JimT
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Status Replies posted by JimT
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Last night was beautiful in Lowestoft. Really clear night - all night. On a plus side I set up to take some lights of M31 wide-style. On a negative side my NEQ6 Pro started to play up and in combination with the guiding software and my laptop turned all my stars into arcs. Got to bed at 5.30 am. pigged off!! ? BUT sitting out under the stars for five hours watching the Summer Constellations set in the west and Orion rising in the South East how can that be bad? M33 was really easy in my big bins and I think I spotted M1 with averted vision. Loads of Ms all round and the Garnet Star was big and red and beautiful. Not many meteors (saw three in five hours) but one was nicely spectacular. Have spent today in the backyard re-fitting my mount on its pillar - reduced the play on the central fixing -I also cleaned all the electrical contacts. Will probably reload PHD2 software before I go 'a guiding' again. When the stars come out tonight I shall realign on Polaris but I will give imaging a miss tonight cos I'm a really tired old man and according to Metcheck its going to rain here in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
I rarely photograph my 'refractor in action' but I did early this morning and it turns out it was the only image worth a look! ?
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Glad you had a good night except for the photos, went for a stroll along the promenade, looked like rain this end when we started off home but stayed dry. Up bright an early this morn to find the garden wet but not much rain fell around Kirkley. Just wondering when I will start the pier up, still a few odd and ends to sort out before then namely PCs which I bought from a certain person whom the police have been interested in, see whats going local and get it all sorted
Jim
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Been absolutely lovely all day here in Lowestoft. Nice now but looking at Metcheck and SAT24 it will be good and cloudy at 'midnight when the street lights go out'. So instead of doing a bit of imaging tonight, I shall be surfing the cosmos with my big bins and then it's full on sulking for me.
George a bit miffed in Lowestoft?
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Thanks, the observatory is being cleaned of whatever made its home there but I have yet to get to grips with the hardware that will happen in the next few weeks. Done a reorg of the garden which took some time and then had a stroke, am okay now, spent a week in JPH, they looked after me well. Will be good to get all behind me and start looking to the sky again, good to hear from you.
Jim
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Been absolutely lovely all day here in Lowestoft. Nice now but looking at Metcheck and SAT24 it will be good and cloudy at 'midnight when the street lights go out'. So instead of doing a bit of imaging tonight, I shall be surfing the cosmos with my big bins and then it's full on sulking for me.
George a bit miffed in Lowestoft?
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Had a medley of meteorological treats in Lowestoft today. Started with torrential rain, then hail, then sleet followed by snow. Finished off tonight with thunder and lightning with clearing skies and stars visible as I made my way upstairs to Bedfordshire.
Nighty night stargazers wherever you are.
George in bed in Lowestoft.
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Hi George, just had a one night outing myself, the dew stopped that night in it's tracks after an hour, since then it has been either the snow or rain so that is it till the new year. Thanks for the Christmas greetings, wish you and the family the same, I'm afraid we don't bother with Christmas, no children and being a distance from any relatives we tend to have a quite time, this year we are away to Switzerland for a week courtesy of Belle Coaches, a small village enclosed by glaciers so will be getting heavy gear on. Okay, take care and enjoy the next couple of week and don't get cold out with your bino's
Jim
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Had a medley of meteorological treats in Lowestoft today. Started with torrential rain, then hail, then sleet followed by snow. Finished off tonight with thunder and lightning with clearing skies and stars visible as I made my way upstairs to Bedfordshire.
Nighty night stargazers wherever you are.
George in bed in Lowestoft.
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Beautiful night in Lowestoft. Have been in Norwich all day and returned home too late and tired to get out scopes. Instead enjoyed fortyfive minutes in the backyard with my big bins. Best 250 pounds I've ever spent on astro kit.
The double cluster was spectacular - straight overhead - filled the FOV with jewel like points of light arranged in curved strings. All of the 'M's in Auriga and Gemini were easily visible with hints of individual stars in M35. Pleiades were the best I've seen through my bins - stars visible well beyond the normal cluster of brighter stars - the cluster looking triangular and extending beyond the FOV of my bins.
First sighting of Sirius above my hedge this year - always startled by its brightness through my bins. Orion's Sword absolutely cracking view with nebulosity observable well beyond the central bright area of the Trapezium.
Finished by locating the Comet 2017 01(ASASSN) just above Polaris. Always a treat to see a comet through my bins. Must try to get a photograph before it fades away.
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Just got in after witnessing a 3 hour long display of 'The Northern Lights' over Reykjavik New Harbour. Absolutely fantastic light show in green, magenta snd blue. I would recommend excited atoms for exciting old amateur astronomers. Now enjoying a glass of Bushmills to calm me down and then off to bed.
Nighty night stargazers wherever you are.
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Well done George, was there a few year ago and although we enjoyed it the display was ruined by a laser which lit up the sky all night right in the middle of the lights. Think the laser was something to do with Yoko Ono and peace, certainly had something to say about and it had nothing to do with peace
Jim
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I seem to have lost the list of who has visited my profile, any reason, please
Jim
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Terrible night in Lowestoft. In the short time it takes me to walk from my kitchen to the shed I became fully immersed by rain in stair-rod formation. Checked that the LVST was still monitoring meteor activity over southern France. All OK but not much radar on plasma action. The sky over the Jodrell Plank Observatory was coal black and robbed of all light. I wasn't expecting to encounter a Balrog in Suffolk - thought they were native to Moria.
George the Grey now at his bed in a moist and soggy East Anglia.
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A reorg of the observatory, I was a bit ambitious in having two piers, have now got just the one and central. After looking at the usage of the CGE Pro mount I have now piggybacked the EvoStar 80 instead of the StarTravel 80 giving me advantage of using the Canon 450D as well. The reorg has given me more height on the pier but must remember to open the roof before turning the telescope upright
Jim -
A cloudy evening last night, I happened to look out the window and seen a nice bright moon, clear skies!! Went out and and although there were a few puff balls I decided to open up. Turned out to be a nice night although I am still trying to get to grips with the CGE Pro, a bit of a handful
Jim-
Thanks Alan, good that you got out, retired here so no problem with timekeeping except when the better half requires it :). Have a lot more work to do before I can master the CGE Pro, it has an 11" RASA attached with the ST80 as a guide scope, had some problems with StarSense and had to get it reflashed, should be back this week. Hopefully with that back on I can get some decent work out of this lot :), time for bed.
Jim
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A cloudy evening last night, I happened to look out the window and seen a nice bright moon, clear skies!! Went out and and although there were a few puff balls I decided to open up. Turned out to be a nice night although I am still trying to get to grips with the CGE Pro, a bit of a handful
Jim -
Spent an hour or so in the shed on the ongoing 'Spectrometer Mk3' build. I'm not convinced this 'Heath Robinson' contraption of mine is going to work but hey-ho - I've started so I'm going to finish. On a slightly more positive note, this particular DIY journey into the unknown has been relatively inexpensive and the bits I have purchased are easily recyclable for more and the equally pointless future projects with which I am determined to fill my ongoing retirement from gainfull enterprise. One of the minor benefits of being a compulsive hoarder and inveterate tinkerer is a shed full of stuff.
I really like stuff and sheds, stuff in sheds and sheds with stuff in 'em. My shed runneth over with stuff!
Thats why I've got two sheds!
George in Oulton Broad sitting on a sofa contemplating the philosophy of 'stuff in sheds' and the imminent possibility of Pizza .
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Ha ha, lovely one George, I do the same and once the observatory in the garden is complete I will turn my time to the attic and start sorting out all the bits and pieces that have been collected over the byears and look to turning it all into a "shed" of nicknacks for my future experiments and projects
Jim
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The Observatory is looking good Jim! Nice kit too!
George
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George, nice to hear from you, thanks. Am afraid I had a lot of problems getting to where it is now, mainly the weather and a bad roof design but all okay now. Been a very busy time the last few months now it's relax time, sitting back and enjoying it all. I have not been able to look in on you so was wondering how your pier was getting on. Was out tonight learning about the CGE, it's wierd, does the opposite to what one would think it should do so a bit of a learning curve
Off to bed now, just clearing up here, take care and thanks again
Jim
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Out last night in the observatory, an interesting night, first night for quite awhile. I was starting to pack up and close down about 1230 when I heard someone on his phone in the lane a couple of feet away. Deciding to wait until he finished and buggered off I stayed quite until I realised he was not going away so got on with with closing down, it was then I heard him say that there was someone in his neighbours shed. It dawned on me that he was speaking to the police and I was the subject, hitting the security switch I got the lights on and greeted him over the fence, we both laughed about it, closed down and got into the house before I had to answer to the police :)
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Out last night in the observatory, an interesting night, first night for quite awhile. I was starting to pack up and close down about 1230 when I heard someone on his phone in the lane a couple of feet away. Deciding to wait until he finished and buggered off I stayed quite until I realised he was not going away so got on with with closing down, it was then I heard him say that there was someone in his neighbours shed. It dawned on me that he was speaking to the police and I was the subject, hitting the security switch I got the lights on and greeted him over the fence, we both laughed about it, closed down and got into the house before I had to answer to the police :)
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Lowestoft Pier Construction (aka George's Column): First concrete pour accomplished and all covered up prior to the arrival of rain. Hopefully,tomorrow will be fine and I will be able to complete the concrete work with the second pour. Gave the steel levelling plate a coat of Hammerite - literally watching paint dry. Too jiggered to do more work on Spectrometer 3 Project - having a sit down before dinner.
George 'tired but happy' in an overcast and rainy Lowestoft
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Lowestoft Pier build took a set back today. The electric concrete mixer that had rested quietly for 6 years under a tarpaulin on our backyard did not go when I plugged it into the National Grid. Shocker
. Had to take it apart. The electric motor had seized solid. Had to drill the main shaft to obtain sufficient purchase to free it with loads of WD40 and brute force. Finally got it reassembled and working at about 4.30 pm.
Onwards and upwards
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The crescent Moon with earthshine and bright Venus were so pretty last night! Even the intermittent fine hazy cloud added rather than detracted from the beauty of the scene. No need for any kit, two eyes were quite sufficient to take in the simple grandeur of this wide visual solar system pairing.
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The crescent Moon with earthshine and bright Venus were so pretty last night! Even the intermittent fine hazy cloud added rather than detracted from the beauty of the scene. No need for any kit, two eyes were quite sufficient to take in the simple grandeur of this wide visual solar system pairing.
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The crescent Moon with earthshine and bright Venus were so pretty last night! Even the intermittent fine hazy cloud added rather than detracted from the beauty of the scene. No need for any kit, two eyes were quite sufficient to take in the simple grandeur of this wide visual solar system pairing.
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Like it George, I just looked behind me and although quite light Venus is there in all her glory, last night I really got annoyed as the Moon and Venus was only a fingers with away from each other and although very cloudy I attempted to take a photo. I gave up after half an hour as if the Moon was in the clear Venus was not so it ended up either one or the other. As said I can see Venus but the Moon is a little far off, watch this space
Jim
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The crescent Moon with earthshine and bright Venus were so pretty last night! Even the intermittent fine hazy cloud added rather than detracted from the beauty of the scene. No need for any kit, two eyes were quite sufficient to take in the simple grandeur of this wide visual solar system pairing.
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Purchased some mild steel reinforcement bar today for my concrete astro pier. Getting quite excited. Over my professional lifetime I have designed quite a lot of rc columns etc but his is the first one I will have built myself. If it turns out well I might name it George's Column, if it turns out badly I might have to hire a Jack hammer. My good natured partner is beginning to give me funny looks as I squirrel the pillar construction materials away in my shed. She has agreed the pier's location but I'm not convinced she is fully aware of its size relative to the rather minimal dimensions of our backyard.
Sleepless in Suffolk
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Ohhh know what your going through George, good luck with getting it finished, hope this wind don't affect you in any way. Just been out to check on the garden, a couple of problems but happy to say my half built observatory is withstanding the wind well, can't see a quiver. Am happy to say my design will be helpful in this type of weather, no loss of roof
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Light snow and cloud in Lowestoft, so no chance of viewing the fast moving Comet in Hercules or penumbral lunar eclipse tonight.
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Today Suffolk County Council swapped an all new LED lamp for the old high pressure sodium lamp outside our house. Looks very bright but luckily our house is in between the lamp and our backyard from which I stargaze. Let's hope in my lifetime, the Council continues to turn the street lights off at midnight. I will let you know how I and the new lamp get on!
George from Lumenstoft.
Thats why I've got two sheds!
but I will persevere 
. Had to take it apart. 
