Mornings, Evenings and Messiers...

Venus and the crescent Moon looked stunning this morning....  

I really enjoy the early mornings of Pembrokeshire's October and November, they seem to have more than their fair share of clear skies. 

I've noticed that over the last six years;  no matter how bad the weather may be the night before,  there's a good chance of being cloud free in the hour just before the dawn.

Often in the months of October and November I have been lulled to sleep courtesy of a howling Atlantic South Westerly storm; only to wake at around 5.00 am to the sight of starlight.

Usually after about a hour the clouds roll in....... and once again the Atlantic bellows....

So for the next two months I will be looking for that early morning window of starlit opportunity...

Fingers crossed.....

This evening's viewing log:

I didn't expect the stars to be out tonight......  I was wrong....  :0)

Straight into the observatory...roll back the roof and time to chase a couple of Messiers.

I've been meaning to catalogue the Messier list, in a series of sketches. 

Tonight I was able to add two to the list....

M71 was first on the list,. it took me a little while to find it as I was distracted by nearby Gamma Delphinus. 

Gamma Delphinus is one of my favourites; a beautiful lemon and lime green double...well worth a look. 

Tonight though, the seeing wasn't up to much, and poor old Gamma Delphinus looked a bit washed out.  

In fact tonight's star views were pretty awful...  though the two globulars I sketched stood out quite well considering....

Two sketches completed, only another 107 to go....  !!!

Deck Chairs, No Perseids, Owls and the ISS.

Perseus dancing on our rooftop

I recently bought two secondhand deckchairs.... the cost nearly broke the bank, 50p each..!!! 

They were bought solely for the purpose of Perseid watching.

So armed with my deck chairs, Nikon D50 camera/tripod, I hid myself away in the darkest corner of our garden away from the glare of two particularly annoying street lights.

After about ten minutes of looking towards Perseus, I realised that this view of the Northern sky reminded me of of the view from my Grandmother's back garden, some 35 years ago.

One of Mr Newton's prized possessions

I would often lie on my grandmother's garden bench and watch the stars as they wheeled their way around Polaris.

My trusted nightly companions were my Phillips planisphere and Patrick Moore's Observer's book of Astronomy.

I still have my original Planisphere, bought in 1977.
And after many years of good service it still gets used on the odd occassion.

Back then I used to spend hours out there in the months of July and August drinking in the cosmic wonder of the night sky.



Sitting on my new, "expensive" deck chairs, viewing the Perseids.

I  managed a few hours on Thursday/Friday, followed by an hour, early Saturday morning.

Thursday revealed three Perseids, and all three of them produced a glorious streak of white light as they cut across the darkened sky.  There was also a trace of electric blue colour in each of them.

Friday evening/ Saturday morning revealed no Perseids, but then, I was only outside for an hour.

In all I took about 40 photos, mostly around 15 seconds each, some at 30 seconds.

Not one single Perseid did I photographically capture...  !!!!

Doesn't matter...... I visually saw a few, and I was more than happy to be out in the warm August evening, taking in the glorious night sky, and talking to the owl in a nearby tree...


Although, Thursday evening, I did manage to capture the ISS as it passed overhead.

Looking West

Looking East

I did wave, but I don't think the astronauts saw me....  !!


Pondering with the naked eye.....

Over the last month or so, any astronomy time that I've had, has mostly been taken up with naked eye observing.

I have to say that even though I enjoy using the Tal1, plus the binoculars, my favourite method of astronomy has always been naked eye observing.

Give me a dark night, moonlit or not, a comfortable seat, and the Milky Way streaming overhead.....

Plus those familiar scintillating constellations.......

Along with the Wandering Planets, Aurorae, Meteors, Fireballs,

The Moon, Transits, Eclipses, Conjunctions.......

The list goes on.


So much to see.... so many celestial old friends to revisit.

And so many new friends yet to be discovered.

Clear Skies Everyone

Mark..

Tonight's 87% Moon reveals the Moon Maiden.

On my bookshelf sits a small little blue book titled "Peeps at the Heavens"

This book was printed in 1911, by the Reverend James Baikie F.R.A.S

One of the highlights in "Peeps at the Heavens" has to be on page 41, where the Rev Baikie talks of the Moon Maiden, and I quote:

"But perhaps the most interesting of all the faces is that called the "Moon Maiden," which is shown in plate VIII. It can only be seen with the telescope, and only when the Sun happens to shine upon it in exactly the right way. 

I have only seen it twice myself in twenty- five years.; but perhaps some fine night you may get a chance to see  this face of the Moon Maiden, with her long hair floating behind her, looking out from the cape of the Bay of Rainbows across the Sea of Showers."

Plate VII  "The Moon Maiden"

Well tonight I managed to catch a glimpse of that most beautiful of maidens.

Tonight's Lunar viewing was timed just right, the clouds stayed away, and the gap in our tree line framed the 87% illuminated waxing Moon perfectly.

I quickly opened the side windows of the observatory, trained the Tal's finder onto the lunar orb, and focused the 15mm Kellner. 

I was greeted with very steady seeing, and many lunar features stood out beautifully.  

Oddly I noticed that Proclus's ejecta rays had a hint of rainbow colour in them, what would cause this I don't know, maybe an eyepiece malfunction!

I then headed South.

After a couple minutes of viewing Clavius and it's surrounding companions I moved again Northwards... towards the Sinus Iridum... and then I saw her... the Moon Maiden.

She was unmistakeable,  as the Rev Blaikie said "looking out from the cape of the Bay of Rainbows across the Sea of Showers"

I managed to take some pictures and a small video for posterity. 

The images hint at the presence of the Moon Maiden, though the naked eye views where outstanding.

I enjoyed another five minutes of lunar gazing, and then the dreaded clouds returned!

The Moon Maiden -  looking out to sea.

As the Rev Blaikie mentions - "I have only seen it twice myself in twenty- five years"

I wonder when I will see her again?

Lawn astronomy, the Summer Triangle & Where's my Teapot.!

The Summer Skies..  

Thanks to the recent warmer weather (at last!!) Wednesday evening was perfect for some Lawn Astronomy.

Out came a blanket and a good sized cushion to prop my head against.

I made myself comfortable by lying on the warm garden path, and with my 7x50 binoculars beside me I began my tour of the Summer Triangle, and it's surrounding companions.

I spent a while bino viewing Deneb, though I was soon mesmerised by the bright lights of the surrounding star fields, it was time to venture along that Milky expanse....

It is always wonderful to see the Milky Way, ethereal and ghostly, as it snakes its way towards our Galactic Centre.

Last night's view of our Galaxy was particularly magical,  I spent ages just simply drinking in the galactic photons. They renergised my astro batteries beautifully.

As part of my astro tour, I stopped off at Aquila, and was able to capture Altair and it's companions of Tarazed and Alshain in the same field of view of the 7x50's.

Delphinus

Delphinus had not long unsnagged itself from the big tree at the end of our garden. The ugly little dolphin made a lovely binocular image...

Now it was time to see Collinder 399 the Coathanger asterism.  This little asterism is always worth a good long look....

Next stop M57, or what I thought might be M57..!

I know the 7x50's are pushing it, but I thought I caught a glimpse of that most wonderful of planetary nebulae....  but really I think my brain was filling in the astro gaps...!!

Vega: the harp star

Off then to Vega, what a beautiful star, so bright so white.

So lovely hanging there at the zenith, like the bright light atop a Christmas tree..




It was great to be actually observing again. The apalling weather these past few months has really tested the patience of many an astronomer in the county.

Due to the ever growing trees, this is the extent of my Southerly viewing.

I can 't believe that July is nearly over, and that I still haven't seen the Teapot this year.

I really wanted to see the Teapot from our garden, but as you can see from the above picture, I have no chance...!!!  it's sadly lost somewhere in the neighbouring trees...

I'll just have to go astro-mobile one night soon and catch me that Teapot......

Maybe it's time to grab the tent and go for a nighttime walkabout up on the Preseli Hills of Pembrokeshire.....

Fingers crossed for more of this wonderful weather....