NGC4449 the Magellanic cloud I didn't know I could see!

 Via the Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_4449 - "NGC 4449, also known as Caldwell 21, is an irregular Magellanic type galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici, being located about 12 million light-years away. It is part of the M94 Group or Canes Venatici I Group that is relatively close to the Local Group hosting our Milky Way galaxy.^[3][4] " 

Magellanic!  My jaw dropped when I saw it.  I admit, I don't always research my targets, I often just shoot what is in the gap of the trees around the house.  I thought this was just another galaxy, but I admit it looked pretty odd and unique but at the time I just wanted to see how well the guiding and SGP automation were behaving. 

 It's awesome to see something related to the Southern Hemisphere SMC and LMC!  I thought I'd never see a related object without having to travel south of the equator!  I was thrilled to get to know such an object and I challenge you to do the same!  It's Mag 10 and likely visible in a decent sized telescope perhaps with the eyepiece as well?! :P

Thanks for reading!

Apophis - the 'killer' asteroid!

 I struggle to keep up with all the current events in Astronomy, from Near Earth Objects (NEO) or new satellite launches or space missions.  This Potentially Hazardarous Asteroid nearly slipped past me but my daily scan of Space and Telescope found this article - https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/apophis-pays-a-visit-this-week/  What really jumped out to me was this line, "Six months after its discovery in June 2004, dynamicists calculated that it had a scary 1-in-20 chance of striking Earth in 2029." 

Having my own MPC code and observed upwards of 40+ asteroids, NEO's, and comets (https://astromaphilli14.blogspot.com/p/all-michael-phillips-observed-asteroids.html needs updating!) over the years, I knew I could hit this target.  Espeically since it was closest merely a couple days before.  I had been working on my exposures and speed rankings and this was well slower at 3"/min compared to a few failures of recent so I felt confident!

Here's 1 of 2 nights where my son helped me setup!

Night 2 of 2 was a solo effort, but easy to repeat the routine I've been working on.

And the close up animation!

Mike's view of the SpaceX launch March 14, 2021

 Seen a 6:09AM EDT in my AstroPi Camera Look along the left hand side in the trees!

 

 

Here's the animation!!!!  

 

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