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Astrophotography on a cold St David's Night

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Tonight skies were clear, and the Moon shone down on a cold windy Pembrokeshire. I didn't fancy staying out long tonight, moonlight may warm the heart, but it doesn't warm the hands!  Before I escaped to the warmth of the house I set up the Nikon D3000 and tripod for a quick shot of the Plough. The Plough above the moonlit shed The above picture is my first D3000 attempt at a night shot of the constellations.  The biting westerly wind was beginning to chill, time to get out of the cold.  But as usual I couldn't resist taking a few more shots. Looking North West Taurus and the Seven Sisters Smoke on the Chimney As long as I kept the ISO at 800 the D3000 delivered some fairly good images. In the above picture you can see the wood smoke in the chimney. After a shivering quick hello to Perseus and Cassiopeia, it was time to pack up. Astrophotography will have to wait for another night! Clear Skies Mark

Meditative "Little Zen".

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Early this evening the Moon was shining down on a cloud-free Pembrokeshire; perfect for testing my new homemade tripod.  A few weeks ago, I spotted a dusty old eq mount in the back of a local junk shop.  It was all working, but alas the tripod legs were missing! Still worth buying I thought. For a few weeks  I simply used it as you see below. The above method works quite well, though my back thanked me whenever I placed the whole set up on our coffee table. It was time to fabricate a tripod and I decided to keep the height of the tripod about the same as the coffee table. Today I made that tripod.. just in time to catch this evening's gibbous Moon. Little Zen It may be a small tripod, but with a cushion and the lotus position the views are comfortable enough for many minutes of observing.  Maybe next time I'll make myself a small stool to sit on.  This setup would be perfect for the Zen practitioner....  sitting meditation and

Mars Venus and the Moon

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Mars,Venus and Moon - 20/02/2015 -  Nikon D3000 Thanks to this evening's merry dance of Mars, Venus & the Moon, tonight's supper was almost ruined! Helen was the first to spot this beautiful celestial display. I quickly ran inside,grabbed the camera and frantically searched for a tripod.   Meanwhile, the evening meal was fast cooking on the stove, with neither of us attending to it.   Despite the frantic camera setup and the possibility of burnt food, we managed to capture the above image. Mars Venus and Luna in the same field of view, WONDERFUL. A good start to the evening, plus we managed to save the supper. Mark & Helen

Fly me to the Moon.

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Log Entry for November 2014.

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Since the beginning of November it has been slim pickings astronomy wise from here in Pembrokeshire. So few have been the clear nights, that one sticks out in my mind - it was the first week of November. The best night in November was the night of the 7 th   . I decided to concentrate on some Messier objects and put the Celestron through it’s paces. Celestron C8 SCT M57 was glorious, it shone brightly with averted vision.  My 20mm Erfle eyepiece did a grand job of teasing out the photons. M13 in Hercules was easy to locate in the finder scope.  The Erfle ep really revealed a lot of detail, a beautiful sparkling globular. I trained the finderscope onto nearby M92,   a vague hint of it could be detected.  The Erfle revealed a beautiful sparkling globular, not as big as M13, but well worth spending   time observing. M31 The Andromeda Galaxy was a magnificent sight high up above, near the top of the sky.  Nearby companions NGC 205 (or M110 if you prefer, I pr