Pembrokeshire Astronomer

I thought tonight would be a no go for astronomy as the clouds were back, and they covered much of the darkening sky.  I managed a quick photo of the Moon before it disappeared into the bullying clouds.. By the look of those clouds it seemed better to head indoors and sit by a warming fire. I happened to go outside about 11.00pm and was greeted with a beautiful smiling Moon looking down at me from a completely cloud free sky . Coat,hat and scarf on... and quickly out to the observatory and roll back the roof. The Moon was about 98% illuminated so many of the stars were washed out by the radiance of the bright moonlight... But I was able to make out a a few of the main constellations. The one that caught my eye was Leo the Lion  which was positioned right next to the Moon. Considering the proximity of Leo to the moon Gamma Leonis " Algeiba" was easily resolved with a x3 Barlow and both the 25mm plossl and the 15mm plossl. These two little beauties are said

It was cloudy all day today...... with the odd shower thrown in for good measure.  According to the weather forecast website that I follow there was to be a break in the clouds around teatime....   They were thankfully right!!!  :0) Like magic the clouds parted.... and as the days light faded I was greeted with the the Moon and Venus dancing above the trees at the end of our garden....   PERFECT !!  :0)   I was using our Nikon D50 camera with a 300mm lens set up on a tripod.  For the above shots the camera was set up at 1/13 of a second ISO at f9. Also I was able to capture a bit of the Da Vinci Glow (Earth Shine)... and you can also see from this photo a bit of glow from some passing clouds. I noticed Jupiter was almost due South and I was wondering if the 300mm camera lens would be able to pick out any detail of the Jovian Moons...   I aimed the camera and tried a two second exposure...    This was the result........Jupiter's satel

Third Quarter Moon hiding in the Simpson Cross trees this morning. I was early up this morning and quickly outside to the waiting clear skies. Stumbled towards the observatory - opened the door - removed the dust cover - hooked up the EQ motor drive - open the side shutters of the observatory - All done. Now I was ready to try a quick image of Saturn using our Nikon D50 camera (with a X3 Barlow). I was in luck... Saturn was just below the sliding roof line of the observatory so I didn't need to push the roof back, just open the one side south facing shutter and train the scope onto Saturn. I was using 1600 ISO  and the exposure was about 1/15 of a second. Clearly I was pushing my luck as the daylight was fast approaching, and I was balancing yet again on the observatory stool with my head twisted at all angles whilst one foot steadied me, and an elbow held part of me against the observatory wall. How I don't fall off the stool is beyond me. After all the acroba

This is a view I never get tired of, the Seven Sisters as seen from the comfort of a folding chair.  Especially when viewed through a pair of 7x50 binoculars. Unfortunately for me Father Christmas forgot to drop off my 7x50's this year.  But I do have two really nice sets of field glasses, each of them giving a x3 magnification. Though I'm guessing it's x3 magnification.. I may be wrong.  My field glasses even have names. George Mildred Wet and Windy West Wales. Even if I had a pair of 7x50's I don't know when I would get a chance to use them.  The weather in Pembrokeshire has been diabolical for weeks, even months! Recently we have had more than our fair share of clouds in Pembrokeshire, as this small video shows.