The time has arrived to see whether or not Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will live up to its tag of 'comet of century'.
During October, all eyes will be on the evening sky as there is a strong expectation that the comet will reach naked-eye brightness, allowing those without binoculars or a telescope to observe what really will be a once in a lifetime event.
Discovered at the start of this year, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS heralds from the Oort Cloud, a substantial ‘bubble’ of icy objects that totally envelopes our solar system at a great distance.
Having successfully rounded the Sun on September 27, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is now headed in our direction at a speed of more than 180,000mph, with closest approach to Earth on October 12.
Matt Jones - astrophotographer
Pontypool-based astrophotographer Matt Jones speaks about his love of photography:
“I've lived in Pontypool most of my life. My father, Eddie Jones, was from Blaenavon, and he would always take us out exploring the mountains and woodlands around The Blorenge, Keepers Pond, and Pwll Du.
"He had a love of nature and photography which is where my interest came from having watched him for so many years.
"That sparked a desire to pursue photography in my teen years, leading to the purchase of my first camera, a Zenith 11, having saved up money from three newspaper rounds”
Matt’s first foray into photography involved his passion for motorsports and in particular the Isle of Man TT Races, before turning his attention to nature and wildlife. He won the first photo competition run by the South Wales Argus Camera Club.
He said: “The love of Astrophotography has come from watching and being inspired by the videos of the late Alyn Wallace, and reading his book in which he shares his vast knowledge of astrophotography. It's a fascinating form of photography”
Talking about capturing the Northern Lights in Gwent this summer he said: “It wasn't the warmest of summer evenings when I set up near to the Keeper’s Pond.
"Everyone appeared to be wrapped up and eager to catch a glimpse of the aurora. There were also a fair number of fellow astrophotographers all stood around chatting. That night, the aurora wasn't actually visible to the naked eye but was clearly visible through the camera viewfinder with lots of people also able to use their camera phones mounted on tripods to capture the event.
"During the evening, a mother and daughter approached me and asked if they could look at the aurora on my camera screen. I was more than happy to oblige and was told that they had both been on many trips to see the aurora in both Norway and Iceland, but had never seen it, until now!
“I have used a range of cameras over the years from Sony to Canon Full frame DSLR's. More recently I have moved on to the OM Systems OM-1 Mark II mirrorless Micro Four Thirds camera. It has incredible astrophotography functions like night vision, live composite mode, and Starry Sky Autofocus. For the Aurora Images I used the OM System 12 - 40mm F2.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED Pro Lens.
"It's a great wide angle fast lens for astrophotography. For the aurora images I was exposing for between 6 to 12 seconds with an ISO of between 1600 and 2500 and an aperture of F2.8.”
For anyone thinking about starting out in astrophotography Matt suggested getting a second hand camera like the Canon 6D using a lens with large aperture F2.8 or lower.
He also recommended Alyn Wallace's ‘Photographing the Night Sky’ and watching tutorials on YouTube.
Planets
Venus appears low in the south-west during October setting around and hour after the Sun during the opening week of the month.
On Saturday October 5, the crescent Moon will be situated just below the planet. Saturn remains on view in the south, setting around 3.30am.
The Moon will be positioned right under Saturn on Monday October 14. Also positioned in the southern aspect of the sky is Jupiter, with the Moon close by on October 21 and 22 respectively.
Rising at around 11pm is Mars, with the Moon positioned near to the red planet on Wednesday October 23.
Events
Exploring the Universe – Saturday October 5 – Ebbw Vale Learning Centre. 10.30am to 4om.
Moon phases
New Moon October 2; First Quarter October 10; Full Moon October 17; Third Quarter October 24.
Sunrise/Sunset Times
Start of October: Sun rises at 7.13am. Sets at 6.48pm. End of October: Sun rises at 7.04am. Sets at 4.45pm. (BST included in ‘end of October’ times).
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