tibbs1972

I looked at the H-alpha scopes and sun filters, nearly fell off my chair when I saw the price of those items.

I have recently purchased a Cannon EOS 1000D with a T-Ring and 1.25" adapter. A moon filter from FLO helped aswell.

I can see why you would be obssessed with the moon. It because you have taken some outstanding photos. Thanks for sharing your images. One day, I'll have a scope and the experience to take such splendid shots ! I can't give you any advice, as your images are miles better than mine. Cheers, Neil.

Now I'm really happy. At 04:49, I spotted the ISS pass over. It was brighter than Sirius, moving fast with a luminous glow. The ISS passed across the front of my south facing house for abouth 10 seconds. Another amazing first for me. I used the link below to track the ISS, which was really accurate. http://www.n2yo.com/?s=25544 Definitely worth getting up for. I also used my Minocular to track it and I think I saw some slight detail. It would be great if I could track with the telescope, but I think it's too fast for that. WOW !

Thats an amazing image, superb detail an clarity. Neil

Thanks again. I think it's the best I am going to achieve with a 130mm scope. I'm not sure I can justify buying a H-alpha filter for a while. The Sun is something I've been looking forward to imaging and so far, I am really pleased. I'm looking forward to the weekend, so that I can have another go at it. Neil

Thanks ver much. I tried adjusting contrast and colours to get more detail. Still a beginner with photo manipulation I'm afraid. Neil

Check out the "heavens above" website for the ISS position. You can enter your coordinates for viewing times. The station cross from W to ESE over cornwall tonight around 04:45 to 04:55

Thanks, the wind did start to pick up again, but fortunately, my backyard is a bit sheltered.

Images taken tonight with moon filter. Helped to take the glare off.

Not bad for a £15 investment from FLO for the filter film. and a bit of cardboard, staples and patience. Thanks Neil

Hi Pat, Really impressive images. I havn't got the hang of the software yet, looks liike your learning your way around. Nice image of the moon slipped in there aswell. Keep up the good work, Congrats ! Cheers, Neil

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into it.

I finally received my sun filter film. Today around noon I took some images and had a mess around with microsoft picture editor to change the contrast and brightness. I'm dead chuffed, what an amazing sight.

Hi Isabelle, Unfortunately, I didn't play the lottery that night, I missed out there. On the other hand, the solar film has arrived, so I can now make a solar filter, that should make up for it. I also managed to get a Hawke 10x50 minocular for £55 with a small tripod yesterday, so I shall also have more fun tracking fast objects. Thanks for your kind comments on my Arcturus image. Neil

My first scope is a Celestron 130mm reflector, which I'm still using and having a lot of fun with, was from Argos. I purchased it in January and havn't looked back. Okay, Argos isn't the recommended place to buy a scope, but I must be lucky, I havn't had any issues, it's perfect for my needs at the moment. Quite a few accessories can be bought with it. Glad I didn't buy a Goto scope, as with the manual scope, I'm learnig where things are fast. Also. the size isn't too big to handle for a first scope.

Tonight, I was really lucky. 1st I saw a meteorite fall across my line of sight fron north to south. Then I spotted a satellite around 21:20. I managed to follow this for about 30secs with my spotter scope in hand. That was quite interesting. The best thing of all, was through my 20mm eyepiece, as I was moving from East to North, a meteorite shot across the view of the scope. That was incredible. For a second it looked as if it bounced on the atmosphere. It caught me off guard, as through the eyepiece it was really bright. Great Night Stargazing.

I didn't get solar film today, maybe tomorrow. Anyway, tonight is an excellent night for Star Gazing. For the first time, I have managed to get the polar alignment correct. I have also managed to get the speed correct on my single axis drive. As a result I have managed to take my best shot so far. The picture is of Arcturus in the east tonight about 22:00. This was taken with a 30 second exposure, with and ISO of 800. The DSLR camera was mounted directly on the scope. I realise there is a lot of light pollution, but besides that problem, I'm really pleased with the image.

Thanks for the support Isabelle. Lets hope its not too ambitious. I should get the Solar Film today. Neil

I've got some solar filter film coming this Week. I'll have a go with the Baadar ND 5.0 type first. Here's my idea for the filter and housing.

I'm getting really jealous. I know someone at work who booked a three day boat trip to see the northern lights for his wedding anniversary. I think I'm going to have a chat with him. It would be a once in a lifetime event for me to see them.

A very entertainig blog, I'm pleased you managed to view such an awesome spectacle. Amazing images aswell. Congrats.

Just had look at the video, very impressive, nice effects and audio.

Thanks for the kind remarks, I'm glad the blogs are not putting anyone to sleep, I thought it would be a good idea to make a log of my progress.

14th March 2011 Tried a few images tonight using the prime focus method. I am having trouble finding Nebula with the Live View on the new DSLR camera. I found the Orion Nebula with my 20mm lens, but lost it when I swapped to the camera lens. I think my main problem is the spotter scope. The spotter scope I received with the main telescope from Celestron is useless, I can't align it very easily. It always seems to be a few degrees out. I lost Orion below the horizon after numerous attempts, fortunately it will be back another night. Better luck next time. It's not gonna get away, I want a Nebula framed on my bedroom wall before the end of the year. Anyway, not to be defeated, I ended up going for Betelgeuse, I thought I better get a shot before is goes nova. This is the best image I have taken of a star so far, shows more detail than I normally get. I also had a go at the moon again, but it was very bright. I think I need to get hold of a moon filter for next time. Finally, I had another look at Saturn as well tonight, I think I will need better lenses for Planetary observations. Seems like every time I make an observation, I need another accessory. Anyway, pleased again to make a few observations on one of the few clear nights we get in the UK.