Hawksmoor

Weather wise today we have had a tiny bit of snow, some rain and sunshine.  Plus, one of the most striking rainbows I can recall in Lowestoft.  At least a double bow and at best and momentarily a triple bow. Physics can be breathtakingly beautiful!

Well I've set up my scope and I'm sat in the garden with bits of glass, cameras, wires and laptop waiting for it to get dark. This twilight malarky hangs about a bit in late May!

Well the BBC Weather forecast for Lowestoft tonight is set faiir and at the moment I can see stars through light cloud.  I've set up my DSLR on my Star Adventurer and after I've had a bit of tea I'm going for imaging the asteroid Vesta which is currently tracking through Gemini.  I have never knowingly imaged an asteroid so thought I would go for it.  If I get some wide-field  frames of the constellation tonight and a few more towards the end of the month I can hunt for the star-like/asteroid that has moved.

Went out to the dustbin, looked up and watched the ISS pass overhead. An unexpected treat on a cold and then rainy night.

Wonderful clear and steady astro observing last night in Lowestoft. First time I've ever managed to see all the elements of the Veil Nebula from our backyard using handheld 8x30 binoculars. Took a few images of NGC7000 using modded and unmodded DSLRs . Will have some fun stacking them and combining them over the next few days.

If all goes well, Mrs H will be having her knee replaced next week, so housework and nursing may get in the way of Affinity Photo time. 

Woo-hoo! Got my Lenovo laptop back from the menders with a new screen, runs like a greyhound!

You know I mentioned it never rains but it pours. Well Mrs H with her 'new hip' has now tested positive for Covid and in a fit of dyspraxic stupidity I sat on my Lenovo laptop and broke the screen. Lenovo's may be robust enough to withstand a trip to the ISS but my 'backside' is obviously a more stringent test of robustness! I am now typing on an old Dell which is 'clunky' to say the least and will have to wait until I'm Covid free before I can have it replaced. Lets hope today goes without further unfortunate incidents in the House of the Hawksmoors!

Having read Ken Harrison's excellent book Astronomical 'Spectroscopy for Amateurs' at least twice and innumerable visits to Robin's 'Three Hills' internet site, I have decided to haul myself up on the shoulders of giants and try to make yet another spectrograph this time involving a homemade adjustable slit! After a lot of deliberation I have come up with a modular design based on the 'Watkis Spectrograph'. I am currentlyputting together a heap of parts mostly gleaned from old bits of redundant/broken kit or stuff purchased from the NET in days gone past when I thought 'That's too good an offer to miss' (followed by a long languish in a box in the shed). Each module appears to pass the Transpec V2 spreadsheet test - so fingers crossed. At least I will have a project to keep me going through the winter.

The weather tonight in Lowestoft followed the Metcheck forecast to the letter. I managed two hours of fun with my mini rig before the clouds arrived. Have purchased a new toy before my increased monthly payments to Octopus Energy kick in! I seized the opportunity to buy a used Canon 200d astromodded camera in mint condition with only 10,000 shutter actuations for a remarkably good price. Have been trying it out with my Sigma wide lens and my Altair Astro 66mm Doublet refractor. The processing is more demanding than I'm used to with an unmodded camera but so far I am pleased with my purchase. On a different  tack, I was happy to receive a letter from CEFAS informing me that, after careful consideration of my requests for them to address the light pollution coming from their new HQ building, they would in future limit the hours of operation of their external lighting. A good week for stargazing in Lowestoft all round!

Nighty night stargazers.

George now in bed.

Stargazers