Pembrokeshire Astronomer

The Harp Star -Vega I started out last night with the sole intention of imaging M13..  after a few attempts I became distracted by the beautiful brilliance of Vega. Vega resides in the constellation of Lyra the Harp, this blue-white star is sometimes called the Harp Star. In Greek mythology, Lyra the harp is said to have been played by the legendary Greek musician Orpheus.  And  whenever Orpheus started to pluck those strings, nobody it was said could resist listening. Obviously Orpheus was busy last night, for Vega the Harp Star grabbed my attention. I attempted imaging using a Nikon D50, connected via prime focus with a x2 Barlow. I tried a 20 second exposure, and was able to capture the above photo. Thank You Orpheus.

Yesterday was cloudy, windy at times, and spotting with rain, the Sun was nowhere to be seen for much of the day...! I really was looking forward to visiting Cygnus with the Tal. I wondered if I would be able to observe at all tonight. The evening arrived, the clouds moved away, and a glorious summery evening was revealed. By midnight the skies had darkened enough to get out there and observe......... First on my list Albireo........ Albireo was the first double I ever viewed, back in 1979 with my 40mm Tasco table top refractor. This double will always evoke fond memories. Tonight though it was not shining with it's usual intensity, probably because of atmospheric turbulence..... Sadr was next on the list, but as always, there are so many stars in this region that I was easily distracted. I happily wandered of on a mini tour of our Galaxy with my 32mm eyepiece. I then spotted a beautiful meteor...... It's radiant was close to Sadr and it made its wa

“Were I to write out one prescription designed to alleviate at least some of the self-made miseries of mankind, it would read like this: “One gentle dose of starlight to be taken each clear night just before retiring.” ..Leslie C Peltier It's been really quiet here of late in Simpson Cross, not much observing as the weather has been really bad. The night skies that have appeared were not really that good for astronomical observations, I've spent the time available just observing with binoculars. Newcomers to the hobby of astronomy invariably look for a telescope as their first instrument. This is false economy I feel. I would suggest the humble binoculars everytime. They're light, inexpensive and very portable..and there's loads to see in the night sky with them. My favourite pair of 8x30's only cost £5. I used to have a very useful pair of 10X50's that only cost £1.50...they looked really rough , but the optics were fine. If it's cloudy with no

Just as you're about to observe... here come the clouds! A familiar tale for all astronomers....not any more, here in Simpson Cross. A couple of weeks ago one of our neighbours kindly offered a pile of scrap wood for our fire. It just so happened most of the scrap wood was the remains of his 8x6 foot garden shed. I managed to salvage enough wood to make a start on an astronomy shed. I had two complete side panels, and enough wood to build the two remaining sides. The building started on what must have been the hottest days of the year so far. Somewhere I had heard it was the hottest April in the UK since 1911 ! The two sides bolted together quickly but the structure was still swaying quite a bit. Good job there was no breeze that day. After fixing the remaining two sides the structure became really strong.... It might just stand up to the Simpson Cross  winter gales. I was going to make a roll of roof with support posts, but as the observatory is only 6x5 foot

I'm happy to report the weather behaved itself yesterday. We arrived early and having made sure to pack the car with all the equipment I needed, I began  confidently to assemble the scopes. Just one problem.....I had forgotten one "minor" item...the actual sun filter!!! ... Luckily we only live 3 miles from Newgale so Helen was able to quickly go home and pick it up. It wasn't long before Phil, a member of the Preseli Astronomy & Science Group arrived. This was our first meeting, we had talked via the PASG forum, on several occassions. It was great to finally meet up. Phil arrived armed with two refractors ... A  meade 70mm was to be his main solar scope...and it proved to be a good choice for solar work...infact it  had the edge over my Tal reflector. We carried out a few tests with each scope... Refractor Vs Reflector.. There did seem to be slightly better contrast with the refractor. Such a portable refractor is ideally be suited for solar w

                               Yesterday my solar filter sheet turned up. It took ten minutes to fit it to my filter holder, and another five hours for the skies to clear sufficiently to allow me to test it. Around about 16h30m UT the skies were perfect for observing with the Tal1. I well see why astronomers get hooked on observing the Sun.  It was mesmerising as it hung there shimmering with life giving heat. I've always been a night time astronomer, the Sun always took second place to the moon and stars. From now on, observing our nearest star is going to be high on my list. First image with the new solar filter. Helen and I went to our local bootsale in Haverfordwest yesterday morning, where I picked up for £1 this digital camera. It has a 3.1Mp chip and a video mode that captures AVI's. After setting up the Tal and solar filter, I managed to capture this image. I've added a bit of colour with Paint shop Pro. Also, the video setting on the camera allow

I thought it time to make myself a solar filter for the TAL telescope. Before I say anything...please be careful when viewing the Sun, only use approved sun filters and projection methods. Even looking at the Sun with the naked eye for a few seconds can cause damage.   I found this out the hard way about 32 years ago. I still have the small scar on my left retina to prove it! As the prices of ready made filters range from £40 to £90 for my particular telescope, I decided to make one incoporating the Baader solar film, which cost £18. I would buy the ready made item, but at the moment all my pennies are going towards my next project, that of building my observatory. The initial idea for my construction method is described here:- http://www.baader-planetarium.com/sofifolie/bauanleitung_e.htm    with slight alterations made by me. I've placed an order for the solar film. But I bet with the bank holiday post, I'll probably receive delivery next tuesday

Earlier this evening I got it into my head to try some astro observing from our local beach ...Newgale. Helen and I got to Newgale at just gone 8:00pm, the night was drawing in fast. I set up the TAL scope and first on the list was the three day (or thereabouts!!) moon..... a lovely crescent. Mare Crisium took on the appearance of a smiley face. The 25mm plossl gave a good view...also the 15mm kellner ( I think it's a Kellner) was surprisingly good , giving quite sharp images. I left the smiley moon and waited for the stars to switch on in the darkening twilight. Sirius was first, followed quickly by Betelguese. A couple of minutes later Rigel said hello. Looking through the 25mm plossl and using a X3 Barlow, the lovely blue secondary of Rigel could easily be seen. As Leo was well positioned two more doubles, Algeiba and Regulus went down in the observing log. Castor was next ...what a beautiful double.... Then once again back to the smiley face of Mare Crisium...follo