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Low and behold i was out again in Anglesey last night. Basically thinking of doing some wide field astro workshops there this year.  I was walking back from ynys llanddwyn after capturing sunset and i had forgot my head torch and forgot just how dark that beach is. especially when you have to find the walk way for the car park ! 

I stumbled across these dead trees and thought that they would make some good foreground interest. 

after spending 40 mins fooling around taking a selfie i headed over to Penmon to see if there was any bio plankton again what i didnt expect was the NLC display! brightest one ive seen this year so far. 

 

Hope you like the shots and timelapes

 

Danny 

 

Peace by Danny Kenealy, on Flickr

 

Guider by Danny Kenealy, on Flickr

 

Low display by Danny Kenealy, on Flickr

 

Calm waters by Danny Kenealy, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow this was a tough one, I know we say that every month but this one had the most variety of voting choices yet.

Thanks everyone who took part and well done to the winners!


Stofler and Maurolycus By astroavani



Plato By MilwaukeeLion



Lacus Mortis By Nick Smith


 

 

Saturn. Intes Micro 815D, Point Grey Blackfly Camera. Stack of 4000 frames using Autostakkert 2, Wavelet processing in Registax 6. Bit of Pixelmator on IPad Pro.

The “Holy Grail” of ENCKE’S division is visible if you look carefully each side of the rings.

The theme for the sixteenth challenge - July 2018 - is Inspirational Skies!

Start Date: 1st June 2018
End Date: 31st August 2018

Rules: This challenge is a little different - we want it to be open to as many people as possible and the theme is, Inspirational Skies! We want you to get creative and either capture an image, design a poster, create a video or, something else that you think will inspire other people to want to find out more about amateur astronomy. The image has to be captured and created during the time frame and the rules are as open as possible so please experiment, do something different and get that imagination going

Prize: A personalised mug for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places featuring your image kindly provided by our sponsors FLO  and a virtual trophy for your signature.

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RULES

All data must be captured and processed by you (no collaborative entries). 
Data must be captured during the challenge start & end dates. 
Multiple entries are allowed but please start a new topic for each entry. 
Multiple submissions of the same image, processed differently, will not be accepted.

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To enter please add your image to the Imaging Challenge #16 Gallery (each challenge will have it’s own). Please post as much information as possible - when it was taken, how it was captured and processed, etc. The info won't necessarily be used for judging but will help fellow SGLers looking to learn and improve their knowledge and technique.

Congratulations to everybody that entered this challenge, the winners are:


Collinder 399 By Allinthehead



m46 By alacant

 


The Jewel Box open star cluster ( ngc 4755 ) in Curx By MikeODay


Well done all three! Stunning entries

Don't forget for our latest challenge the format has changed, please see the details here: 

Clear Skies!

The theme for the 15th Imaging Challenge is - The Milky Way! :)

Some superb entries as always - very enjoyable challenge to judge! One thing we've noticed, often if people submit multiple entries, different judges will prefer different ones so you can actually undermine your own votes by having to many equally good entries!

Winners this time:


M106 By alan4908



Near, Far Away(?) By coatesg



M101 By Shibby


 

The theme for the fourteenth challenge - May 2018 - is Planets!

Start Date: 1st May 2018
End Date: 31st July 2018

Rules: The theme this time is planets - Jupiter is in opposition in May, Saturn is looking good for June and Mars is a potential target for July! Have fun
Prize: £100 of FLO gift vouchers to buy some goodies with! Kindly provided by our sponsors FLO  and a virtual trophy for your signature.

--

RULES

All data must be captured and processed by you (no collaborative entries). 
Data must be captured during the challenge start & end dates. 
Multiple entries are allowed but please start a new topic for each entry. 
Multiple submissions of the same image, processed differently, will not be accepted.

--

To enter please start a new topic with your image in the ‘Imaging Challenge #14 forum (each challenge will have it’s own). Please post as much information as possible - when it was taken, how it was captured and processed, etc. The info won't necessarily be used for judging but will help fellow SGLers looking to learn and improve their knowledge and technique.

This was extra specially close with two people sharing 2nd and 3rd place! Very tough to decide this month.

Congratulations to everybody who entered, it really showed what can be achieved with smartphones and tablets.

Below are your winners

Plato & The Alpine Valley By CraigT82



The Rosette Nebula By GavStar


'Our Place' In The Solar System By Dagger



Lunar X & V Feb 22nd 2018 By Stu


Star Trails 16/12/2017 By Dagger

I've recently come across this piece on the web written by Alan MacRobert from the well known and respected astronomy magazine Sky & Telescope. It is well worth a read if you are thinking of getting into the hobby - ideally before you leap in and buy a telescope :
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/astronomy/astro21/sandt/startright.html
As someone who has been in the hobby for many years now I found that many of the hints, tips and pointers in this article are right "on the button".
John