No Meteors ~ Welcome to HIYA.

Back in August 2009, whilst camped out on the Preseli Hills, awaiting the main Perseid shower maximum, I had an idea...

I had an idea for a poetry form that might be of interest to poets, 

I later called it HIYA.

Firstly you make a chart, as follows:

Then you choose any word you want to make your poem.

For example I will use the letters of my name: MARK.

Look up each letter of your word on the above chart.  

Write down the corresponding number you see above it.

My word MARK would read as follows:
M=4, A=1, R=9, K=2

Once you match a number to each of your letters, you then use this number as a syllable count for each line of your poem.

Poem for the Perseids

                                                                                               Syllable Count

Throughout the night                 4         M

Clouds                               1         A

Rest upon the Preseli hill tops      9         R
I sigh.                              2         K

Any word or combination of words can be used, plus the poem can be split up into any length verse you see fit. 

Have a go, see what you think.

Have a guess what my initial word was in this poem. 

Tea Party for the Perseids

We sit so patiently waiting

Surrounded by clouds

Time for tea

Time for cake

Time to talk with old friends.

That evening back in August of 2009 may not have revealed any meteors (it was clouded out most of the night!), but I'm glad to say it revealed the HIYA.

The voice of Mr Elgie.

"armchair" study of the stars was no substitute for standing out in the night air and feeling the "beauty of the heavens."  Joseph H  Elgie 

One of my all time favourite astronomy books has to be The Stars Night by Night, by Joseph H. Elgie.

Joseph Henry Elgie (1864–1927) was a British astronomical writer during the early 20th century. 

He was best known for his ability to translate complex celestial movements into poetic, accessible language for the "backyard astronomer."  

​He was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS), and a member of the British Astronomical Association.

​Elgie’s writing was a wonderful blend of poetical  phrase, blended with  a "star-gazer’s" eye for detail.

His most fabulous book; as far as I'm concerned is:

​The Stars Night by Night: 

Being the Journal of a Star Gazer (1914): 

This was his most influential work, structured as a journal that guides the reader through the constellations and celestial events as they change across the seasons. 

It included star charts and mythological stories.  

He often used evocative prose to describe his own observing experiences.

This made him a favourite for those who viewed astronomy as a romantic or philosophical pursuit rather than just a mathematical one.  

This book goes everywhere with me.

Printed over a hundred years ago, my copy is now well worn and tatty.

The book may be worn but, the spirit of the writer's words still shine bright from every page.

It also contains a very useful planisphere, which is often used to check my celestial bearings and future observing sessions. 

If you have an interest in the non technical side of astronomy, you can't go wrong with an Elgie book.

Well worth finding a copy.

Solar Observe on Star Wars Day

It's that "May the 4th be with you" day.

Here's a photo capture of today's Sun, burning bright and beautiful with a stunning May time radiance.

The little Vixen telescope is back in the motorhome, where it belongs.

Recently I bought myself one of those camera adapters that fit over the eyepiece.

It cost the princely sum of £2 !

The adapter did a great job of holding our smartphone in place.

Seeing that the phone was now held tight I could spend some time adjusting the manual focus settings, which made all the difference.

May time "What's Up" - Blue Moon and Halley's Dust.

The Moon dominates this month with two full moons.

​May 1: The first full Moon. 

​

May 16: New Moon. 

This is the best May night for peeps at the Milky Way. 

Because the Moon is at its closest point to Earth (perigee) during its new phase, the skies will be at their darkest.  ​

May 31: The Blue Moon. 

This is the second full moon in a single calendar month, so it takes the "Blue Moon" title. 

It will also be an apogee (its farthest point from the Earth) Full Moon, so it will appear slightly smaller in the sky. 

Planetary & Meteor Highlights:

May 6: η-Aquariid Meteor Shower Peak. 

These fast-moving meteors are debris from Halley’s Comet. 

While they are usually better seen from the southern hemisphere, Pembrokeshire's low southern horizon over the Atlantic gives us a decent chance to spot them in the early morning hours.

May 14: Venus at Peak. 

Venus reaches its highest altitude in the evening sky, shining brilliantly as the "Evening Star" in the west after sunset.  ​

May 19–20: Triple Conjunction. 

A spectacular close approach between the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter. The three brightest objects in the night sky will cluster together in the western sky just after dusk. 

Milky Way Season: 

May marks the start of prime Milky Way core visibility. 

For the best views, head to south-facing out of the way spots around the New Moon on the 16th.​

Noctilucent Clouds: 

Late May marks the start of the season for these "night-shining" clouds. 

Keep a look out towards the northern horizon about an hour and a half after sunset for electric-blue, wispy formations in the upper atmosphere.  

Revisiting 1996 via the AI Time Machine.

Whilst recently cataloguing a bunch of my old black and white 35mm prints I happened upon this 1996 memory.

The photo was taken sometime in that  inbetween gap of the Summer and Autumn of 1996, at my parents' farm in Llanycefn. 

It was a glorious night, the stars were waking up and the Moon shone brightly, and all around was touched with that warmth that only comes from several weeks of summer heat.

The horses in the foreground where quietly going about their business. 

I was quietly going about mine with my Olympus OM10 35mm camera.

The above picture was developed and printed in my attic darkroom, and over the years has been lost and found again on several occasions.  

It's last incarnation has one of my haiku poems attached to it.

Recently having been "found" again I wanted to rejuvenate the picture, remove the haiku and possibly add a "1996" mood filter!

It seemed a great challenge for the modern darkroom, otherwise known as Gemini AI to undertake.

Here is Gemini's result:

Considering the visual quality of the original black and white image, it did a great job of reconstructing my "1996" memory of that night.  

As yet, I'm not sure what I think about the AI revolution... time will tell!

For now I sit on the fence, and look at the stars.

Quick peeps from Goodwick

Out with 60mm/800fl red Tasco. 

Eyepieces binoculars? 12.5mm x64.

Quick observe tonight as the mist was rising fast and obscuring much.

Jupiter near/below Gemini.

Splendid as always, showing two distinct bands and satellites. 

Castor  showing primary smaller and slightly grey/purplish colouring. x64.

Algieba was the top dog tonight.

The secondary was a beautiful 'green' colour. 

Primary was whitish but that secondary was "Opal Fruits" green, a similar green to that of the Gamma Delphinus comes.

No moon up yet, just a quick observe to keep my eyes trained. 

The Tasco is doing a fine job at x64. 

Algieba especially put on a great show, considering how tight that double is at x64.

Alas the mist took soon took hold and I retired to the warmth of Martha.

Night-time Highlights of the April sky.

Here are some of the celestial highlights for our Pembrokeshire Skies of April 2026.

​Naked-Eye Highlights:

​The Spring Triangle: 

This is the dominant seasonal pattern. 

Look south around 10:00 PM to find a giant triangle made of:

​Arcturus: A bright orange giant in Boötes (the brightest star in the northern sky)

​Spica: A blue-white star in Virgo.  

​Denebola: The "tail" of Leo the Lion.  

​

The Planetary Duo (Evening): Throughout April, Venus and Jupiter are the stars of the show.  

​Venus will be incredibly bright and low in the west shortly after sunset.  

​Jupiter sits higher in the sky within the constellation Gemini. It remains visible for most of the night.  

​Lyrid Meteor Shower: 

Peaking on the night of April 21–22. 

Because the Moon is in its crescent phase and sets early, the skies will be dark enough to spot about 15–18 meteors per hour.  

​Moon Conjunctions:

​April 19: A thin crescent Moon will sit close to Venus (with the Pleiades sat between the two of them) in the evening twilight.  

​April 22: The Moon will be positioned near Jupiter, making for a striking pairing in Gemini.  

​

Binocular Highlights:

​With a standard pair of 10x50 or 8x42 binoculars, the Pembrokeshire coast reveals objects that are usually hidden by city lights.

​Star Clusters:

​The Beehive Cluster (M44): Located in the heart of Cancer. To the naked eye, it looks like a fuzzy patch; through binoculars, it explodes into dozens of individual stars.

​The Pleiades (M45): Though setting earlier in the evening, this "Seven Sisters" cluster is still visible in the west. It is one of the most beautiful sights in binoculars.

​M35 in Gemini: Look near the "feet" of the twins (Gemini) to find this dense, shimmering cluster of stars.  

​

Deep Sky Targets:

​The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51): Under Pembrokeshire's dark skies, you can spot this as a faint, glowing smudge near the end of the "handle" of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). 

 

​M3 Globular Cluster: Located between Boötes and Coma Berenices, this looks like a "fuzzy star" in binoculars but is actually a sphere of hundreds of thousands of stars.

​Observing Tips for Pembrokeshire:

​This year's  Full "Pink" Moon occurs on April 2. 

While it isn't actually pink, it will be quite large and bright, which is great for landscape viewing but will wash out fainter stars and galaxies for a few days.  

​Aurora Potential: 

April 2026 falls near the solar maximum. Keep an eye on the northern horizon from high vantage points like Strumble Head for a chance to see the Northern Lights.

One of the best displays I have seen in this current solar maximum was from near Newgale.

Today's Sol Image.

A quick Sol image, before the clouds moved in.

Sparrows chirping in the hedgerow, fairly mild weather, with the odd gust.

Much cloud about, but thankfully a few gaps to catch a quick photo.

"Compared to a star, we are like mayflies, fleeting ephemeral creatures who live out their lives in the course of a single day". Carl Sagan

The Red Vixen & February Sol.

These past few months my little Red Vixen has been taking a vacation in our Son's attic.

Yesterday I decided to dust off this most wonderful micro telescope, and take it on a few more journeys in the 

Motorhome.

Down to Newgale this afternoon, not long before sunset. 

Old Sol was hiding behind much cloud, but, with the odd gap appearing I managed a few pictures through the little Red Vixen.

First Sol image of February, fingers crossed for more to follow over the next couple of Fevrier weeks.

Hello February. Remembering Tal

This first day of Février was made up of four seasons.  

An early morning Winter, a midday Spring, a Summery promise around teatime, and a decidedly Autumnal evening!

The Sun headed over the mountains and far away at 16h53m UT tonight. 

It was a glorious sight to see the now noticeable return of the light. 

Today I deleted my Instagram account, its been long overdue.

Before doing so I downloaded all my photos.

 

Here's a photo of my old Tal1 Newtonian reflector. 

This little telescope revealed many of the wonders of the night sky. 

If you can find one of these gems grab it, you won't be disappointed.

Newgale - Meanderings typemachine & Baguettes

Down to Newgale beach this afternoon.

Looking out to sea.  

With several days of wind and rain now thankfully in our rear view mirror.

It's good to sit on the kitchen step, listening to the gentle sound of the waves crashing against this most Welsh shore. 

With the calming view came the urge to do some typing on the old poetry generator.

I picked out one of my poems from my "Stream of Consciousness" poetry collection. 

There's roughly about 650 poems in this collection; below is number 251.

Written in France, back in 2024, whilst heading our slow zig zag way towards the Dordogne and beyond. 

The whole journey seemed fuelled entirely by Baguettes, Camembert, Boursin and grape juice.

I practically ate my own body weight in Baguettes over the next two months!

Back in the UK I'm allergic to bread.

Someone, somewhere has an explanation for this.