Skywarden

Contact information

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

Ursa Astronomical Association

29.3. Rocket launch from Plesetsk

28.3. On Wednesday 29.3. from 23:00 to 00:00 it is again possible to witness a rocket launch, when the Soyuz 2.1v launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome takes a reconnaissance satellite into space. Even though the launch site is located 1000-1500 km from Finland, the launch might be seen not only in the border area, but also in central and northern Finland. You can send an observation about the launch by using the Rare clouds form . The picture shows a previous launch from 2022 by Helena Kosonen in Parikkala, Finland.

Did you see the launch? Save an observation »

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 »

Share
Previous Next

Newest commented observations

A fireball at night, brighter than the venus

27.3.2023 at 01.13 - Jyväskylä (III)
Vesa Vasankari, Ursa (Länsi-Suomi)

A ball of fire recorded in my two cameras, the ignition of which seems to be not seen in both. Flew from north to south.

Images: 2 pcs • Comments: 3 pcs

Observation information »

1 Ceres

1 Ceres

26.3.2023 at 23.20 - 02.18 - Valtimo (III)
Veli-Pekka Häkkinen

Asteroid 1 Ceres passed galaxy M100.

Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Diffuse glow

Diffuse glow

23.3.2023 at 20.51 - 21.15 - Gislaved, Ruotsi (I)
Anna Loftdal

Was out to photograph the northern lights on March 23, 2023 when I suddenly get a seemingly white patch in the sky more to the left of the picture. Thought it was a cloud. However, it is rapidly increasing in size so continue to photograph what is now, also visible to the eye, as a large white pillar in the sky. In the picture in the camera, the pillar has now turned into different shades of pink. There is also a green streak coming out of the pillar, but to the right. When the pillar then disappears, my concentration turns again to the north and the northern lights. However, take a couple of ...

Images: 8 pcs • Comments: 4 pcs

Observation information »

Rocket-related clouds

23.3.2023 at 20.24 - 20.50 - Pöytyä (V)
Timo Oksanen, Ursa (Etelä-Suomi)

Kiruna's rocket launch photographed from Kurjenrahka National Park Timelapse video: https://youtu.be/A1aoGLsChwU Live video: https://youtu.be/KVnCzQUAVOc

Images: 6 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Half-sky auroras

Half-sky auroras

23.3.2023 at 21.00 - 21.15 - Juva (IV)
Petri Martikainen, Ursa (Itä-Suomi)

There was no need to admire the barium balls at these angles, and even the aurora borealis of the whole sky could be seen from the gap in the clouds that only lasted a moment. But the sky shone red and white in the pictures, and that white color is the main motive for this observation report. There are some observations in Vähti where the lights of the forest machine are visible in the sky as a fan from a long distance away. This time the light source was close to the edge of the field in the neighbor's forest and the light was easily distinguishable from the clouds even with the naked eye...

Images: 5 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Quiet aurora arc

Quiet aurora arc

7.10.2018 at 21.48 - Kokkola (II)
Pentti Ketola, Ursa (Länsi-Suomi)

Here is a photo of the aurora borealis taken at the beginning of my astro hobby, and now I have often wondered if the photo taken at Hällskäret has the Steve arc.

Comments: 3 pcs

Observation information »

Active aurora band

Active aurora band

25.3.2023 at 22.19 - 02.46 - Vaasa (III)
Timo Alanko, Vaasan Andromeda

Unfortunately, OsmoAction's fish eye supplement has not yet reached home in the mail. It would be necessary now. I took the camera to the roof around the time of the lottery draw, and the direction of the zenith seems to have turned green as soon as possible. More active flickering will then focus in the direction of the horizon in the future. There seems to have been a confused flickering even longer. The humps on FMI's page were at their lowest readings, but the sky turned green nonetheless. Timelapse would be there: https://youtu.be/umvXwHTfty4 Satellites were buzzing as usual. The ...

Images: 3 pcs • Comments: 3 pcs

Observation information »

Quiet aurora arc

Quiet aurora arc

25.3.2023 at 23.15 - 00.00 - Nurmes
Raija Kokkola

Images: 5 pcs • Comments: 2 pcs

Observation information »

Several halo forms

Several halo forms

25.3.2023 at 15.15 - 16.15 - Kurikka, Jurva (II)
Timo Nevala, Ursa (Länsi-Suomi)

When I went to the early voting for the parliamentary elections, I noticed a dim 22° ring. When I came back from the vote, the ring had intensified and other halos became visible. High in the sky, a veil of red and green. Now don't interpret this as a political statement, it was just an arc of the zenith environment! The side sun at least on the left side and the overhead arc were also visible, but mostly only brighter in the 22° ring. In addition, in the processed images, a half ring from the left side of the Sun with a slightly larger radius than 22° was "found" afterwards, but it is pro...

Images: 3 pcs • Comments: 1 pcs

Observation information »

Quiet aurora band

Quiet aurora band

25.3.2023 at 23.00 - Pielavesi (II)
Tuija Liunala, Ursa (Itä-Suomi)

on the way home ..couldn't adjust the tripod so the camera on the roof of the car and snapped. #diffuusi

Images: 3 pcs • Comments: 1 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.