Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Craney

Members
  • Posts

    2,570
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Craney

  1. Phew....Thank goodness somebody came in with a number greater than mine.... 13 .... unlucky for me if my partner sees this..... ( a couple of them only come out on a dark night !! )... She is aware of the brand "Takahashi", could probably work out what a box labelled "Tele-Vue" or "Sky-Watcher" contains..... I think "Vixen" might be the way forward, although thinking about it........
  2. There is a thing called STEVE ( (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) which produces an arc like phenomena in the sky. Looks similar, although I don't think STEVE is technically classed as an Aurora. This is a picture of STEVE posted on a BBC weather website from a different event.
  3. Just in case you have a good Southern horizon (🤣😁)..... here is a handy visual guide. It's in the constellation Pictor. and a zoom-in video.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z8E4spViHE
  4. I think you may have got a cloud to cloud lightning discharge. Some big storm clouds racing across the North East tonight. Another application of the cam.
  5. Bravo !!..... I normally don't Panda to cheap gags.... but it's worth a punto. Good luck with clear skies.
  6. OOps!! ...this is a visual report thread. Sorry.
  7. Loving the fact the swan has got their eye on some potential lunch.... as opposed to the beautiful atmospheric spectacle behind. Great photos.
  8. I tried a combination of Black 2.0 (undercoat) and Black 3.0 (top coat) on the inside of a metallic dewshield. It wasn't bad, but it did seem to dry with a slight matt grey sheen, which probably looked worse in bright sunlight than it would at night. Here are some photos, start end I'm not fully convinced. sean.
  9. I tried the Black 3.0 with a Black 2.0 undercoat on an 8" dew shield. It seemed to dry with a slight grey'ish matt sheen. Not terrible, but not "black cat in a coal 'ole" black.
  10. .... and it was mostly cloudy as well .... ho hum. Peak was at 6pm 'ish.... I was in position about 8 ish.... at Thruscross Reservoir, North Yorkshire. The cloud, lights and reclusive aurora did give the sky a Turneresque appeal.... If you were the guy who we spoke to, who had brought his f4 lens instead of the f1.8. That's you on the Dam ( white light, 3rd piccie, bottom right) getting creative. Sean.
  11. Great images. They have a 3D look to them.... almost as if the planet is a shiny spherical pebble lodged in my laptop screen.
  12. @Ouroboros This is the website version. (www.sat24.com) I like to use time stamped photo data in terms of clouds and then use my own judgement as to when or if they are going to hit. Any apps or websites that have the capacity to 'predict' conditions ahead seem to be over / under optimistic in equal measure, which does not help matters. The Met office seems to predict over quite large grid squares, which for Harrogate ( not quite York low level flood plain, not quite high Pennine hills ) leads to variable results.
  13. Evening all. Thought I would share this. I know we all like are own particular on-line tools to detect and predict when the lovely fluffy stuff will arrive. Seems like the Sat24 site has had a colour software upgrade and the detail looks much better, especially at night when the imaging reverts to IR. The previous IR format looked like it was taken from a geostationary. The UK was foreshortened and quite small on the Europe wide image. This one is certainly easier to predict from and seems to be processed to match the Visible image. It wont make the clouds disappear but I hope it might help you plan ahead a bit better. Cheers, Sean.
  14. Always have a quick look at the World H-Alpha network to see what is happening on the Sun. Today's was quite spectacular !! Website plays a gif. https://gong2.nso.edu/products/scaleView/view.php?configFile=configs/hAlpha.cfg&productIndex=5
  15. If you are a bit bored on this Sunday night and are feeling a little frustrated with the blanket cloud forecast.... well use some technology and look at this web cam. https://www.shetlandwebcams.com/eshaness-lighthouse/ It's quite sensitive and in real-time and facing North.. plus you can scan backwards and search out possible events. I've seen two fairly bright meteors already. The Lighthouse is a bit annoying though 😂
  16. Remember.... all weather realities are covered by the phrase .... " scattered showers and sunny intervals"....
  17. Look for neighbouring properties that may overlook your observing space. 2 reasons... firstly it will restrict your horizons... and secondly the random turning on and off of lights disrupts vision and photo sequences. ( you will obviously be be a source of fascination for everyday folk as well...) Look for trees that may become an issue. I had three in a neighbours garden.... 2 leylandii which were chopped ( Yay!!!) but the remaining beech has now shot up by 20 ft (boooo!!!!)
  18. A few times I have been setting up in my back garden when the app signals high auroral activity. The dilemma then is either to hop in the van and go somewhere dark or stick with plan A and take advantage of a clear night at home. I find that looking at sites like www.spaceweather.com gives a heads-up of any CME which is Earthbound a few days in advance and so you can tentatively plan some kind of aurora based outing that has an above average chance of success. I'm sure I have seen some rotating space plasma diagram thingy on a website somewhere that shows possible impacts spiraling out from the Sun with a projected future time axis as well. Cannot seem to find a link.
  19. I find this very useful... https://www.netweather.tv/live-weather/radar Slight time delay... 5-10 minutes..... but you can step it through a sequence and see if showers are developing or drifting your way. Some of the light blue traces are heavy cloud and not actual rain.
  20. Well, a similiar question to " recommend me a small quality scope" ..... there is an immense range of styles, sizes, quality and.... (importantly) construction methods. Some of the questions you need to firm up before searching. Is it going to be your only vehicle ...hence will it be suitable on a day to day basis ? Do you have space on the drive ? Campers of a small size do not usually have toilets/showers... is that acceptable ? They are, like a good APO, expensive, and the likelihood is that you will go second hand, but how many years ??..... eg mileage and wear and tear. ** Be wary of old trade vans ( 2006 etc) that have been pimped with a new set of cabinets and LED lights. Looks great but it is a essentially a 20 year old builders van ** Lots of makes available, but VW have the history, available parts and the on-line help is amazing. ( We avoided some tempting Japanese imports due to this). ...... and the list goes on. The biggest thing I think is peace of mind. I mentioned "construction methods" above. There are an awful lot of vans that have been put together by competent amateurs following a plan. Most of the time these will be fine, but there are lemons out there and they are usually private sales with no come-back upon purchase. The more you look, the more you will be able to spot where a compromise has been made with a van. ( note: if the advert has only 5 photos attached.... there is probably a good reason) eg. Things like revolving 'captains' chairs up front are great and make a camper much more usable, but they are an expensive add on to a DIY build and you will find the constructor have kept the original cloth bench seats with no frills to keep in budget. As soon as you sit in another van with fancy chairs... you will want them. ... and remember if it has been built by a third party then you will not have a overall "user-manual". It will be literally built up from bolted on parts. This may become an issue when you try to fix an internal problem like electrics or plumbing.... who knows what craziness lies behind those lovely looking cabinet drawers. Vans at the moment seem to be priced at £20K+ regardless of anything !!!!.... so make up a tick list of what you want and wait until it comes up. ( sods law it will be on the Isle of Wight !!). So.... the solution, we went for a factory built VW California. ( 11 years old 80,000 miles). Well thought out, well equipped, well looked after.... as you would a Takahashi. Pricey.... yes, but no nonsense quality. Hope this helps ... and good luck. Sean.
  21. @Macavity Does it have a NAME yet? Informally it is known as "the Bear" or " the Brown Bear" . So the picture shows the Bear under the Great Bear. Others have called it "Yogi"... which works.... or the "Mystery Machine". @maw lod qan What's the chance a meteor would come along at the right moment? Since I was lying in a ditch for 30 mins trying to get the right exposure and composition...... err.. not as amazing as it at first seems... but I don't tell people that.
  22. @JeremyS Looks like you will have lots of super camping trips ahead 👍🏻 - Here's hoping. Might have to visits some castles as a compromise. @RobertI with envy as I huddle under my £130 paper thin tent - I've done enough camping for a lifetime. Headroom and the ability to move on quickly is a gamechanger. .. and my back suffers without deerskins and cushions. @happy-kat Could watch that view for hours - I did with a few Pimms. @clarkpm4242 I cycled past there (and you?) about 8 ish this morning! - Small world. Good effort around those parts, it aint flat. Your pictures of Swaledale were part of the reason we thought a van was the way ahead for walking and astro. So thanks. @FenlandPaul I suspect you’re going to have a lot of enjoyment from that van! - Already started. @Giles_B I hadn't thought to put a camper van on my astro wishlist - Is does equate to a lot a great gear, but it opens up a lot more international ventures / dark skies / eclipses....etc.... Thanks for the comments everybody. The adventure begins... keys in, second star to the right, and straight on till morning.....
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.