There is a lovely hedgerow prominence visible on the Sun at the moment.
Haven't seen a decent hedgerow display for ages.
photo: Harold Zirin's book "Astrophysics of the Sun"
What better display to celebrate today's Solstice.
As of today our days will be getting that little bit longer, the promise of Spring and Summer 2023 is upon us.
A quick setup of the Newtonian, a simple 25mm eyepiece and our old Samsung S6 phone returned a half decent view of the waning crescent.
Along the terminator, Schickard Nasmyth & Phocylides were easily spotted.
No hint of Mare Orientale this time, I think the libration wasn't favourable, but even so the glare of the sunlight on the Moon's limb at this time would have probably ruled out any Orientale observations.
This morning's sky was winter blue, and frosty.
A beautiful morning with a glorious high above waning Moon.
The perfect Pembrokeshire morning.
The Newtonian performed well, helped in part by a steady clear sky.
I was very pleased to glimpse a hint of the Mare Orientale.
The low winter Sun creates beautiful contrasts, at the moment, but for the Robin and Wren, all is still in our garden of long shadows.
Old Sol wanted a morning portrait, I was happy to oblige.
Clear blue sky this morning, perfect for capturing solar detail.
Visually the prominences were the best I have seen for months, possibly the best all year.
"Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hours drive away, if your car could go straight upwards".
Sir Fred Hoyle.
Such beautiful low Pembrokeshire sunlight this morning.
A welcome return of Mr Bkue sky.
Time for some solar observing.
"We are the representatives of the cosmos; we are an example of what hydrogen atoms can do, given 15 billion years of cosmic evolution".
The cold blue skies of Friday last were greeted with an arrival of a couple of lovely Sun dogs.
These "mock suns" as they are also called hung around for most of the day.
The sun dogs are produced by a dance between sunlight and ice crystals in our atmosphere.
The ice crystals act like prisms and scatter the sunlight into a colourful light show.
It's been ages since I've have seen such a prominent display.
The appearance of Sun dogs is not limited just to the winter months.
One of the best displays I have seen occurred back in 2016 in the month of July.
I didn't manage to sketch the recent Full Moon, but I had a go at the gibbous Moon, as seen with my opera glasses. It was a cold night,...
