Mars sails past the Beehive.

The trusty Red Vixen will be out and about on the nights of May 3rd, 4th and 5th, hopefully to witness Mars as he sails past Praesepe (the Beehive).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive_Cluster

Praesepe is a wonderful star cluster, and a worthy view through any binoculars or low power telescope.

Beehive-Mars-Moon-Perfect

Add to that the wandering Mars, and it will make for a great visual alignment.

With any luck our little red Vixen refractor will be able to capture the whole celestial event.  

Plus I should be able to grab some camera phone photos.

It will be an interesting few evenings. 

Fingers crossed for some clear nights.

I seek Sol's light in a sunbeam.

Managed a quick image of old Sol.

Still using the small aperture mylar filter.

The full 60mm aperture of this telescope would no doubt increase sunspot resolution.

Will keep a look out for a decent 60mm diameter solar filter.

En passant: I am reminded of a quote from one of my favourite astronomy writers.

Joseph H. Elgie wrote the following in April of 1907 :

That breath of "perfume" Elgie talks about is possibly what we today would call Petrichor. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor

Fascinating to make that "perfume" to "petrichor" connection, a span of some 118 years! A tenuous connection to Joseph Elgie, but still...

I seek Sol's light in a sunbeam.

All is quiet, hushed and still.

The cloud free sky lightened by a gibbous Moon.

All is quiet, hushed and still.

In the distance a rally car is negotiating the next bend, changing gear and accelerating. 

A familiar nightime sound from as far back as I can remember in this part of the county.

Here at our park up, the telescope sits patiently.

Vixen red outside collecting lunar photons around 11.00 o'clock.

Tonight the Moon Maiden was on display, another firm favourite, and always a welcome sight.

The little red Vixen was able to show a hint of the Moon Maiden, though better views will surely prevail once I find myself a decent 6mm eyepiece.

There's absolutely no rush at the moment, a 6mm eyepiece will turn up when the time is right. 

Till then I am content to bathe in the light of Luna and write my poems by the muse of Selene.

Here's a picture of the Moon Maiden from an old book, now lost in time and thought:

The bats were flying.

The Sun had not long bid us goodnight, the bats were flying, the night was cooling, and the Moon shone down from high above. 

Helen and I were parked up, not far from Simpson Cross, a village we know well, having lived there between 2001 and 2016. 

Lots of happy memories in that village.

Great memories of my much used little Tal 1 Newtonian reflector are on my mind as I write these words.

It was my main telescope whilst we lived in Simpson Cross.

Tonight I had planned a test for the little red Vixen telescope.

I was trying out an old Japanese 12.5 mm eyepiece. 

After the usual camera phone wobbling over the eyepiece routine, I eventually managed to capture a few half decent pictures. 

The 12.5mm Japanese eyepiece is a definite keeper and a good match for the little red Vixen.

The night sky from this location often looks amazing, so clear and sharp, probably one of the best locations in the county.

BUT... the only trouble is that it has more than its usual share of cloudy nights! 

Tonight was one of those clear cloud free telescope friendly nights.

The "V" of Taurus was upright and close by Pleiades was ready to head into the west.

When you spot the Pleiades dipping down into the westerly twilight, the Summer months are not far away.

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.