Hawksmoor

I quite like being a stargazer. Sounds slightly ‘dreamy’ yet thoughtful.  I occasionally refer to myself as an ‘astrophotographer’ but advisedly only in front of folks who have never seen one of my photos. Stargazer will do fine for me!

George in overcast Lowestoft but not downcast because I have ‘fish pie’ for tea!🐟🐟🥔🥧

Last night there was a short window of opportunity and I spent thirty or so minutes in the backyard with my 8x40 bins. The full Moon was quite beautiful and bearing in mind it’s brightness my bins delivered lots of detail for my old eyes to appreciate. The Hyades and Pleiades always deliver, even in moonlight but I could not detect the comet lurking near the Hyades.

George with sunlight streaming in through the window in Lowestoft.

Cracking bit of kit!

My best go at the constellation Orion with a modded Canon 200d DSLR and unmodded Canon 600d with clip in Triband filter and Canon 1.4 (shot at 1.6) fixed 50mm lens. Star Adventurer EQ mount.  Approximately +30 minutes of 2minute subs at ISO800. Taken before street lights went out so plenty of light pollution to tame. Primarily stacked and processed using AffinityPhoto 2. Very minor cropping. Other software involved; GraXpert, Starnet GUI, Images Plus 6.5 and AstroSharp and AstroClean.

Two clear nights since I obtained my preloved Canon 1.4 -  50mm fixed lens. Used two Canon DSLRs one modded (with a Triband Filter) and one unmodded mounted on a Star Adventurer. 2 minute lights at ISO800. Just about an hours worth of exposures in total. Processed mainly using Affinity Photo2.  Just pleased to be able to capture some photons from our backyard.  I very much like the Constellation Auriga but always find it difficult to image successfully.

Excellent!

Didn't get to see it from here so great to see your image.

George

3 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

That is heartwarming, George. I wish you many hours of stargazing together.

Thank you Jeremy.

One of my granddaughters is having a difficult time and stargazing provides her with a  good place to be. It also provides a shared experience, point of contact and a neutral topic of conversation. I gave her my old 90ra ETX telescope just before Christmas and we both await clear and calm nights in 2024. Love and Astronomy go together surprisingly well.

George

Very pleased with this gift from my daughter Lulu who designed a logo for my observatory and had it printed on a mug and tee shirt. She also had two of my bespoke blurry Astro images printed on pillowcases in order  that I can lay my old head on the stars. Ah bless as they say in Lowestoft.

Very poor year on the East Coast. September was the best but then we both went down with Covid. When you factor in moonlight, the weather, the affect of the tide on coastal cloud, the jet stream, misbehaving electronics, illness, making time for other activities and my general decrepitude, it is a wonder I get to image anything from our backyard. Still and just like Peter Rabbit, I’m not downhearted and will keep on trying to amuse you all with my trade mark ‘blurry technicolour images. One thing I have noticed this year is how changeable the weather has been and consequently how often the metrology models have got it wrong for Lowestoft. I guess that is one of the many downsides of global warming. I believe my sunny uplands like my garden electrics have been submerged under flood water. Next year though, every night will be clear, transparent, and filled with laughter and the sound of shutters clicking!

My house was built on what was once a large pond for a large country house long demolished. There was no provision for surface water drainage when it was built. When I constructed a patio I dug out the puddled clay and constructed a huge soakaway under it.  I also planted bamboo in the borders. In 10 years it hasn’t flooded but I am currently overrun by giant pandas😂

Preloved fast 50mm lens from Mrs H for Christmas. Looking forward to trying it out on a ‘clear night’ some time in the next few months 🤣

14 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

I want some of what you are taking 🤣

I told you the crumpets were good!

Mostly Iphone  plus some Affinity Photo and AstroSharp/Clean.  I came out of Tescos with a packet of their deluxe sourdough range crumpets and noticed that the Moon was dancing around the Belisha Beacon beside the pedestrian crossing. I thought it would make for a [removed word] image. Made me laugh anyway and I can thoroughly recommend the sourdough crumpets for tea on a frosty night.

George in Lowestoft with clouds

Welcome to SGL and I hope you enjoy many fine nights under the stars with your new telescope. Best regards from George on the other side of the World.

9 hours ago, orion25 said:

Cheers, George! Hope you and the missus are well!

Yes we are both well thanks Reggie. Hope all well with you too.

George

Excellent image Reggie. 

George

Fabulous images!

Some of the best aurora images I have seen. The two of the auroral crown are breath-taking. Thank you for posting.

George

Last night in full moonlight, I glimpsed my first view of Orion this year. Nice to see the old fellow striding over my back hedge once more!

Nice image .

George in cloudy Lowestoft.

Well done to everyone involved.

This is my go at 'Earth and Moon', which came as a bit of surprise to me as I have had the benefit of rain, fog and clouds for many autumnal nights in Lowestoft.

So tonight, I went to the shop on our street to buy a packet of crumpets to cheer myself up and noticed that the full Moon was more or less visible between clouds.  So I walked with some purpose back to our house and retrieved my Canon DSLR 600d and a standard Canon EOS zoom lens from their case.  Now the Moon was rising above the shop and our house is about 400 metres from the shop, so I thought to myself, just about on for a 'Big Moon' photo with my zoom at about f=200mm. My image was made with just two RAW exposures. Two because to see the clouds, trees and telegraph pole the image of the Moon was completely blown out and was much improved by overlaying  and blending the Moon correctly exposed  and showing a bit of detail  - all done with the same camera , lens and handheld on the same night.  I hope this is within the rules!

The image was processed and cropped using Affinity Photo2 and denoised using the freeware AstroClean.  I have spent much of the day working on a watercolour landscape painting and thought the ever present clouds worked in this image in a painterly watercolour way. Never thought I would be extolling the benefits of clouds for astrophotography!

Splendid images Reggie. Great capture with the sunspot, nice and sharp!

George

Excellent work and well deserved recognition! Congratulations!

Fabulous image!

Lovely set of images!