Pembrokeshire Astronomer

Having for some months been distracted by the quick-fire media platforms of FaceBook and Instagram, I find myself wanting to sloowww doownn and take the scenic route via my old favourite Blogger site. It's been ages since I last posted on here. From today I'm going to post all my content, be it astronomy, poetry, art, typewriters, travelling etc solely on to this blog.  Time to renew the analogue! More drawings and sketches, ink pens, typewriters, notebooks, pencils, paper, poems, planispheres, simple telescopes, cups of tea, lunar light and sunspots and travelling photos. All posts will be made and uploaded from our motorhome "Martha" whilst on our travels, over the next couple of years. Goodbye digital fog. Hello clear analogue skies. Time for a cup of tea .

It had been a beautifully hot day, the Sun was relentless, happy, strong, and chromium yellow in a big blue cloudless sky. Our motorhome "Martha" needed shade from this solar onslaught.  We took refuge under the barest of trees and waited out the inferno. Later in the evening, after a considerable cooling of temperature we drove to higher ground. A favourite spot where the stars are almost 360° and very little light pollution. As the Sun dipped down, the temperature also dipped; time to close some windows. Through the passenger door window, I happened to glance out towards the North. There, plain to see, was that unmistakable reddish light. It had us mesmerised... an Aurora glow ! An Aurora here in France at 44°N !  I bet back home in the UK it must be "bouncing". A quick look on the internet  confirmed my suspicion, the storm indeed was large over the United Kingdom. In my home county of Pembrokeshire 360° Aurora was being reported. The UK storm of the century and

Last night we camped in the village of Sereilhac, some maybe 20 miles south west of Limoges. The temperature all day hovered around 30°C !  Not being used to such heat Helen and I moved slowly and took our time with the simplest of tasks!  All evening, and into that balmy night a nearby frog chorus could be heard, a raucous of beautiful high decibel croaks and mutterings filled the motorhome all night. There was no let up in that high "croak" volume until around 5.00 am.  I was outside at 5.00 am taking in the glorious French clear skies and marvelling at Scorpius which lay due south.  45° North - Sereilhac As we are presently at 45°N at this location it allowed the Scorpion to show off part of its lower tail and stinger. Something I have never seen from my 52°N  location in Pembrokeshire. 52° North - Pembrokeshire It was amazing to see the stinger, it's main star shone out brightly. Scorpius with it body, claws, and now complete tail and stinger on show imparted a most i

Last night the Aurora Borealis was visible throughout a large portion of the UK. Here in Pembrokeshire it did not disappoint, though in my case I missed the main display, which I believe was around 6.00pm - 7.00 pm. I, as usually happens with aurora, was a few hours late on the uptake! We were parked up last night in an excellent spot, near Mynachlogddu.  The skies were clear, very dark and cold.  Luckily at around 11.00pm I was outside taking in the night sky.  Whilst looking to the North I could faintly, albeit very faintly, detect a hint of possible aurora activity, just over the top of nearby Carn Meinir. I took a few shots with our camera phone, around eight seconds at ISO3200. I was surprised to find the aurora clear and bright in the images. The photos were nowhere near as good as some online amateur photos, though considering my camera setup I was happy to have obtained the above. My photos reminded me of the aurora pictures I used to see in astronomy magazines back in the earl

Thought these diagrams might be of interest to eclipse chasers in the UK. From one of my favourite astronomy books, written by the great Welsh Moon mapper Percy Wilkins . I noticed the forthcoming April solar eclipse is absent from the list. https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/@2648147?iso=20240408 Considering we in the UK will only glimpse it for maybe a few minutes I can see why the event wasn't included. If you ever spot a copy of "Guide to the Heavens" buy it quickly, you won't be disappointed, a great trip down amateur astronomy memory lane. 

These past many weeks (months!), Pembrokeshire has not been kind to astronomers.  Lots of rain and too much wind have kept the dustcaps on all telescopes in our county.  Tonight that all changed. It was a pleasure to finally take the telescope out and do a bit of Lunar watching.  Since it was the "first light" for this little Skywatcher refractor I thought the Moon would make a great target.  High up in the sky and clear of the horizon murk and dust, the views the refractor delivered were very steady and sharp.  No real observing of craters was done, this evening I only wanted to fly over the Moon. Tonight's moon peep was for soaking in the moonlight, whilst lost in my thoughts of H.G.Wells' Selenites, Apollo landings and future lunar drawing projects. Fingers firmly crossed for better weather and clearer skies. The pencils are sharpened, the ink pens are waiting; can't wait to make some Lunar sketches and drawings. Clear Skies wherever you are.  Mark.