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Nova in Delphinus

The evening of the 16th and the early hours of the 17th of August presented clear skies over our backyard and having read about the new Nova in the Constellation Delphinus, I decided to try and find it and photograph it with a tripod mounted DSLR. Even with the help of info from the Internet, finding the Nova amongst the rich fields of the Milky Way was a bit of a challenge. Hats off to the Japanese amateur astronomer, Koichi Itagaki, who discovered it!
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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"Turned out nice then"

For once a Bank Holiday turned out nice so enjoyed a ramble along the river and took a look at the Sun. http://george-artcabinedujardin.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/what-amateur-astronomers-do-in-daylight.html
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Clear sky and bright Moon

Nice change to have a clear night. Beautiful Moon rising over the trellis in our backyard. Finished my dinner and took one or two handheld images with DSLR + telephoto lens. Lovely!
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Things are looking up in March 2013

Joined Breckland Astronomical Society and attended our first meeting this month. Very much enjoyed Prof Carolin Crawford's talk on 'Exo Planets' and received a friendly welcome from members. The snow stayed away long enough for us to get to and from Great Ellingham which is some hour away from our home by car. The clouds parted on the thirteenth of March for us to see Comet PanStarrs very low over the marshes. The graveyard at our local church provides a great elevated and unobstructed view wes
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Bored

Another cold cloudy night! What I need is a nice bright comet!
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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What is it with Clouds ?

February the 4th. 2013: I get all my kit out, set up and ready to go. My laptop is performing Ok, it doesn't like the cold, and the QHY 5v driver has loaded without a hiccup. I can see Jupiter shining in a rapidly darkening sky. The BBC weather forecast for Lowestoft said clear skies excellent seeing between 17.00 and 18.00 which coincides with the GRS being visible. My cup floweth over! As an extra Jupiter 2 software has informed me that shortly after there will be a transit. Photo opportunit
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Lovely Night

My eight year-old grandson came to stop with us for the weekend. We picked him up after school in Southend so after a two hour journey to our house we were all tired. The mist cleared by the time we reached Lowestoft and he asked about the bright star in the sky. I said it was the planet Jupiter and he was interested to see it through my scope. Showed him Jupiter, the Pleiades and the Moon through my refractor. He thought it was all great! Astronomy in your backyard doesn't get better than this.
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

2

Winter has arrived

Saw the Doc yesterday who said my back was healing well and light exercise was OK. Took this to mean I could catch a few photons. So I went outside into the garden about midnight to see if I could see a meteor or two. Hooray first night without rain for some time. Moon was a bit too bright for meteor watching and was lighting up really heavy clouds to the east. The wind was strong and gusting. Then it started to snow! Then it rained. Astronomy in the UK is not for the faint hearted or for those
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Back home but its still raining

Have returned from Hospital after back surgery. Have got a few aches and pains but otherwise I think the good old NHS has fixed my spine!! Whoopee-do I shall be able to use my big bins again!! Am unable to get outside stargazing for a few weeks but hopefully towards the end of November I should be able to use my telescope and relatively new planetary camera to capture Jupiter! I have noticed that its still raining!
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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My brain has finally given up!

Wasted a couple of hours this morning obtaining video clips of sunspots in white light through my scope. Finished taking the shots, all appeared well. Just got my kit put away before a rain shower. All accomplished before lunch, I thought. This afternoon, when I came to look for the files on my laptop, nowhere to be found! Must not have registered the files or some dumb trick best known to man and IT savants. I am a complete numpty!!!
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Apollo11

After reading the many tributes to Neil Armstrong, I remembered looking at the Apollo photographs on display at the Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History, New York. The next time I look at the Moon through the eyepiece of my scope, and if the phase is favourable, I will be sure to check out the Sea of Tranquility and consider the relative permanence of Neil Armstrong's boot print etched in Moon-dust! A fitting memorial for a remarkable human-being. (Images of the Apollo 11 Tra
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Lowestoft and Yarmouth Regional Astronomers

I thought I might attend a talk 'Mars Revisited and Revealed So Far' at the Waveney Gymnastics Centre, Notley Road, Lowestoft, this evening at 7.00pm. This will be a big step for me as I am not a clubs and society man. More of a Lone Space Ranger! My wife is encouraging me to be less of a recluse. She is accompanying me this evening, just in case I back out at the last minute! If any SGL members are going tonight please say hello. I shall not be carrying a copy of the times, but I'm readily r
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Noctilucent Clouds

Well I never got to photograph the Transit of Venus because of the awful weather which has continued almost unabated. However, after a day when we experienced a power outage because of a lightning strike, and torrential rain and hailstones, the clouds parted and by the time we went to bed and the street lights went out, the stars shone in astronomical twilight. Looking out our bedroom window, which faces north, Noctilucent Clouds were evident. Using my compact camera and leaning out the window,
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Transit of Venus

My wife found an old disc from 2004 and low and behold the photographs that I took of the last transit were on it and not lost forever as I thought. With better software available in 2012 I have been able to improve them a bit. So was quite pleased bearing in mind the basic kit that I used at the time. Hopefully, if the weather and my back are OK I will have a second chance to get better images on the morning of the sixth.
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Transit of Venus

My wife found an old disc from 2004 and low and behold the photographs that I took of the last transit were on it and not lost forever as I thought. With better software available in 2012 I have been able to improve them a bit. So was quite pleased bearing in mind the basic kit that I used at the time. Hopefully,, if the weather and I my back are OK I will have a second chance to get better images on the morning of the sixth.
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Mars

Last night was absolutely beautiful in Suffolk. There was a little high level cloud but otherwise it was quite perfect for backyard astronomy. I decided that I was going to take my first photos of Mars. I used the Logitech Webcam that I had previously cannabalised and took several AVI clips through my refractor using a 3x Barlow lens. I did not get any dark or flat frames which probably would have improved the results. I then processed the images using Registax, IRIS and Photoshop. Although the
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

5

The Moon,Venus and the Pleiades

Beautiful night in Suffolk. Took quick photos with tripod mounted compact camera and then used Iris and Photoshop to create composite showing the Seven Sisters as well as our closer neighbours the Moon and Venus.
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

3

The Moon,Venus and the Pleiades

Beautiful night in Suffolk. Took quick photos with tripod mounted compact camera and then used Iris and Photoshop to create composite showing the Seven Sisters as well as our closer neighbours the Moon and Venus.
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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The Aurora Revisited

Spent a rainy afternoon recovering a rather blurry photograph I took a year ago in Norway. At the time I was quite annoyed with my self in not obtaining a sharp focus of the Pleiades whilst concentrating on the Aurora above. http://stargazerslounge.com/members/hawksmoor-albums-aurora-picture16089-aurora-above-pleiades.jpg
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Venus, the Moon and Jupiter

Tonight Venus was very close to the crescent Moon with Jupiter sailing above and to the south. I took a quick snap with a compact camera perched on top of our car. Really doesn't do the scene credit. Very beautiful even though in competition with the glare from the street lights.
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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A warm day and a beautiful evening in Suffolk

What a marvelous day for February. The thermometer in our back garden reached seventeen degrees Celsius this afternoon. A truly balmy day for the East Coast of Britain in winter. Whilst taking rubbish out to the dustbin I noticed that Jupiter, Venus and the new crescent moon were arranged in a line leading to the west where the sun had just set. Quite beautiful, with the thin crescent moon on its back and partially illuminated by earth-shine.
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Summer Treats

Its a beautiful sunny day on the East Coast. Have been to the hospital to have an MOT on hip and back. Received great service and care from all staff at the James Paget Hospital. The NHS is great!:hello2: Having a bit of time on my hands and wanting a sit down, have spent an hour with an old photo of M57 which I took last summer in my backyard. Quite pleased with myself in that I have worked out how to use the de-convolution algorithms in IRIS software. (Probably less than pleased with myself
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Nasty attack of Arthritis

Due to a flare up of arthritis in my back and hip have been unable to take advantage of the breaks in the clouds which have been infrequent to say the least. Have spent my time downloading images from the ESO archive and practicing the use of image processing software. Have managed to start using IRIS which appears to be the least accessible of the free image processing software I've tried to date. Quite humorous trying to follow the French - English translations.:)
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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Full Moon

[ATTACH]237[/ATTACH] The Universe is a great place! In the last week I have watched as Comet Garradd sailed serenely past the Coat-hanger asterism, I've seen a magnificent rainbow whilst visiting Sheffield, and on the road back to home in Lowestoft we headed from day into night as the Moon and Jupiter climbed slowly upwards from the horizon. Weather and moonlight permitting, in the coming week I hope to see the new supernova.:)
Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor

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