Pembrokeshire Astronomer

Theophilus chain - 300mm Newtonian. The rain and wind tonight put pay to any chance of observing the heavens. Never mind....more time to catch up on some poetry. Here's a favourite poem of mine by W.B Yeats , plus a sketch of a few craters from a recent observation. THE CAT AND THE MOON by: W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) The cat went here and there And the moon spun round like a top, And the nearest kin of the moon, The creeping cat, looked up. Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon, For, wander and wail as he would, The pure cold light in the sky Troubled his animal blood. Minnaloushe runs in the grass Lifting his delicate feet. Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance? When two close kindred meet, W

07/05/2017 In awe, I watched the waxing moon ride across the zenith of the heavens like an ambered chariot towards the ebony void of infinite space wherein the tethered belts of Jupiter and Mars hang, for ever festooned in their orbital majesty. And as I looked at all this I thought... I must put a roof on this toilet. Les Dawson Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/lesdawson537829.html?src=t_jupiter In awe, I watched the waxing moon ride across the zenith of the heavens like an ambered chariot towards the ebony void of infinite space wherein the tethered belts of Jupiter and Mars hang, for ever festooned in their orbital majesty. And as I looked at all this I thought... I must put a roof on this toilet. Les Dawson Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/jupiter.html In awe, I watched the waxing moon ride across the zenith of the heavens like an ambered chariot towards the ebony void of infinite space wherein the tethered

Jason looks to the Moon - 2016 Tonight I was out observing with the little "Jason" 60mm/f15 refractor. It's a lovely scope for a quick peep at the heavens, or in my case this evening specifically the bright gibbous Moon. Whilst observing Clavius on the terminator, somewhere on the outskirts of our village I could clearly hear the cry of a cuckoo. Since our move to Crymych this was the first cuckoo that I have heard from our back garden. With the bright Moon above and the cry of the cuckoo,  I was reminded of the poet Basho.  Moonlight slanting by Matsuo Basho Moonlight slanting through the bamboo grove; a cuckoo crying. Sketching the Moon craters.  Here's a further sketch from last Monday's Beltane evening lunar observations. 01/05/17 - 300mm/f5 reflector "Oscar" It was beautiful outside tonight, not a cloud to be seen. Lets hope it's the first of many this year. Clear Skies everyone.

  “Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows, by itself.”   Bashō Matsuo Oscar & Mark From the darkening Mayday sky the Beltane Moon was calling. Helen and I dragged out "Oscar" the beast of telescopes, our 12 inch reflector. The Theophilus chain (Theophilus, Cyrillus, Catharina) stood out well tonight, highlighted beautifully along the terminator. After taking a few more photographs I sketched the three craters using Conte pencil and Ink. 01/05/2017 - A:III 300mm/f5 Newtonian The five day old Moon Shows south Theophilus chain  three beautiful pearls Helen Lee

VENUS - February 26th 2017 - 18h 15m UT- Jason 60mm/f15 O.G. This chilly February evening still gripped by the days north wind didn't at first inspire confidence of an observation of Venus. But as the sky darkened and the many clouds turned to black, Venus in solitude shining brightly in the west silenced my wintry complaints. The Jason (60mm/f15) refractor was close to hand and within minutes was in the back garden, partially protected by hedge and shed wall. Tonight would allow a test of my new "plastic" Huygens eyepieces. Three oculars in all, a 20mm, 12.5mm and 4mm. I had no idea how well they would work on such a bright object as Venus. Being that all three are about the cheapest eyepieces you could buy I didn't have high expectations. The 20mm and 12.5mm eyepieces returned lovely sharp views of the planet, with no false colour noted. Next was the real test, the 4mm! Again a surprise, no false colour, no sparkly rainbow effects, just sim

It was cold outside tonight, and the wind was starting to pick up. It would have made more sense to stay indoors, but the promise of Venus through Oscar's optics was calling me. Venus sketch - post Photoshop Tonight's image of Venus showed a distinct crescent, a very bright crescent. I tried out the 80a blue filter on the 9mm ocular, it helped reduce the glare.  We didn't stay out long;  after a quick glance at M44 the Beehive, Rigel, Aldebaran, the Hyades, and the Orion Nebula, it was time to pack up and retire to the warmth of the house. It may not have been a long observing session, but it was completely worth the effort of hauling the 12 inch Dobsonian outside, albeit for only twenty minutes.

It's that time of year when the clouds invariably fill the night skies, and all astronomy activity is put on hold! My thoughts as usual turn to radio astronomy.  Astronomy has always been my main hobby, but it is followed closely by my interest in the radio spectrum, especially the amateur (ham) and radio astronomy frequencies. Thanks to the winter cloudy stuff, often at this time of year I'm unable to collect starlight with my telescopes, but collecting  cosmic radio waves through the clouds is no problem with the right radio receiver. Recently I've been able to catch up with a couple of vintage radio/astronomy related programmes. This past month has been pretty clouded over, with the odd clear night allowing some beautiful views of Orion and friends. Apart from a few quick glances of Venus through the 60mm refractor, I haven't taken the telescopes out at all this month! Fingers crossed for some decent observing in January..... Happy New Ye

Wide awake 3.00 am - outside the stars were shining brightly. I didn't want to disturb Helen, so I tried to get back to sleep - no chance!  I couldn't see Orion through the low south facing window,  but I knew he was there, hanging in the sky, just waiting for a chance to show off.  I started thinking about the Orion nebula. Here's a sketch that I made of the nebula, almost 10 years ago! Stellar Nursery M42 the Orion Nebula - 150mm Newtonian reflector. 2006 In those ten years I have observed the nebula through various instruments, from 40mm refractors to an 8 inch Schmidt Cassegrain. This morning I would be able to observe with an even larger aperture. I've been waiting since June to unleash "Oscar" our 12 inch Newtonian onto this most wonderful of stellar nurseries. I lay in bed for maybe another ten minutes... I couldn't take it anymore, I had to go outside and start observing.  Helen woke up about the same tim