Sitting out on my porch the last two mornings, I spotted the space station, right above me, I Waved up at them, I know that they can't see me waving at them, but I know that they appreciate, the fact That I made the effort to wave at them anyway

Hi all. I’m new to the forum and I stumbled across this section. Is there anybody that lives in the Holmfirth/Huddersfield area? I’ve been interested in the night sky for years now but not done much serious observing and it’s something I want to get into more. I wouldn’t mind tagging along with you one evening to see a few things in the night sky if that’s ok. Thanks in advance!

Hi Im begginer, at the moment i ordered Binoculars Celestron cometron 7x50 sky map and Led light. Before i purchase my first telescope i need meet somebody and check a few differenttelescopes(Newton,refractor, apo, etc.)to make a choise. Witch one will fit for me for perfect start. And have some advaice. ( sorry for grammatic faults English is not my first language)

Hello Members If you look at the membership you will see that I am classed as the 'owner' and 'leader' Clearly it would be better for a local member to take on the role? Can you advise me if you wish to take on this role. Mark

Well, progress has not only been made, the observatory is almost ready for action. The next stage is to accurately polar align the mount. I have already placed a "wanted" advert for a QHY Polemaster as I am wanting the alignment to be perfect. I recently purchased a Skyfi + Sky Safari Plus and also a MESH WiFi network allowing remote coverage of the observatory. After delivering astrophotography talks locally, I have been asked to provide some workshops and tuition. Once I am happy with pointing accuracy and comfortable in object selection (I am rusty) I will be progressing with these. If anyone is interested and living around the Filey area then don't hesitate to drop me a pm. This is a hobby that needs to be shared and learning as a group is the best way to develop skills. Best wishes, Steve

You may have noticed that we have created a new heading, above the banner, called 'Clubs'. The plan is to move all the existing social groups and observatories to this new area. Currently there are 17 different groups some more active than others. You need to advise me, in this thread, whether you wish your social group to be moved, otherwise the group will be closed and archived. I look forward to hearing from someone within group for us to take necessary admin action.

My wife and I visited today with our new scope. Pete was exceptionally friendly and really knew his stuff without being condescending or patronising. Learned a few things and had a nice tour of the site. Needless to say we're becoming members. Great place.

Has anybody considered using Sandal Castle as a stargazing site? It's not overly dark, but it's still darker than in the middle of the city. Plus, it's accessible by both car and by bus. I went up there to watch the Perseids meteor shower and you could see a ton of stars.

I am in the process of setting up an astrophotography and imaging group just outside Filey in North Yorkshire. Having recently taken delivery of an observatory together with a fixed pier and currently awaiting a quote for the concrete plinth. I am hoping to break ground next month with the observatory being "functional" by the Summer. Please note this will NOT be a visual astronomy group as such and instead, will primarily be for astrophotography with the intent of learning and sharing techniques together. Lots of work ahead and this post is more of a "feeler" to discover nearby interest. I met a wonderful chap in Bridlington around 3 years ago having bought a dual saddle from him but sadly, cannot remember his name or exact location as a hard drive crash meant I lost all contact details. It is knowing someone like this relatively close by who could assist with the "little things" like EQMod, oversee the pier placement (before I cement the bolts in incorrectly), drift alignment .... ie someone who has already been through the initial stages. My end goal will be one of fully remoting the observatory and this may even progress to remote sessions over the internet. I do like a good challenge I will be charting progress in a blog on my homepage. Best wishes, Steve ps with huge thanks to York Astronomical Society for their help and advise getting me this far

that's where i was thinking - i know that bit quite well from walking. didn't make it there but I did get up to view and had a naked eye view but there was low cloud and slow moving so didn't get any decent scope time.

I suspect from.the paddock near the car parks or up near the royalty pub you'll get the vantage point from the chevin.. I'll be setting my alarm for it but it'll be the comfort of the garden for me as I have good horizon east and South.. Good luck if you venture up..

thinking of nipping the Otley Chevin sunday morning to observe Jupiter - is it a good spot and is anyone else considering going?

There is too much lighy pollution at my house to polar align ... Sounds like a good idea to me ... any help aligning will be great ..also you can see kit ...

No problem Bryan, ive not tried brimham yet, been up to the far end of thruscross a few times with the scope.. As for polar alignment, i can get good tracking at home with a motorised mount, but thats because ive marked the garden up with a North marker.. if you need any pointers let me know as im only a few minutes away.. ive been looking at a star adventurer also sonutd be nice to see one in the flesh! Ta Fozzie

Hi Steve Im a newbie to this site and live north of leeds (Otley) ... I have limited knowledge but looking for like minded souls to get better at astrophotography ... Bryan

Hi Fozzie Thankyou for the reply .... Yes a I am between all 3 cities ... north of Leeds .... i have popped over to Brimham Rocks a few times good skies north ... Malham is supposed to be good too .. I will look at the groups mentioned thanks Star searcher

Hi Star searcher, welcom to SGL.. im assuming Otley, north leeds? North or south side? There are a few group's around.. leeds astro who meet at the new inn eccup, bradford AS (not sure where they meet) and harrogate AS ( which im lead to believe is not an active observing society, more of an "arm chair group" As for sites, anywhere north and west of harrogate gets dark quickly, thruscross, fewston reservoirs give nice back drops and not as far to travel.. with the star adventurer you're very mobile! HTH Fozzie

Hi, Relative Newbie to Astrophotography ... Have a few successful night shots and have purchased a Star tracker adventurer to do longer tracked exposures .... Wondered if there is somebody who can show me where I am going wrong ... Still think I haven't polar aligned properly ...watched all the u tube stuff .. Also to arrange dark sky trips . I have a few places in mind ... Already been to kielder and Northumberland coast .. Tan hill and local sites not a problem ... Thanks

Taken a few week back, just done some searching and found I have an image of part of the Mare Serenitatis, not far from the landing site of Apollo 17.

Showing now, The Dark Side of the Sun, at 1pm Telescopes from Galileo to Newton to Hubble to James Webb

Thanks for the links. I check a few out once I know where I will be located. Many thanks.

Hi, depends how East in the Dales you are but there is a site just into the Yorkshire Moors at Sutton Bank. http://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/discover/dark-skies. Alternatively, this is a good guide: http://gostargazing.co.uk/location-map/ John

Hi all, I'm due to be spending some time near the North East of The Dales at some point soon and I was thinking of taking the Star Adventurer and doing some imaging / observing. It's not the ideal time of year but the skies have got to be better than those between London and Gatwick! Are there some good (dark and safe) sites that I should have on my to do list please? Many thanks.

M71 from last wibbly wobbly scope last night ha ha

I've tried the 3.3. They just cover the tiniest of chips so they are only of use in very specific applications. If only getting an F3.3 scope were that simple!! Olly