The French Scorpion.

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 impressive display. 

The whole constellation took on a beautiful three dimensional aspect. 

I hope to see a lot more of the Scorpion over the next few weeks.

Scorpio - The Scorpion

Antares- Lucida star

Dominant red star "Antares" Greek word for the "rival of Mars"

Both Antares and Mars have often even mistaken for each other when the planet has been in that vicinity.

In ancient times Antares was looked upon as one of the "Royal Stars" of which there were four. The other three, Regulus, Aldebaran, and Fomalhaut.

They were supposed to guard the four quarters of the Heavens.

Late evening Aurora.

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 early 80's.

I have the aurora app on our phone, and from now on I'll make sure it can send me any notifications of impending solar storms

That will teach me to set up the app properly in future.

The Sun & Moon in Eclipse.

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. 

Lunar Flying & Selenites

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.