Pembrokeshire Astronomer

Early yesterday evening the clouds filled the skies, I thought there was to be no observing .....  thankfully I was wrong. At around 10.00pm the clouds parted, and the gibbous Moon and Jupiter could be seen softly shining through a thin veil of mist.  Due to the brightness of the Moon, I could only make out a handful of stars. To the South, Sirius was peeping through the trees, Procyon was shining happily above the tree line, whilst Orion was snagged almost waist height in the tops of the trees at the end of the garden. To the North, I could make out the shape of the Plough and also Polaris. Kochab and Pherkad "the Guardians of the Pole" were also prominent.   Apart from spotting Aldebaran and Capella; not much else of the starry night could be seen.. my targets for the evening where.... Jupiter and the Moon.... The 13 day waxing Moon was bright enough for my observations to be noted without the need of torch or candle.... After taking s

I felt the cold last night in the observatory ...especially in my feet... Even though the observatory floor is made of wood, I could feel the chill rising up through my boots.... I think it's time to put on some thicker socks. Never mind, it was worth the discomfort to capture the gibbous Moon...  :0) Along the terminator last night Gassendi was most prominent. A friend once commented that Gassendi looked very much like a tortoise or maybe a turtle. You can easily see the shape of a tortoise, with the crater Gassendi A being the tortoise's head... I prefer to use the alternative name for  Gassendi A ....  that being Clarkson . Roland Clarkson   (1889-1954) was a lunar astronomer from Suffolk UK. Between 1906 and 1954 Roland spent may years dedicated to the pursuit of lunar observing and sketching. Then in early 1954, in recognition of his many years of  lunar study and sketching, the crater Gassendi A was renamed in his honour. Unfortuna

Around 8.00pm the clouds cleared to reveal a lovely gibbous Moon high up in the sky. After training the Tal1 onto the lunar surface, I was able to capture these afocal shots with the digicam: Through the eyepiece at X169 the central mountain peaks of Eratosthenes, distinctly look like three tiny domes - maybe they're igloos built by the  Selenites  ! At x169 Clavius looked beautiful through the Tal1 - I was inspired to try a quick sketch. ----------------------------- Jupiter Observation I also managed to capture the gas giant in graphite. It was cold out there in the observatory tonight, half an hour was enough for me. After making the Jupiter sketch it was time to pack up, and get back to the warm fire in the living room.

I was out observing Jupiter yesterday evening, specifically looking for the Great Red Spot, which was transiting the Central Meridian at about 21h53m UT. I was in the observatory about twenty minutes before that C.M. Transit, with pencil and paper at the ready. During the observing session, I couldn't confirm that I saw the GRS, but there was a distinct gap in the South Equatorial Belt, which I figured was most likely due to the paler colouring of the GRS. It was a  hazy evening with mostly only 1st and 2nd magnitude stars on show.  By about 10pm the haze and clouds finally blotted out the stars.  I've a few lunar pictures from earlier in the evening to put on, but they can wait till the next post.