DwarfVision Challenge News & Celestial Events: Your Mid-July Briefing!
Challenge updates, your guide to late-July sky events, and a hunt for an interstellar visitor!
As we move into the second half of July, the cosmos continues to put on a spectacular show! Here’s a quick look at our next imaging challenge target, a summary of the current challenge standings, and the must-see celestial events to put on your calendar.
Summer Milky Way Challenge: Leaderboard Update
The Summer Milky Way (DSO) Challenge is well underway, and we have first finisher from the star-filled skies of Puerto Rico!
Huge congratulations to Luis E. Bracero, our 1st finisher! Capturing all 20 official targets on the list! From the Lagoon Nebula to the Wizard Nebula, Luis has been on an absolute imaging marathon. An impressive effort to achieve all the targets in just 5 days!
The competition for finishing the list is intensifying, with Les Scott maintaining a strong second place, having captured eight images, including a stunning shot of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. We also want to give a special shout-out to Este Pilo for their incredible dedication, combining 8 hours of captures of the Elephant's Trunk Nebula, and to Bob Symonds for snagging the challenging Barnard's Galaxy!
You can check the full Challenge Rules and Regs here, the complete Target List here, and follow the action on the Live Leaderboard here
Milky Way Challenge Q&A: How to Find Target T6 with your Dwarf Scope
We've had some questions about our next target, T6: The Snake Nebula (Barnard 72), since it isn't listed in the DWARFLab app's built-in ATLAS.
No problem! You can easily find it by using the "GoTo" function in the app and manually entering its coordinates.
Target: T6 - The Snake Nebula (Barnard 72)
Description: This intriguing, S-shaped dust lane winds its way in front of the rich star clouds of the Milky Way in the constellation Ophiuchus. It’s a fantastic and challenging target that shows off what DWARF scopes can do with dark nebulae!
Use the "GoTo" function in the DWARF Lab app (see image below for reference) and manually enter the following coordinates:
Your Image Here
Coordinates to Enter:
RA: 17h 25m 13.8s
Dec: -23° 43' 10.9"
We can't wait to see your images!
Upcoming Celestial Events
Get your DWARF scopes ready for these upcoming encounters!
Tonight (July 20-21): Moon & The Pleiades (M45): The waning crescent Moon passes just over half a degree from the beautiful Pleiades star cluster. This will be a lovely sight for both imaging and binocular viewing in the pre-dawn sky.
July 23: Moon & Jupiter: The Moon continues its journey along the ecliptic, paying a visit to the giant planet Jupiter.
July 30-31: Southern Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower (Peak): This will be the best meteor shower of the summer. The peak coincides with a favorable Moon phase, promising the dark skies needed to spot the fainter meteors. The shower can produce up to 25 meteors per hour and is a fantastic event to capture with your DWARF in wide-field mode.
July 31: Venus & Open Cluster M35: To close out the month, the dazzlingly bright planet Venus passes near the large open star cluster M35 in Gemini. This is another excellent photographic and binocular target in the pre-dawn hours.
Observer's Tip: Don't forget to keep an eye on the ongoing Saturn-Neptune conjunction. This rare conjunction is a long-running event, and using bright Saturn as a guidepost is a perfect way to hunt down the faint, blue disk of Neptune with your DWARF scope.
Citizen Science Challenge for DWARF Masters: Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
Here’s a special bulletin for our most dedicated imagers! Thanks to the latest ephemeris data, we have a unique opportunity to hunt for a true interstellar visitor.
Tonight (July 20-21): Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS meets Globular Cluster M9. The third confirmed interstellar comet, designated 3I/ATLAS, is currently gliding through the constellation Ophiuchus. Tonight, it will make a remarkably close pass of the beautiful globular cluster M9.
A Word of Caution: This is an exceptionally challenging target. Based on the latest data, the comet is shining at a very faint magnitude of +16.7. Capturing it will require:
Excellent, dark sky conditions.
Very long total integration times (likely several hours).
Advanced post-processing skills to pull the faint cometary signal from the noise.
While this target is likely beyond a casual observing session, it presents a thrilling and historic opportunity for expert DWARF-wranglers to attempt to image a visitor from another star system. Good luck to all who try this deep-sky hunt!
We look forward to seeing your results from these events and the Summer Mikey Way DSO challenge!
Clear skies!
DwarfVision: Get Ready for What's Next!
The gears are turning and the forge is hot here at DwarfVision! We're excited to give you a sneak peek at the incredible new experiences and features coming your way. Get ready to dive deeper, gear up, and get involved.
The DATACLUB
Unlock the power of information. The DATACLUB is your upcoming, exclusive portal for ready-to-use DSO assets. Get access to exclusive D3 data, high-resolution .pngs processed in Siril, and professional Lightroom Presets. Experiment with our data or use the .png images to extend your stacking or post-processing work.
Launching Soon!