November rain stop play.

Not much stargazing for me this past November!

Out of the thirty nights of possible November clear skies, only nine were clear enough for any actual observing.

Out of those nine evenings only three were all night clear!

It's a pity, as November can be one of the best months for observing, at least form here in Pembrokeshire.

In the past I've had many excellent solar and planetary observing sessions in this month of the bonfire and Leonid.

Lets hope the night skies of December are kinder.

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Under the trees & the Aurora.

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

The night of Christmas day

This year's Christmas tree The roaring winds dropped, the clouds parted and the night of Christmas day was cloaked in the light of the nearly full moon. We had waited weeks for a sky clearing, and here it was, I wasn't about to waste any of it. Helen and I stood outside for ages, drinking in the stillness of this most Christmas night. The scudding clouds touched the moon and wiped away the days of wind and rain. It has been ages since we witnessed a near full moon in such a quiet setting. No cars, no planes, no dogs on leads barking at trees. The absence of all 21st century racket and rush was most welcomed. Not a soul to be seen; all at home enjoying the Christmas evening. To the South Selene was up high, shining with almost a full December intensity. Overhead Cassiopeia. To the West a tall pine tree with a star above (Hello Jupiter) made up completely for our lack of actual Christmas tree in our motorhome. To the North, a vixen was calling to the night. For several mi

Astronomy from the 1950's, and my analogue laptop.

Digging around in a charity shop the other day I found an interesting book titled: The Modern Children's Library of Knowledge Book Two The World we live in. This book was published in 1957, and towards the end of the book was a chapter about astronomy. It contained a wealth of astronomy information and most interesting to me a large collection of 1950's era illustrations. I love these old astronomy pictures. Why don't we have more illustrations like these in modern journals and magazines. Today's astronomy magazines just don't interest me. Too many adverts for a start, not enough "amateur" articles, and way too "glossy". I personally like black and white illustrations, be they photos or drawings. Saying that some of the most interesting illustrations can sometimes be in full colour: In my perfect astronomy magazine I would like nothing more than to see the typesetting done on

Pembrokeshire Astronomer

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