Widefields from space!!

[fringe_dweller]

Cant get enuff of SECCHI/STEREO images, this pair of craft are easily one of the most dramatic developments in years, armed to the teeth with cameras and instruments something like 32 between them!!!

but its the widefield cameras that are truly freaky to me, (of course SOHO had one, SWAN, but that was positively stoneage compared to these!)

most of the instruments point towards the sun of course, but the Heliospheric Imager (HI) is attatched to the side of both craft, and are made up of two wide field visible light cameras- HI-1 and HI-2, HI-1 has a FOV of 20º, while the HI-2's have a FOV of 70º!!!!!!!

check out this blogpage containing some very nice processed images
check out the ones in gallery showing the milky way and the one with the LMC and SMC! freaky


http://cometal.bigblog.com.au/gallery.do?id=137419

http://cometal.bigblog.com.au/index.do

[iceman (Mike)]

Wow, they're fantastic. That one of McNaughts tail is a stunner!

Thanks for the link Kearn, what a beauty.

[RB (Andrew)]

Awesome Kearn, stunning indeed.

Thanks for the link.
I'll be having another look at it again later.

[fringe_dweller]

glad ya like guys!

here's some more examples of whats possible with these camera's

Rainer Kracht posted this awesome animation of 2P Encke from 27th today on ml

http://www.rkracht.de/secchi/2p-encke-20070427.gif (2.5MB)

anyone can download the FITS files and stack/process them, cant remember the address tho atm

and here was a big discovery already made using the widefields of McNaught (PDF) detecting for the first time an iron tail!! (the thin tail in image)

http://cara.uai.it/

[iceman (Mike)]

More great links. That animation is incredible, I love the flowing tail.