orion25

I dont know!

I decide to get my 5inch refractor out and on its pier, first time in a while. Lovely sunny day here on the coast. Beautiful blue sky, as you can see on the photograph from this pm. Within literally minutes the sky turned as black as thunder and has remained that way. 'Metcheck clear sky' completely ignored by the weather. This hobby is not for the faint hearted. You can probably work that out for yourself if you noticed my 'tidy' wiring festooned over the scope and its locale. Don't do this at home kids!

I dont know!

I decide to get my 5inch refractor out and on its pier, first time in a while. Lovely sunny day here on the coast. Beautiful blue sky, as you can see on the photograph from this pm. Within literally minutes the sky turned as black as thunder and has remained that way. 'Metcheck clear sky' completely ignored by the weather. This hobby is not for the faint hearted. You can probably work that out for yourself if you noticed my 'tidy' wiring festooned over the scope and its locale. Don't do this at home kids!

Two nights in a row out under the stars. No cloud at all tonight so excellent! Managed to see Comet 2019 Y4 (ATLAS) through my big bins and now hopefully imaging it with my widefield mini- rig. Self isolating in a big way as the rest of  Lowestoft's residents appear to be asleep in bed. Don't remember ever seeing Coma Berenices quite so bright with the naked eye and spectacular through my bins. What a great night for stargazers. 

Just watched the first episode of StarTrek Picard. Nice!

Not only do we share the same values but he has proved conclusively that I'm not too old to go into space. "Boldly going-----" and all that malarkey. Good on you Jean Luc!

Good heavens! another night that appears to be clear. Hope it stays that way, Already out playing with my mate Orion.

George outside in the dark wearing a woolly hat In Lowestoft

Happy New Year to everyone on SGL!  

Louise

Happy New Year all.

may all your dreams come true !

charl.

A very Merry and Starry Christmas to you all!

Best regards from George and Anita in Lowestoft next the Sea.

Windy, and not far off a full moon, but got a good view of Uranus just north of the moon through my 120mm ‘frac and 5mm EP. Nice to see a planet again!  

Windy, and not far off a full moon, but got a good view of Uranus just north of the moon through my 120mm ‘frac and 5mm EP. Nice to see a planet again!  

Windy, and not far off a full moon, but got a good view of Uranus just north of the moon through my 120mm ‘frac and 5mm EP. Nice to see a planet again!  

70 years old today and I remain unsure as to what I want to be when I grow up.

Good to be up and about, posting again after my recent hernia op! 

Still a bit sore, hoping to use the next week "recovering" to test my new tilt adapter with the asi290mm

Nice night here in Lowestoft. Been out with my big bins. Regulus a very nice multiple star system worth a look through binoculars. Lots of galaxies in Leo, Virgo and Coma Berenices. All just visible with averted vision through my handheld bins as small interesting fuzzies. Nice to see Vega visible and rising in the east just above my neighbour's hedge. Summer is on the way troops!

Night night stargazers everywhere.

After an extended period of being 'uncle dick', during which I totally forgot that I had registered my interest in taking part , I finally got around to starting the OU-Moons free distance learning package that had been lurking in my Yahoo inbox.  Had an enjoyable day catching up the first week of studies. Week two - tomorrow, if all goes to plan.  Here in Lowestoft it looks set cloudy for awhile.?

A pretty thing:

Turned my bins towards the terminator on the waxing gibbous Moon tonight and watched sunlight kiss the peaks of the Jura Mountains behind the Bay of Rainbows still cloaked in the darkness of lunar night. 

Craters Tycho and Copernicus were very bright and clearly defined. The rays of projects from Tycho were very obvious. The dark lava of Plato stood out as a tiny oval against the lighter uplands.

Nighty night stargazers.

George in bed in Lowestoft

Glad I popped outside before I went to bed tonight! Really clear sky at the moment in Lowestoft.  Tonight, even before the street lights went out, I could see M44 with the naked eye as quite a bright cloud. Got a real grip on its apparent size with regard to the constellation Cancer, as much easier to do with unaided eye sight. When I looked at it through my 11x80 bins a real treat -lots of stars on view. Bonus - M67 a very easy spot  with handheld bins tonight - not always the case from my backyard.

Looking west was fantastic. Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Auriga and Perseus all visible in one view without having to move my head absolutely fabulous. One off treats that stood out - Sirius, Orion's Sword, Betelgeuse, Aldeberan, the Pleiades and Capella. Through my bins the open clusters in Gemini and Auriga were top notch and the view of the Orion GMC was stunning.

Looking south, Leo on display always nice to see - spring on its way. The Bear remains on its tail and Arcturus was shining yellow as it rose above my tall hedge to the east.

My wife came out to have a look and spotted a meteor.

Nighty night stargazers wherever you are.

George in Lowestoft about to turn out the light.

Glad I popped outside before I went to bed tonight! Really clear sky at the moment in Lowestoft.  Tonight, even before the street lights went out, I could see M44 with the naked eye as quite a bright cloud. Got a real grip on its apparent size with regard to the constellation Cancer, as much easier to do with unaided eye sight. When I looked at it through my 11x80 bins a real treat -lots of stars on view. Bonus - M67 a very easy spot  with handheld bins tonight - not always the case from my backyard.

Looking west was fantastic. Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Auriga and Perseus all visible in one view without having to move my head absolutely fabulous. One off treats that stood out - Sirius, Orion's Sword, Betelgeuse, Aldeberan, the Pleiades and Capella. Through my bins the open clusters in Gemini and Auriga were top notch and the view of the Orion GMC was stunning.

Looking south, Leo on display always nice to see - spring on its way. The Bear remains on its tail and Arcturus was shining yellow as it rose above my tall hedge to the east.

My wife came out to have a look and spotted a meteor.

Nighty night stargazers wherever you are.

George in Lowestoft about to turn out the light.

Glad I popped outside before I went to bed tonight! Really clear sky at the moment in Lowestoft.  Tonight, even before the street lights went out, I could see M44 with the naked eye as quite a bright cloud. Got a real grip on its apparent size with regard to the constellation Cancer, as much easier to do with unaided eye sight. When I looked at it through my 11x80 bins a real treat -lots of stars on view. Bonus - M67 a very easy spot  with handheld bins tonight - not always the case from my backyard.

Looking west was fantastic. Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Auriga and Perseus all visible in one view without having to move my head absolutely fabulous. One off treats that stood out - Sirius, Orion's Sword, Betelgeuse, Aldeberan, the Pleiades and Capella. Through my bins the open clusters in Gemini and Auriga were top notch and the view of the Orion GMC was stunning.

Looking south, Leo on display always nice to see - spring on its way. The Bear remains on its tail and Arcturus was shining yellow as it rose above my tall hedge to the east.

My wife came out to have a look and spotted a meteor.

Nighty night stargazers wherever you are.

George in Lowestoft about to turn out the light.

Glad I popped outside before I went to bed tonight! Really clear sky at the moment in Lowestoft.  Tonight, even before the street lights went out, I could see M44 with the naked eye as quite a bright cloud. Got a real grip on its apparent size with regard to the constellation Cancer, as much easier to do with unaided eye sight. When I looked at it through my 11x80 bins a real treat -lots of stars on view. Bonus - M67 a very easy spot  with handheld bins tonight - not always the case from my backyard.

Looking west was fantastic. Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Auriga and Perseus all visible in one view without having to move my head absolutely fabulous. One off treats that stood out - Sirius, Orion's Sword, Betelgeuse, Aldeberan, the Pleiades and Capella. Through my bins the open clusters in Gemini and Auriga were top notch and the view of the Orion GMC was stunning.

Looking south, Leo on display always nice to see - spring on its way. The Bear remains on its tail and Arcturus was shining yellow as it rose above my tall hedge to the east.

My wife came out to have a look and spotted a meteor.

Nighty night stargazers wherever you are.

George in Lowestoft about to turn out the light.

Glad I popped outside before I went to bed tonight! Really clear sky at the moment in Lowestoft.  Tonight, even before the street lights went out, I could see M44 with the naked eye as quite a bright cloud. Got a real grip on its apparent size with regard to the constellation Cancer, as much easier to do with unaided eye sight. When I looked at it through my 11x80 bins a real treat -lots of stars on view. Bonus - M67 a very easy spot  with handheld bins tonight - not always the case from my backyard.

Looking west was fantastic. Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Auriga and Perseus all visible in one view without having to move my head absolutely fabulous. One off treats that stood out - Sirius, Orion's Sword, Betelgeuse, Aldeberan, the Pleiades and Capella. Through my bins the open clusters in Gemini and Auriga were top notch and the view of the Orion GMC was stunning.

Looking south, Leo on display always nice to see - spring on its way. The Bear remains on its tail and Arcturus was shining yellow as it rose above my tall hedge to the east.

My wife came out to have a look and spotted a meteor.

Nighty night stargazers wherever you are.

George in Lowestoft about to turn out the light.

Whoo hoo! we had stars in Lowestoft last night. ?  Not sure what was to blame for the dodgy images, was it the bad weather/Christmas lay-off affecting my kit or was the old astronomer using it  to blame? 

Got out the 66mm Altair refractor on the Star Adventurer and my trusty bins , didn't get to bed until 3:30am.  Anyway I have a few more blurry images of 46P/ Wirtanen and I think I managed to capture a smudge that might be 38P/Stephan-Oterma. Could see 46P through my 11x80 bins handheld but very diffuse and cloud like would have missed it 'sweeping' but knew where to look. 38P not visible through my bins even though I knew where it should be, however the mince-pies aren't what they used to be.

Real nice treat - saw a very bright and orange coloured meteor - slow moving in the east comiing from the direction of Orion.  No it wasn't a flare or firework!

Nice clear night and dark after the Moon set, M81 and M82 very easy handheld through my big bins.

George tired but quite content in Lowestoft.

Whoo hoo! we had stars in Lowestoft last night. ?  Not sure what was to blame for the dodgy images, was it the bad weather/Christmas lay-off affecting my kit or was the old astronomer using it  to blame? 

Got out the 66mm Altair refractor on the Star Adventurer and my trusty bins , didn't get to bed until 3:30am.  Anyway I have a few more blurry images of 46P/ Wirtanen and I think I managed to capture a smudge that might be 38P/Stephan-Oterma. Could see 46P through my 11x80 bins handheld but very diffuse and cloud like would have missed it 'sweeping' but knew where to look. 38P not visible through my bins even though I knew where it should be, however the mince-pies aren't what they used to be.

Real nice treat - saw a very bright and orange coloured meteor - slow moving in the east comiing from the direction of Orion.  No it wasn't a flare or firework!

Nice clear night and dark after the Moon set, M81 and M82 very easy handheld through my big bins.

George tired but quite content in Lowestoft.

Whoo hoo! we had stars in Lowestoft last night. ?  Not sure what was to blame for the dodgy images, was it the bad weather/Christmas lay-off affecting my kit or was the old astronomer using it  to blame? 

Got out the 66mm Altair refractor on the Star Adventurer and my trusty bins , didn't get to bed until 3:30am.  Anyway I have a few more blurry images of 46P/ Wirtanen and I think I managed to capture a smudge that might be 38P/Stephan-Oterma. Could see 46P through my 11x80 bins handheld but very diffuse and cloud like would have missed it 'sweeping' but knew where to look. 38P not visible through my bins even though I knew where it should be, however the mince-pies aren't what they used to be.

Real nice treat - saw a very bright and orange coloured meteor - slow moving in the east comiing from the direction of Orion.  No it wasn't a flare or firework!

Nice clear night and dark after the Moon set, M81 and M82 very easy handheld through my big bins.

George tired but quite content in Lowestoft.

Happy New Year to all Stargazers and chums around the world. My new year resolution is to try and treat the Earth and all life on it a little better in 2019.

George now back in Lowestoft (it's still cloudy)