Little red Vixen returns.

Last Saturday's solar eclipse got me thinking about my old Vixen refractor; the telescope I used to take my 2015 solar eclipse images.

       2015 Partial Solar Eclipse

One of my good friends bought the Vixen refractor from me some nine years ago.

Over the years I have often thought of that little scope.

Being that we now live in our motorhome, that little refractor would be ideal for mobile observations.

With a bit of messaging and bartering my friend and I made an exchange. 

One telescope for two pairs of binoculars.

It was great to have the little red Vixen back again.

Here are a couple of Vixen images from last night:

They were taken with the "wobbling all over the eyepiece" Samsung phone camera method.

Partial eclipse - Partial blue sky.

This morning's partial solar eclipse was predicted to be a disaster, with a rain, cloud and misery forecast to be spread over much of Pembrokeshire.

From our vantage point in Mynachlogddu the sky gods had different ideas.

Much cloud, small blue sky gaps, crappy solar projecting and a hatfull of patience returned several semi decent eclipse pictures.

It's been 10 years since we last witnessed a solar eclipse from Mynachlogddu; the time has flown!

Luckily, in the UK, we all only have to wait until August of 2026  to see the next one.

I've already emailed those aforementioned sky gods for a clear day on August 12th 2026. 

Dreaming of Selene, as the clouds rolled in.

Well the Moon was eclipsed this morning, though from here, overlooking Newgale cliffs it was the clouds that did the eclipsing! 

If memory serves, Helen and I have missed at least the last three lunar eclipses due to cloud cover.

Never mind, there's another chance to see a lunar eclipse later this autumn, on the 7th of September. 

More about that in September.

As I have no photos to show from this morning's eclipse, here are a couple of my favourites from years gone by.

The best thing about this type of lunar event, in my mind, is that the whole eclipse takes a long time to complete. 

That slow crawl of the Earth's shadow across the lunar surface is mesmerising. 

Plus the wonderful "eclipse" quiet of the night, which seems to be more pronounced as the shadow progresses. 

It's a time to sit and ponder, a time of calming down, an event that slows clocks and resets the mind.

A meditation I guess. 

Like a Moon on the wire.

Last night's Moon glow.

These past couple of days have been cold, the nights doubly so.

But to compensate for it all the Moon has put on a great show. 

Plus tomorrow morning we have a chance to see a lunar eclipse.

Tonight's Moon post.

Martha the motorhome & the rising Crow Moon of March.

 

Like a Moon on the wire.

Tonight's beautiful Moon, at the moment has us both wide eyed and Moon mad.

The Crow Moon returns.

That big old Moon of March deserves a name, my favourite is the Crow Moon.

For the past week or so I have noticed the crows are shouting a lot and they noticeably have a bounce in their step when I spot them. 

Lately their cawing song seems to be more up beat and melodic.

Those crafty crows know that Springtime is near, and they are shouting it to the world. 

So, Crow & Crow Moon of 2025 I salute you.

As for tomorrow morning's eclipse, Helen and I will be up and about from around 4.30am. 

I hope we manage to get some sleep tonight!

Fingers crossed for some cloud free sky.

Memories of the Moon gone by.

Recently whilst looking through some old astronomy notes, I found the following drawings.

Memory tells me they were drawn with a Conte pencil on black cartridge paper. 

Strange that I haven't made drawings like this for at least the past seven years!

The world "speeding up" is part of my problem; I've spent far too much time these past several years procrastinating, dithering and sliding down various rabbit holes.

It's about time I dug out the Conte pencils and the sketch books.

That Moon is there for the sketching.

An analogue mind returns.

Having for several months been distracted by world politics, and those fast change media platforms, I find myself wanting to sloowww doownn!

Breath out and take the scenic route via my old favourite Blogger site.

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 move away from the the speedy digital and hitch a ride onto the slower analogue.

Goodbye digital fog.

Hello clear analogue skies.

Time for a cup of tea .

Typewriting the Astro.

Anyone who uses an old typewriter this way gets my vote.

Even more so if their write up is astronomy related.

The above image was found on a sheet of paper hidden in an old astronomy book I picked up a few years ago.

Before I took up blogging, (18 years ago!!), I would often type up my astro observings on whatever typewriter I had handy.

The Partial month of March.

Robin red breast in a nearby tree, the sleepy village church bell tolling ten times, the Sun shining bright and Spring like.

This spell of much awaited blue sky has been the backdrop for several recent wonderful astro events.

They included that much talked of planetary parade, (still didn't spot Saturn!), some amazing sea setting sunsets, a crescent Moon and a Venus & Mercury dance. 

In the early evening last night as the frost began to grip the land, several old friends reappeared over towards the East. 

Arcturus, Vega, Epsilon Lyrae, to name a few. 

Those early evening stars like the ground bound daffodils and snowdrops, hint at the release of the Winter months.

Spring is definitely springing at the moment.

The Partial month of March:

There is a partial lunar eclipse in the early morning of Friday the 14th, plus a partial solar eclipse near midday on Saturday the 29th.

The camera will be ready, notebooks will be open, tea will be drunk, and cake will be eaten.

It's going to be a great month for sky watching.

Mercury Falling - Venus so bright.

I was hoping for a glimpse of Mercury this evening; luck was on my side.

After daydreaming over the beautiful Newgale sunset, it wasn't long before Venus made an appearance.

Followed a short time later by the winged messenger, Mercury.

You can just make out Mercury a little above where the two slim clouds almost meet.

It's only the second time Helen and I have seen the winged messenger this year. 

Though considering I haven't spotted Mercury for several years, that's not a bad innings !

Just before we drove away from Newgale; under the cover of darkness, Helen noticed that Venus was casting an amazing pathway of light across the bay. 

Absolutely wonderful, the perfect way to end tonight's inferior planet viewing. 

Both Venus and Mercury will be closely watched over the next week, they are visually getting closer to each other at the moment.

Should make for an interesting future viewing session.

When the West wind blows.

There's some windy stormy weather heading towards Pembrokeshire over the next few days.

Looks as if I might not have a clear night for a while.

This gives me time to try out a few drawing and typewriter astro projects.

Here's another typewriter astro log book entry, from a few years back.

I notice no mention of the year on the above log entry, I think it was 2020.

Observe the Moon for £3.50

Last night whilst digging through my astro images, I found this picture. 

I haven't done one of these typewriter posts for ages!

Must make some new ones, it's long overdue.

The above observation was made with a simple 40mm refractor.

If memory serves, the refractor cost me all of £3.50 from a local charity shop, back in a time when it was possible to pick up such bargains.

Goes to show that astronomy needn't be an expensive hobby.

From the astrophotography chair.

Last night the Moon and several planets shone their light down onto Newgale beach. 

A beautiful shiny Orion took pride of place above "Martha" our trusty motorhome.

The above picture was taken with my simple tripod and phone setup. 

At the moment I just stick the ISO to 3200 with two second exposure and the above image is formed.

Simple enough for now, but I would like to upgrade a little to have more of a choice, maybe a simple dslr will do the job.

We used to own a Nikon D50 dslr, it was great for night shots. 

Although the D50 was only rated at 1600 ISO it was perfect for various conjunctions, transits and lunar work.  

Time to get back in the astrophotography chair me thinks.

First evening of 2025

Welcome to 2025, and what better welcome than a crystal clear January 1st winter evening sky.

Such a beautiful night, stars shining and bright.

A shooting star from Auriga to Ursa Minor (Kochab). A long slow trail, slightly broken in places. Almost bright enough to be put in the bollide category.

Binocular views through my Russian 8x30s revealed M36, M37, M38, M41, M42, M44, M45 and the Hyades. 

Mars was shining bright just above the Beehive Cluster M44.

21.30 UT  - Leo rising near Roch Castle, a cold evening, no wind. 

So silent, so welcome, it's been ages since I witnessed a night like this.

Slowly and with no fuss a few sounds meandered their way. 

Firstly the distant crash of the waves on Newgale's pebbled beach, then a nearby owl hooting, plus an aeroplane high up heading out across the cold Atlantic ocean.

With fire lit and embers, wood smoke smell from chimney the  stars truly became more brilliant. 

There had been an aurora earlier in the evening, nothing that the eye could detect, but the phone camera captured a whisper of that familiar red.

Aurora Glow - Apologies for the wobbly wobbly stars

It was light  until about  16:50 UT tonight.

Spring is definitely getting closer, the nights are starting to noticeably draw out.

Here's to many more 2025 clear skies.