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Hawksmoor

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Blog Entries posted by Hawksmoor

  1. Hawksmoor

    Nova in Delphinus

    By Hawksmoor,

    The evening of the 16th and the early hours of the 17th of August presented clear skies over our backyard and having read about the new Nova in the Constellation Delphinus, I decided to try and find it and photograph it with a tripod mounted DSLR. Even with the help of info from the Internet, finding the Nova amongst the rich fields of the Milky Way was a bit of a challenge. Hats off to the Japanese amateur astronomer, Koichi Itagaki, who discovered it!


  2. Hawksmoor
    For once a Bank Holiday turned out nice so enjoyed a ramble along the river and took a look at the Sun.
    http://george-artcabinedujardin.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/what-amateur-astronomers-do-in-daylight.html


  4. Hawksmoor
    Joined Breckland Astronomical Society and attended our first meeting this month. Very much enjoyed Prof Carolin Crawford's talk on 'Exo Planets' and received a friendly welcome from members. The snow stayed away long enough for us to get to and from Great Ellingham which is some hour away from our home by car.
    The clouds parted on the thirteenth of March for us to see Comet PanStarrs very low over the marshes. The graveyard at our local church provides a great elevated and unobstructed view west over the Waveney River valley. At 6.15pm we set off for the churchyard with two friends. I fixed my camera on a tripod pointing towards the horizon where the sun had not long set. Between us we had two pairs of binoculars so we took it in turns to search the sky for the comet.
    The crescent Moon was absolutely beautiful with earth-shine illuminating the rest of the disk. The 'dark-side' was so bright that the maria were clearly visible, I don't think I've ever seen earth-shine so bright. We picked up the comet for the first time at about 6.50pm using my 11x80mm binoculars and a little later in 10x50s. Finaly it became visible without optical aid. I managed to get a number of images using 18-55 and 90-300mm lenses. The focus could have been better - guess whose camera hasn't got 'live view' and who forgot to take his spectacles with him?
    Anyway since the 13th the weather has been quite grim and there have been no further opportunities to view the comet or any other celestial treats for that matter.
    Seeing the comet, however, really cheered me up. You can't beat a good comet.
  6. Hawksmoor
    February the 4th. 2013:
    I get all my kit out, set up and ready to go. My laptop is performing Ok, it doesn't like the cold, and the QHY 5v driver has loaded without a hiccup. I can see Jupiter shining in a rapidly darkening sky. The BBC weather forecast for Lowestoft said clear skies excellent seeing between 17.00 and 18.00 which coincides with the GRS being visible. My cup floweth over! As an extra Jupiter 2 software has informed me that shortly after there will be a transit. Photo opportunity or what?
    Then I notice that Jupiter has acquired a halo, I quickly capture three 2 minute clips and then the planet disappears with the failing light. After an hour my laptop and I take refuge in the warm kitchen. After a further hour I finally give up and disassemble my scope and put all the bits and pieces away. Do my eyes deceive me or has the sky now cleared? Grrrrrrrrr! I think I will give Jupiter a rest!
    The AutoStakkert freeware processing software made a brilliant job of rescuing my clips from the recycle bin and I did retrieve one or two grainy images. I would recommend AutoStakkert to anyone who has only used Registax, its much simpler and quicker to use.

  7. Hawksmoor

    Lovely Night

    By Hawksmoor,

    My eight year-old grandson came to stop with us for the weekend. We picked him up after school in Southend so after a two hour journey to our house we were all tired. The mist cleared by the time we reached Lowestoft and he asked about the bright star in the sky. I said it was the planet Jupiter and he was interested to see it through my scope. Showed him Jupiter, the Pleiades and the Moon through my refractor. He thought it was all great! Astronomy in your backyard doesn't get better than this.
  8. Hawksmoor

    Winter has arrived

    By Hawksmoor,

    Saw the Doc yesterday who said my back was healing well and light exercise was OK. Took this to mean I could catch a few photons. So I went outside into the garden about midnight to see if I could see a meteor or two. Hooray first night without rain for some time. Moon was a bit too bright for meteor watching and was lighting up really heavy clouds to the east. The wind was strong and gusting. Then it started to snow! Then it rained. Astronomy in the UK is not for the faint hearted or for those without a warm wind and waterproof coat. Perhaps tonight?
  9. Hawksmoor
    Have returned from Hospital after back surgery. Have got a few aches and pains but otherwise I think the good old NHS has fixed my spine!! Whoopee-do I shall be able to use my big bins again!! Am unable to get outside stargazing for a few weeks but hopefully towards the end of November I should be able to use my telescope and relatively new planetary camera to capture Jupiter! I have noticed that its still raining!
  10. Hawksmoor
    Wasted a couple of hours this morning obtaining video clips of sunspots in white light through my scope. Finished taking the shots, all appeared well. Just got my kit put away before a rain shower. All accomplished before lunch, I thought. This afternoon, when I came to look for the files on my laptop, nowhere to be found! Must not have registered the files or some dumb trick best known to man and IT savants. I am a complete numpty!!!
  11. Hawksmoor

    Apollo11

    By Hawksmoor,

    After reading the many tributes to Neil Armstrong, I remembered looking at the Apollo photographs on display at the Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History, New York. The next time I look at the Moon through the eyepiece of my scope, and if the phase is favourable, I will be sure to check out the Sea of Tranquility and consider the relative permanence of Neil Armstrong's boot print etched in Moon-dust! A fitting memorial for a remarkable human-being. (Images of the Apollo 11 Tranquility Base etc courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University)
  12. Hawksmoor
    I thought I might attend a talk 'Mars Revisited and Revealed So Far' at the Waveney Gymnastics Centre, Notley Road, Lowestoft, this evening at 7.00pm. This will be a big step for me as I am not a clubs and society man. More of a Lone Space Ranger! My wife is encouraging me to be less of a recluse. She is accompanying me this evening, just in case I back out at the last minute!
    If any SGL members are going tonight please say hello. I shall not be carrying a copy of the times, but I'm readily recognizable, short fat bald old bloke with a white beard and a walking stick.
    The rain is still intermittently torrential!
    http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/lowestoft/lowestoft-and-great-yarmouth-regional-astronomers-lyra
  13. Hawksmoor
    Well I never got to photograph the Transit of Venus because of the awful weather which has continued almost unabated. However, after a day when we experienced a power outage because of a lightning strike, and torrential rain and hailstones, the clouds parted and by the time we went to bed and the street lights went out, the stars shone in astronomical twilight. Looking out our bedroom window, which faces north, Noctilucent Clouds were evident. Using my compact camera and leaning out the window, I was able to get a couple of rather grainy images.
    for more see http://george-artcab...om-windows.html
  14. Hawksmoor

    Transit of Venus

    By Hawksmoor,

    My wife found an old disc from 2004 and low and behold the photographs that I took of the last transit were on it and not lost forever as I thought. With better software available in 2012 I have been able to improve them a bit. So was quite pleased bearing in mind the basic kit that I used at the time. Hopefully, if the weather and my back are OK I will have a second chance to get better images on the morning of the sixth.

  15. Hawksmoor

    Transit of Venus

    By Hawksmoor,

    My wife found an old disc from 2004 and low and behold the photographs that I took of the last transit were on it and not lost forever as I thought. With better software available in 2012 I have been able to improve them a bit. So was quite pleased bearing in mind the basic kit that I used at the time. Hopefully,, if the weather and I my back are OK I will have a second chance to get better images on the morning of the sixth.

  16. Hawksmoor

    Mars

    By Hawksmoor,

    Last night was absolutely beautiful in Suffolk. There was a little high level cloud but otherwise it was quite perfect for backyard astronomy. I decided that I was going to take my first photos of Mars. I used the Logitech Webcam that I had previously cannabalised and took several AVI clips through my refractor using a 3x Barlow lens. I did not get any dark or flat frames which probably would have improved the results. I then processed the images using Registax, IRIS and Photoshop. Although the picture is a bit blurry and not in the same league as some of the images of Mars already on this Forum , I was quite surprised and pleased with the result.
    :)
  19. Hawksmoor
    Spent a rainy afternoon recovering a rather blurry photograph I took a year ago in Norway. At the time I was quite annoyed with my self in not obtaining a sharp focus of the Pleiades whilst concentrating on the Aurora above. http://stargazerslounge.com/members/hawksmoor-albums-aurora-picture16089-aurora-above-pleiades.jpg
  20. Hawksmoor
    Tonight Venus was very close to the crescent Moon with Jupiter sailing above and to the south. I took a quick snap with a compact camera perched on top of our car. Really doesn't do the scene credit. Very beautiful even though in competition with the glare from the street lights.

  21. Hawksmoor
    What a marvelous day for February. The thermometer in our back garden reached seventeen degrees Celsius this afternoon. A truly balmy day for the East Coast of Britain in winter.
    Whilst taking rubbish out to the dustbin I noticed that Jupiter, Venus and the new crescent moon were arranged in a line leading to the west where the sun had just set. Quite beautiful, with the thin crescent moon on its back and partially illuminated by earth-shine.
  22. Hawksmoor

    Summer Treats

    By Hawksmoor,

    Its a beautiful sunny day on the East Coast. Have been to the hospital to have an MOT on hip and back. Received great service and care from all staff at the James Paget Hospital. The NHS is great!:hello2:
    Having a bit of time on my hands and wanting a sit down, have spent an hour with an old photo of M57 which I took last summer in my backyard. Quite pleased with myself in that I have worked out how to use the de-convolution algorithms in IRIS software. (Probably less than pleased with myself in that I didn't better polar align my scope).:)
  23. Hawksmoor
    Due to a flare up of arthritis in my back and hip have been unable to take advantage of the breaks in the clouds which have been infrequent to say the least. Have spent my time downloading images from the ESO archive and practicing the use of image processing software. Have managed to start using IRIS which appears to be the least accessible of the free image processing software I've tried to date. Quite humorous trying to follow the French - English translations.:)
  24. Hawksmoor

    Full Moon

    By Hawksmoor,

    [ATTACH]237[/ATTACH]
    The Universe is a great place! In the last week I have watched as Comet Garradd sailed serenely past the Coat-hanger asterism, I've seen a magnificent rainbow whilst visiting Sheffield, and on the road back to home in Lowestoft we headed from day into night as the Moon and Jupiter climbed slowly upwards from the horizon.
    Weather and moonlight permitting, in the coming week I hope to see the new supernova.:)
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