Pembrokeshire Astronomer

The car was packed with two telescopes, two deck chairs, two cameras and a picnic for two astronomers. The early morning mist had burnt away to reveal a glorious sunny Pembrokeshire morning... NOT A CLOUD IN THE SKY! Helen and I made our way along the Cardigan road, we had the idea of stopping at the ancient burial chamber at Pentre Ifan...   As we neared Maenclochog we decided to forget about Pentre Ifan and take a detour to   Mynachlog-ddu   to set up camp at Carreg Waldo . Carreg Waldo is probably one of the best sites in the whole of Pembrokeshire for astronomical observing; there are very few street lights to spoil the night time viewing. Carn Menyn To the North you can see Carn Menyn, source of the  Bluestones of Stonehenge. Cwm Cerwyn  North West and to the highest peak in Pembrokeshire, Cwm Cerwyn. Looking East Moonrises can be spectacular over those hills, and the Moonlight of a Mynachlog-ddu Autumn is especially ma

A few photographs of the eclipse, taken on a beautiful sunny day near Mynachlog-ddu. Vixen 60mm f/5 refractor (afocal digicam) 20mm Erfle eyepeice. I have several other eclipse photos taken with a Schmidt C8 scope, I'll put them on the blog sometime next week.

Through trees the glowing starlight Falls upon my eyes this night. Sirius is oh so bright, further on  Orion fills my sight. Mark Lee 10/03/2015 * Englyn - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englyn

THANK YOU Telescope House ... the solar film arrived this morning. A quick delivery service,  I was very pleased with my purchase. All I had to do was mount the solar film into my homemade filter holder and within ten minutes I was observing my first sunspot group. The Sun was shining down from a clear blue sky, a perfect test for the new filter. It must be at least a year since I last took any decent solar shots through mylar. I hooked up the Nikon DSLR and fired away.   Today's solitary sunspot group AR 2297 stood out sharply through the eyepiece, and the Nikon did a fair job of capturing some detail. It's good to be back shooting Sol. Clear Solar Skies Mark

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

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 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