Carol Botha
@carolbotha
Amateur Astronomer (Hobbyist) * Member: Astronomical Society of Southern Africa (ASSA) * Astronomer Member: Slooh The Online Telescope
The live feeds during Slooh's "2026 Total Solar Eclipse star party" produced some interesting images. I quite liked this one of a spider looking prominence🕷️ #Slooh #sloohshare #TotalSolarEclipse
Some events are impossible to see but that did not keep me from staring at a cloudy sky for almost an hour just to get brief glimpses. Last shot (through window pane)08:01. Then the Moon was lost behind clouds. Our Moon will feature as one of the seven moons in LUNAR, online #Moonssymphony course
IC 5070. One mission, no stacking. At first I saw nothing! Some basic stretching in editing software can do wonders. #Slooh's telescopes are located in dark sky areas and that helped me to see something like a Pelican too #sloohshare #astronomy #nebula #onlinetelescope
Little did I know that my fascination with our Moon would take me on a most incredible journey to other moons in our solar system I hope my fascination will catch on and that you will join me to explore distant moons www.moons-symphony.com/from-apprehe... #moonssymphony
Cloudy in Western Cape South Africa, but glorious sunshine at #Slooh's H-Alpha telescope on the Canary Islands. Apart from the bright plages and faculae, a pair of barbed filaments caught my eye. Best of both worlds.
Talking about the The Moons Symphony and just having completed my first mission in the online LUNAR course: In 2021, I captured Jupiter's moon, Io, chasing the Great Red Spot! #Slooh telescopes delivered brilliant images. @alfalkenberg.bsky.social #onlinetelescopes #onlinelearning #homeschooling
The Moons Symphony LUNAR online course. 1st mission complete! Postcard to Earth: As a child I learned about the world through play, music and rhymes. I've come full circle. DO Science but never without combining it with play, music, art and poetry. #onlinecourses #onlinelearning #homeschooling
I read this on Slooh's website: "This week we're celebrating Carol Botha and her eight years of exploring the night sky, one observation at a time" Then I realised: That's me!😆 I switched from my Dobsonian to Slooh and started new adventures deeper into space. Thanks Slooh ❤️ s.slooh.com/papp26dGfkhK
Supermoon versus Micromoon The Moon does not really change in physical size. It just appears to change in size due to the distance of the Moon from Earth. #Slooh #supermoon #micromoon
As I felt rhythm and tonal colour in this star field , I cropped my #Slooh image, with the very bright Musica (18 Delphini) to the left and star "notes" to the right😁 Combining art and science adds an extra layer of meaning to my observations. Guess who's doing #TheMoonsSymphony Lunar Course
"Popcorn clouds" casting shadows on the sandstone landscape of the Gadames Basin, Sahara. #Slooh #sloohshare #satellites #earth #science #onlinelearning
Spent the day replaying LUNAR course videos: Meeting the Orchestra. @alfalkenberg.bsky.social describes "a soaring brass line, rising through the dense orchestral textures" I think I will conduct the brass to go gently, with warmth and restraint on this Moon of mine #moonssymphony #onlinecourses
The saying goes: diamonds are a girls best friends. Maybe they meant globular clusters! Slooh Quest: The Closest Globular Clusters. I used Canary One and Australia One, both 20" , angular sizes: 0° 37' 00" x 0° 37' 00" #Slooh. #sloohshare #stars #clusters #quests #onlinetelescopes #onlinelearning
Life sometimes gets in the way but I'm back on course for the final chapter of Jupiter's Moon Io. My latest observation: Prometheus Volcano. Sketched from NASA's image from the Galileo Mission The Moons Symphony LUNAR course #solarsystem #moon #onlinecourses #homeschooling
#Slooh quests help me understand, find my way and appreciate the wonder of space. You do need to keep your wits about you when you tackle the Virgo Galaxy Cluster😊and then there's the Virgo Supercluster as well!😮 #sloohshare #virgo #galaxies #onlinelearning #onlinetelescope
I have few bragging rights. High on the list: I joined #slooh in 2017. In Apr 2020, I became the first Slooh member to reach Hubble (level 9) in gravity points. A pipe was added to my profile😅6 years on I'm trailing a bit behind. What'd you say should I give it another puff? 😅
Astronomy has a way of taking one on the most incredible journeys and meeting so many kind and awesome people along the way. A new chapter has meant that I needed to add some pages to my website 😊 carolbotha.co.za/about-me/moo...
Loki Patera on Io (moon of Jupiter) I'm sure going to revisit this chapter in the The Moons Symphony Lunar online course over and over again. My sketch is supposed to be illustrating the resurfacing waves on Loki Patera #solarsystem #moons #onlinecourse #homeschooling @alfalkenberg.bsky.social
It would be so wonderful if I could take these little planets on a whole new adventure to moons in the solar system as well!! #TheMoonsSymphony LUNAR course 😊 #planets #moons #onlinecourses #homeschooling #OrionObservationGroup
It was just too windy to capture the fullmoon from my backyard, but I stayed up to watch the launch while I set up missions to the Moon on #Slooh. Quite incredible.
More wonders to unfold as I start the next chapter of the LUNAR online course. Accompanied by The Moons Symphony I'm about to meet a giant volcano on Io for the very first time. #astronomy #lunar #io #moons #onlinecourses #onlinelearning #homeschooling
Slooh has added a new fun feature which landed in my inbox this morning. This could actually be a more friendly option than a "Do not Disturb" sign 😆 #gravitypoints #onlinetelescopes #onlinelearning #CosmicAdventure #homeschooling
Moons Symphony LUNAR online course: I don't have to worry about any other technical details for now. I have to know a bit about Key Signatures though 😆This is one of those courses which I hope will never end. Challenging, exciting and awesome. I'm orbiting Io, moon of Jupiter at the moment
#slooh Quest: Starry Night Over the Rhône. For me this was not only a quest to learn about the painter, Vincent van Gogh but also to get acquainted with the stars of the Big Dipper which I cannot see from South Africa. #asterism #constellation #onlinetelescope #sloohshare #quest
Total Lunar Eclipse 03.03. 2026. The Auckland Astronomical Society provided this feed during a Star Party for #Slooh members. I spotted SAO 118588 😁That's beside the awesome fact that this was snapped at the time of maximum eclipse 😮#totallunareclipse #moon #onlinetelescopes
The Auckland Astronomical Society provided one of the streams during #Slooh's Star Party. Totality was awesome but this was the moment for me: darkness disappearing over Tycho, Copernicus and Kepler plus Aristarchus gleaming brightly. Hope and stability.
As world news breaks our thoughts go out to all who are being affected by the anxious situation. Looking at the stars connects us all. May you be safe.
At this moment I'm supposed to be continuing to my next activity in #themoonssymphony LUNAR online course but after submitting my last activity, I felt my Io journal needed a new entry #moon #Jupiter #science #art #symphony #music #onlinecourses #OnlineLearning #homeschool