great, no clouds anywhere. I noticed a red flashing light towards the northwest, which I thought was NH90. There were a couple of them flying over Myllykoski during the day. I turned the camera towards it and clicked while waiting f...

Images: 4 pcs • Comments: 11 pcs

Observation information »

Rocket-related clouds

Rocket-related clouds

29.3.2023 at 23.05 - 23.10 - Ulvila, Kullaa (I)
Petteri Ahonen, Porin Karhunvartijat

Souyz-2 rocket launch from Plesetsk, Russia, photographed in Ulvila from Palus beach

Images: 8 pcs • Comments: 2 pcs

Observation information »

Skywarden is an observation system maintained by Ursa Astronomical Association. Available observation categories consist of different astronomical and atmospheric phenomena. You are welcome to participate even though you are not member of any Finnish astronomical associations. Easiest way to start browsing observation is by selecting observations with images and stories on the left side of the screen. Answers to your questions about the system can be found from FAQ -page.