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South Cheshire Astronomical Society

@southcheshireastro.bsky.social

South Cheshire Astronomical Society (SCASTRO) is dedicated to providing advice, support and encouragement to those people, in and around the South Cheshire Crewe & Nantwich area who have an interest in astronomy and related sciences and technology.

36 Followers  |  53 Following  |  8 Posts  |  Joined: 08.06.2025  |  2.4444

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South Cheshire Astronomical Society Scastro website

The South Cheshire Astronomy Society will be participating in the Crewe Science Spectacular this Saturday in Crewe, Cheshire at Lyceum Square from 11 till 3. We will present 3 talks including a talk on telescopes from @engineeratomic.bsky.social. more info on our website: scastro.org

09.09.2025 17:03 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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South Cheshire Astronomical Society Scastro website

The South Cheshire Astronomy Society will be participating in the Crewe Science Spectacular this Saturday in Crewe, Cheshire at Lyceum Square from 11 till 3. We will present 3 talks including a talk on telescopes from @engineeratomic.bsky.social. more info on our website: scastro.org

09.09.2025 17:03 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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South Cheshire Astronomical Society Scastro website

Our first observation/club night of the new season is tonight!

Join us at St Peter's Community Hall in Minshull Vernon, Cheshire.

More info on our website.

southcheshireastronomy.wordpress.com

01.09.2025 07:06 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Scientists Have Identified the Origin of an Extraordinarily Powerful Outer-Space Radio Wave In March 2025, Earth was hit by a fast radio burst as energetic as the sun but lasting only milliseconds.

In March 2025, Earth was hit by a fast radio burst as energetic as the sun but lasting only milliseconds.

31.08.2025 22:25 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 171    ๐Ÿ” 29    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 11    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
Hours before its death, a massive star violently reshuffled its insidesโ€”then exploded into Cassiopeia A. NASAโ€™s Chandra data reveals this last-minute chaos, offering new clues into how stars live, die & transform the cosmos

Credit: NASA/CXC/Meiji Univ./T. Sato et al.

Hours before its death, a massive star violently reshuffled its insidesโ€”then exploded into Cassiopeia A. NASAโ€™s Chandra data reveals this last-minute chaos, offering new clues into how stars live, die & transform the cosmos Credit: NASA/CXC/Meiji Univ./T. Sato et al.

Hours before its death, a massive star violently reshuffled its insides then exploded into Cassiopeia A. NASAโ€™s Chandra data reveals this last-minute chaos, offering new clues into how stars live, die & transform the cosmos

Credit: NASA/CXC/Meiji Univ./T. Sato et al.

30.08.2025 17:39 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 129    ๐Ÿ” 18    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3    ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
Stars in the galaxy shining blue and red as seen through Hubble Telescope

Stars in the galaxy shining blue and red as seen through Hubble Telescope

Our 2025-6 season starts next week! Our first observation evening is this Monday night, 7.30pm, at the St Peter's Community Hall, Minshull Vernon.

More details on our website:https://southcheshireastronomy.wordpress.com/

29.08.2025 07:11 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Day 5 of my Global Meteor Detection System. Just one camera at the moment but some nice Perseids captured last night despite the cloud cover and moonlight. #meteor #perseids @southcheshireastro.bsky.social

12.08.2025 10:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Fab #r4today @megschwamb.bsky.social on how Rubin Observatory commissioning just happened to be looking in the right place at the right time๐Ÿงต๐Ÿ‘‡

The ~7-mile-wide interstellar #3I/ATLAS comet roams through our galaxy, currently speeding through our solar system to pass Mars in early Oct!๐Ÿ”ญ๐Ÿงช

๐Ÿ“ท: SkyLive

02.08.2025 09:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 70    ๐Ÿ” 9    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
This Hubble image features the RCW 7 nebula, a cloud of interstellar gas and dust with a faint pink glow due to ionized hydrogen. The background is bluish and studded with stars. Dense, curling clouds surround massive protostars at the center. These emit ultraviolet and infrared light. The brightest stars in the foreground don't belong to the nebula. The ensemble appears as a mix of soft light and shadow, with contrasts between the dark clouds and the bright glow.

This Hubble image features the RCW 7 nebula, a cloud of interstellar gas and dust with a faint pink glow due to ionized hydrogen. The background is bluish and studded with stars. Dense, curling clouds surround massive protostars at the center. These emit ultraviolet and infrared light. The brightest stars in the foreground don't belong to the nebula. The ensemble appears as a mix of soft light and shadow, with contrasts between the dark clouds and the bright glow.

๐Ÿงต
This nice Hubble image shows the intriguing nebula RCW 7 dotted with stars.

Also known as Sh 2-302 and Gum 6, it is located some 5,300 ly away in Puppis.

RCW 7 is an H II region, containing a massive binary protostar, IRAS 07299-1651, which is estimated to have a minimum total mass of...

๐Ÿ”ญ ๐Ÿงช

02.08.2025 09:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 207    ๐Ÿ” 37    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 6    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
A line of large craters shines in lunar morning along the black night border. To the right (east), more craters are illuminated in now lunar day.

A line of large craters shines in lunar morning along the black night border. To the right (east), more craters are illuminated in now lunar day.

Tangle of craters along the southern part of the first quarter Moon last night at 144x. Herschel is the small shadowed crater near the upper center. Below it is Ptolemaeus. Right of Ptolemaeus is Albategnius. Below Ptolemaeus is Alphonsus, and below that is Arzachel. #astronomy #astrophotography

02.08.2025 14:18 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 39    ๐Ÿ” 6    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

This such a typical tired gotcha position... how much other ethical stuff is Colbert doing? A fucktonne. Its not good if his stance on Gaza is weak but that's not all there is to the story. So gaf or don't but so t pretend there is only one issue that decides his worth.

18.07.2025 18:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
The Andromeda galaxy, a spiral galaxy, spreads across the width. It is tilted nearly edge-on to our line of sight so that it appears as an extreme oval on its side. The borders of the galaxy are jagged because the image is a mosaic of smaller, square images. The outer edges of the galaxy are blue, while the inner two-thirds are yellowish with a bright, central core. Dark, dusty filamentary clouds wrap around the outer half of the galaxyโ€™s disk. At 10 oโ€™clock, a smaller dwarf elliptical galaxy forms a fuzzy, yellow blob. Hubbleโ€™s sharp vision distinguishes about 200 million stars within the image. The background of space is black. There are what appears to be steps toward the bottom, mainly toward the middle, which indicates where no data were taken.

The Andromeda galaxy, a spiral galaxy, spreads across the width. It is tilted nearly edge-on to our line of sight so that it appears as an extreme oval on its side. The borders of the galaxy are jagged because the image is a mosaic of smaller, square images. The outer edges of the galaxy are blue, while the inner two-thirds are yellowish with a bright, central core. Dark, dusty filamentary clouds wrap around the outer half of the galaxyโ€™s disk. At 10 oโ€™clock, a smaller dwarf elliptical galaxy forms a fuzzy, yellow blob. Hubbleโ€™s sharp vision distinguishes about 200 million stars within the image. The background of space is black. There are what appears to be steps toward the bottom, mainly toward the middle, which indicates where no data were taken.

The largest photomosaic of the Andromeda galaxy, assembled from Hubble observations, took more than 10 years of data collecting and was created from more than 600 snapshots!

โžก๏ธ And it's available for download in really large sizes: go.nasa.gov/44Uvyhc ๐Ÿ”ญ ๐Ÿงช

17.07.2025 18:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 111    ๐Ÿ” 42    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Using Large-scale structures and gravitational wave sources to measure the expansion rate In today's astrobite we explore a new approach that has been developed to measure the Universal expansion rate, involving gravitational waves from merging black holes and the large-scale structure of ...

From Abbรฉ Whitford: In todayโ€™s astrobite we explore a new approach that has been developed to measure the Universal expansion rate, involving gravitational waves from merging black holes and the large-scale structure of the Universe.๐Ÿ”ญโœจโ˜„๏ธ
astrobites.org/2025/07/17/l...

17.07.2025 22:36 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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This is the East Veil Nebula. It is located 2400 light years from earth. I always think it looks like a creepy face to me! #astronomy #astrophotography #space @kat-astro-bot.bsky.social

17.07.2025 17:35 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 113    ๐Ÿ” 13    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 10    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Saturday afternoon quick images of the huge activity on the Sun...

Astro Joe

29.06.2025 05:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A dual left/right stereoscopic pair of black and white photographies displaying a Martian landscape. This dual image is intended to be used to obtain a Stereo3D rendition of the scene through parallel viewing, and not cross-eyed viewing.

A dual left/right stereoscopic pair of black and white photographies displaying a Martian landscape. This dual image is intended to be used to obtain a Stereo3D rendition of the scene through parallel viewing, and not cross-eyed viewing.

A Stereo3D view captured yesterday by the Curiosity rover

To go 3D: eyes' lines of sight parallel, left image for left eye, right image for right eye.

#Mars June 27, 2025 - Sol 4582 ๐Ÿงช๐Ÿ”ญ
๐Ÿ“ท: NASA/JPL-Caltech

28.06.2025 17:59 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 34    ๐Ÿ” 5    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A telescopic image showing two concentric orange rings. The inner ring is brighter and has some swirling features around it. The outer ring is fainter and fuzzier.

A telescopic image showing two concentric orange rings. The inner ring is brighter and has some swirling features around it. The outer ring is fainter and fuzzier.

Astronomers may have found evidence of still-forming planets hidden in this close-up of the star RIK 113, taken with our VLT ๐Ÿ“ธ ๐Ÿช

This and previous ALMA data suggest that the disc around the star may be shaped by hidden planets.

Discover more: www.eso.org/public/image...

๐Ÿ”ญ ๐Ÿงช
๐Ÿ“ท ESO/C. Ginski et al.

09.06.2025 07:01 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 66    ๐Ÿ” 14    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 4

It appeared in our 'discover' feed so I guess the topic is evergreen :)

08.06.2025 15:11 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

We have a good number of women in South Cheshire Astro society and more always welcome :)

08.06.2025 15:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
RCW 126 is classified as an Hโ€ฏII region โ€“ a cloud of ionized hydrogen gas excited by young, massive stars. It was cataloged in the 1960 Rodgers-Campbell-Whiteoak (RCW) survey of southern Hฮฑ emission nebulae. Specifically, RCW 126 is noted as a low-surface-brightness Hโ€ฏII region, meaning its optical emission is relatively faint compared to brighter nebulae. It corresponds to Gum 62 in the Gum catalog of nebulae and is part of the grouping of Hโ€ฏII regions known as the Catโ€™s Paw Nebula complex (NGC 6334). There is no indication that RCW 126 is a supernova remnant; its properties are consistent with an ionized star-forming nebula rather than an exploded star. 
RCW 126 lies in the southern Milky Way in the constellation Scorpius, near the tail of the Scorpion. It is situated only a few degrees from the bright star ฮป Scorpii (Shaula). Its equatorial coordinates are approximately RA 17สฐ13แตโ€“17สฐ17แต, Dec โˆ’36ยฐ18โ€ฒ (J2000). This places RCW 126 in the same sky region as the NGC 6334 star-forming complex. Indeed, RCW 126 is often considered an outlying part of the Catโ€™s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) system of Hโ€ฏII regions in Scorpius. In Galactic terms, it lies in the inner Galaxy (near galactic longitude l โ‰ˆ 351ยฐ), in a rich star-forming arm segment. 
The presence of ongoing star formation is a defining characteristic of RCW 126. Besides the IR-bright protostar(s), the nebula and its molecular cloud exhibit other star-forming signposts: dense clumps, likely maser emission and molecular outflows have been reported in the region, indicative of active protostellar accretion and feedback. (For example, radio studies have noted a northโ€“south velocity gradient in the molecular gas of RCW 126, which could be related to outflow motions.) In summary, RCW 126 is not just an ionized gas cloud but a cradle of new stars, including at least one high-mass star and numerous lower-mass members forming in the embedded cluster.

RCW 126 is classified as an Hโ€ฏII region โ€“ a cloud of ionized hydrogen gas excited by young, massive stars. It was cataloged in the 1960 Rodgers-Campbell-Whiteoak (RCW) survey of southern Hฮฑ emission nebulae. Specifically, RCW 126 is noted as a low-surface-brightness Hโ€ฏII region, meaning its optical emission is relatively faint compared to brighter nebulae. It corresponds to Gum 62 in the Gum catalog of nebulae and is part of the grouping of Hโ€ฏII regions known as the Catโ€™s Paw Nebula complex (NGC 6334). There is no indication that RCW 126 is a supernova remnant; its properties are consistent with an ionized star-forming nebula rather than an exploded star. RCW 126 lies in the southern Milky Way in the constellation Scorpius, near the tail of the Scorpion. It is situated only a few degrees from the bright star ฮป Scorpii (Shaula). Its equatorial coordinates are approximately RA 17สฐ13แตโ€“17สฐ17แต, Dec โˆ’36ยฐ18โ€ฒ (J2000). This places RCW 126 in the same sky region as the NGC 6334 star-forming complex. Indeed, RCW 126 is often considered an outlying part of the Catโ€™s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) system of Hโ€ฏII regions in Scorpius. In Galactic terms, it lies in the inner Galaxy (near galactic longitude l โ‰ˆ 351ยฐ), in a rich star-forming arm segment. The presence of ongoing star formation is a defining characteristic of RCW 126. Besides the IR-bright protostar(s), the nebula and its molecular cloud exhibit other star-forming signposts: dense clumps, likely maser emission and molecular outflows have been reported in the region, indicative of active protostellar accretion and feedback. (For example, radio studies have noted a northโ€“south velocity gradient in the molecular gas of RCW 126, which could be related to outflow motions.) In summary, RCW 126 is not just an ionized gas cloud but a cradle of new stars, including at least one high-mass star and numerous lower-mass members forming in the embedded cluster.

This is RCW126, a Hydrogen Alpha nebula region 6,500 light years away in the constellation of Scorpius. Captured over multiple nights in May and June 2025 using my Edge HD8 telescope and ASI1600MM Pro camera. 25 hours of total imaging time #astrophotography @kat-astro-bot.bsky.social

08.06.2025 07:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 87    ๐Ÿ” 13    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Located just a few dozen kilometres from Madrid, the Cebreros ground station was inaugurated in 2005 as the second deep space antenna in ESAโ€™s Estrack satellite tracking network. With its 35-metre dish, it provides routine support to ESA deep-space missions, like: Mars Express, BepiColombo, Juice and Hera.

Located just a few dozen kilometres from Madrid, the Cebreros ground station was inaugurated in 2005 as the second deep space antenna in ESAโ€™s Estrack satellite tracking network. With its 35-metre dish, it provides routine support to ESA deep-space missions, like: Mars Express, BepiColombo, Juice and Hera.

Observations of our neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda, made using ESAโ€™s Flyeye telescope. Andromeda appears so large in Earthโ€™s sky that in angular size it is six times the diameter of the full Moon and it can be seen with the unaided eye in dark skies.

Observations of our neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda, made using ESAโ€™s Flyeye telescope. Andromeda appears so large in Earthโ€™s sky that in angular size it is six times the diameter of the full Moon and it can be seen with the unaided eye in dark skies.

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged the Sombrero galaxy with its NIRCam camera, which shows dust from the galaxyโ€™s outer ring blocking stellar light from stars within the galaxy. In the central region of the galaxy,

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged the Sombrero galaxy with its NIRCam camera, which shows dust from the galaxyโ€™s outer ring blocking stellar light from stars within the galaxy. In the central region of the galaxy,

This galaxy is called NGC 685 and is classified as a barred spiral because its feathery spiral arms sprout from the ends of a bar of stars at the galaxyโ€™s centre.

This galaxy is called NGC 685 and is classified as a barred spiral because its feathery spiral arms sprout from the ends of a bar of stars at the galaxyโ€™s centre.

๐Ÿ“ท This was our #WeekInImages, 2-6 June 2025 ๐Ÿ‘‡

www.esa.int/About_Us/Wee... ๐Ÿงช๐Ÿ”ญ

08.06.2025 14:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 222    ๐Ÿ” 40    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
The Cygnus wall, a part of the larger North America Nebula.

The Cygnus wall, a part of the larger North America Nebula.

The Cygnus Wall is a giant cloud of hydrogen gas that is ionized by nearby stars, so it glows. From end to end, it's about 20 LY long. It's 1,500 LY away, so this is really what it looked like 1,500 years ago. HOO color palette. #astronomy #astrophotography #astro #science #cygnus #space #nebula

08.06.2025 13:35 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 236    ๐Ÿ” 42    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

#Astronomy #astrophysics #cosmology

08.06.2025 14:41 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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South Cheshire Astronomical Society Scastro website

Hello to our fellow Astronomy organisations, professionals and enthusiasts, South Cheshire Astronomy has now moved to Bluesky, excited to make this our new digital home.

Visit our website to read more about our society and our upcoming 2025-26 season dates.

scastro.org

08.06.2025 14:36 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

@southcheshireastro is following 20 prominent accounts