Opera glass to the Moon

I didn't manage to sketch the recent Full Moon, but I had a go at the gibbous Moon, as seen with my opera glasses. 

It was a cold night, I felt a chill and decided I preferred the warmth of our motorhome to the cold November air. 

Still, some detail of various mare were noted.

The sketch I wanted to do at Full Moon will have to wait for another day.

Here's the initial lunar drawing I was taking notes from.

Maybe I will have better luck with  the Full Moon of Christmas time.

Which will be on December the 15th.

Clear Lunar skies 

Les étoiles, toujours étoiles.

Having just come back from France, I thought why not post some of my camera phone astro images.

Simple pictures with an astronomy theme was pretty much my limit. 

I will leave the long exposures and star tracking for another time.

It was great to see the various constellations that much higher in the sky (at one point we were 44 degrees north).

       

Orion over the church spire

Scorpio was an amazing sight.

Being able to see the entire constellation from the south of France was a sight not to be forgotten.

        Full Moon over 

Pont Brottone

Next time we head off to France I will pack a digital SLR camera. 

Our old Nikon D50 took some excellent shots of the night sky.

* Must remember to post my "opera glasses" Moon sketch in the next post.

Clear Skies 

Mark.