This Beautiful Cosmos

The teapot disappears into the West

The teapot of Sagittarius slips by almost unnoticed, hidden by trees and hedges. 

A lone telegraph pole points to the star Nunki. 

From our garden vantage point, only the handle of the teapot is seen. 

Kaus Australis and companions  are hidden by the damn hedge!

Hercules leans over, seemingly intent on grasping Lyrae the Harp. Vega shines so brightly…

Jean Michelle Jarre plays through my headphones. 

The songs are full of cascading arrangements, beautifully composed to fit in with the stars above my head.

The "Oxygene" album is the perfect accompaniment to the twilight of a summer’s night.

A warm midnight breeze blows over my face and arms.  

I lie back on my ground blanket and survey this Beautiful Cosmos.

Westward, Arcturus  greets the roof ridge of my neighbour’s house.

Like moths to a flame, a scattering of artificial satellites track and race towards the Northern twilight.

Izar is gleaming tonight. Another satellite grazes Cor Caroli

The Milky Way is spread like much glittering white sand. 

Each time I walk the Milky Way I am once again a child.

Perseus and Andromeda stand watch in the East.  

Not long to wait for the meteor shower.

At my grandmother's house some forty years ago, I eagerly awaited the Perseid meteors.

To this day I am still captivated the Perseid fireworks.

Solar Vixen captures the spots in June.

After a refurbishment and a lick of paint, my 60mm/f5 Vixen refractor is yet again ready for astro travelling the heavens.

I decided to turn the scope into a dedicated solar imaging/observing platform.

With the solar filter and Nikon D3000 in place I can quickly capture the day's solar image, plus the scope is easily transportable.

Here are some Sol images from the last week.

The Vixen 60mm is perfect for quick Sol imaging.  Fingers crossed for some July Sunspots.

Solar Eclipse from Mynachlog Ddu

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 magical!

Looking South - Carreg Waldo

It was an amazing event, the sky gods behaved and the whole eclipse was bathed in a backdrop of faded-blue sky. 

The surrounding landscape, including the distant low-lying haze, exhibited a brownish tinge (the eclipse of 1999 exhibited a greenish tinge) for roughly half an hour each side of the maximum phase.

This eclipse was also memorable for its drop in temperature, much more pronounced than any other partial eclipse I have witnessed. 

08h40m  temperature was 9.5 degrees C 

09h38m  temperature was 4.7 degrees C  

09h43m  temperature was 4.8 degrees C

09h53m  temperature was 5.9 degrees C

10h15m  temperature was 9.7 degrees C

Here's a black and white photo taken with the C8 Schmidt Celestron.

Plus a photo montage of several shots.

What a wonderful unforgettable solar morning.

Partial Eclipse from Pembrokeshire.

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.