Hawksmoor
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Starry night in Lowestoft tonight.
Just returned in from the cold early morning air having captured some images of comet C2015 V2 (Johnson)
. Pleased to have got some data as weather forecast for rest of week is grim and moonlight will also become a problem as we move into May
Nice crescent moon exhibiting earthshine. Set fairly early so not a problem for the pursuit of faint fuzzies.
So off to bed for me stargazers. Nighty night one and all.
George - tired but happy in darkest Suffolk.
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From the album: Other Peoples Photons
Noticed I had some mail from the Autonomous Robotic Telescope (COAST Galaxy Camera -BVR filters) credit :The Open University. Played about with the image and quite pleased with this rather soft view of the Globular Cluster Messier 3. What beautiful things are these faint balls of ancient stars and what views would intelligent creatures have from alien planets around stars in their midst? Messier 3 is a wonderful Globular Cluster! -
58fcb6e8357b1_Jupiterand3MoonsEuropaOccultbestenanno.png
Hawksmoor posted a gallery image in Member's Album
From the album: Jupiter
I love to watch the Galilean Moons play out their celestial dance around Jupiter. In this image Europa is about to be occulted by the Jovian disc , Io is the nearer of the three planets with Ganymede as backstop. Callisto is out of the image frame. This image is the combination of two stills taken from two separate video runs. 127mm Meade Apo refractor, x2.5 Barlow, QHY5-11 planetary camera, NEQ6Pro on new permanent pier. -
Off to bed now, as I fear I'm developing RWE Syndrome (Registax Wavelet Elbow), nighty night stargazers.
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From the album: Jupiter
Same Jupiter data from the 18th April, less moaning about the weather over my Backyard and better applied processing method. -
From the album: Jupiter
My best effort with my 127mm refractor from the 18th April 2017. High level cloud, high gusting wind, the jet stream and Jupiter low in the sky. Hopefully better to come this year. Nice to capture the GRS and Io and Ganymede. Europa had just been occulted and eclipsed. Pleased with the performance of my EQ6 Pro on my new pier. -
Nice clear night but too tired to get out scopes. Had 30 minutes in the backyard with my 11x80mm bins. Pretty sure I managed to find comet C2015/V2 (Johnson) for the first time.
Either close to a dim star or I might have seen a hint of a tail vertically above and facing away from the Hercules keystone. Very faint and my old mince pies aren't what they once were, plus I am prone to wishful vision.
Anyway I think I have seen it!!
So off to bed for me stargazers. Nighty night.
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Trying out my new pier, image of Jupiter, Io and Ganymede through intermittent hazy cloud. Just pleased to be up and running again!
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Tonight I polar aligned my NEQ 6 Pro mount on top of my new pillar. All went well and I was really pleased to use my big refractor for the first time in 2017. For once the BBC weather forecast for Lowestoft did turn out to be more or less correct and the clouds did part a little from about 21.00 until 23.00. Also everything worked, camera, laptop and software
. Jupiter was big and bright and above my backyard horizon SSE. GRS was on view and I got to watch/image one of the Galilean moons go behind the jovian disc. Lots of video to play with this week. Must say a permanent pier makes life a lot easier, particularly a tall one when you have a bad back and a refractor. No bending over to look through the eyepiece whoopee!! 
A tired but happy old man now in bed in Lowestoft. Sleep tight stargazers wherever you are!
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The pier is just about complete, fitted cork and rubber vibration dampers today. Have only to attach counter-weights to the NEQ6Pro and polar align and I'm ready to go. Come on jet stream clear off and take the clouds with you. Jupiter and comet C/2015 V2 Johnson await my attention.
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Lowestoft pier aka. George's column - nearing completion
Hawksmoor posted a blog entry in Blog 19648
The pier construction project for my 5 inch refractor is nearing completion. Today, I bolted the oak capping, the mild steel levelling plate and my NEQ6 Pro equatorial mount to the top of the reinforced concrete column. All in all I think the project will have cost me about £120 for materials but I did have some of the stuff I needed already in my shed. The weather, true to form, has suddenly turned grim - grey clouds horizon to horizon. I guess this is my fault. Everything seems to have turned out alright so unless the earth crust folds under the imposed weight I should be imaging Jupiter very soon subject to jet stream and cloud cover. The fabrication-construction stages were as follows: Obtaining via the Internet the laser cut 6mm mild steel disc for making the levelling plate. Drilling it to take the 3 stainless steel threaded studs used to fix the levelling plate to the top of the concrete pier. Drilling it to enable my existing extension pillar/puck to be bolted to it. Cutting and welding reinforcing bar to create a reinforcement cage for the concrete pier. Choosing the best location and marking out for the pier. Drilling my existing concrete paving through into the concrete sub base ( i didn't want to dig the paving up for the pier foundation). Chem fixing shear studs and the bottom of the reinforcement cage into the concrete sub- base. Constructing the timber formwork for the pier. Casting the concrete in two pours. Removing the formwork after 14 days. Painting the levelling plate using three coats of Hammerite. Making the timber pillar capping and eyepiece tray from some surplius oak kitchen worktop. Boltting and levelling the capping, levelling plate and NEQ6Pro to the top of the concrete pier. Now I can turn my shed endeavours towards Spectrometer Mk3. -
Did some work on the pillar and also made a slit and diffraction grating holder for Spectrometer Mk3. Excitement mounts and then gets off again.
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I was going to have a go at imaging Mercury from the churchyard with my small travel rig but the clouds rolled in at sunset. I also noted that the jet stream has positioned itself over the UK reminiscent of this time last year. Does it know that I'm almost ready to have my 127mm. Refractor back in operation on my new concrete pier? I think it does - I hate you clouds and jet stream!
Grumpy George in bed Lowestoft
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Took the formwork of my reinforced concrete pier today. Not to shabby so quite pleased with the result. Lovely sunny afternoon. Also watched as an almost full Moon appeared creamy white within the branches of my neighbour's tree. Very beautiful so took a quick snap with my Canon compact camera - all a bit shakey!
George back in Lowestoft
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Immobilized by too much pizza - but otherwise mentally alert!
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Foggy night in Lowestoft, so no astronomy from our backyard ! Sad!
Sweet dreams stargazers.
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From the album: Comets, Meteors and Asteroids
Lovely transparent sky over the backyard on the 25th of March 2017. Finally managed to track down 41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresák in the Great Bear . Taken with the 66mm. Altair Astro Doublet with 0.8x focal reducer and field flattener, Canon 600d DSLR all on a Star Adventurer equatorial mount. 22x30 second lights at ISO1600 with darks and flats stacked and processed using DeepSky Stacker. -
Beautiful night for astronomy in Lowestoft tonight. Used my Altair Astro 66mm. Doublet refractor on my Star Adventurer mount to take widefield images of Comet 41P Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak in Ursa Major. Try as I might I wasn't convinced that I could see it through my 11x80mm binoculars but my Canon 600d DSLR captured it easily at ISO 1600 and 30sec exposure. Rather a nice little green comet!
Grandchildren coming tomorrow for the weekend, two very nice little girls , so image processing will take a very poor second place until at least Monday.
Night night stargazers where ever you are.
George
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Second concrete pour on 'George's Column' completed today. Now the wait whilst the concrete cures and before I can remove the shuttering. Two of my younger grandchildren are visiting at the weekend so I will leave the shuttering in place until Monday.
Night all
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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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Best of luck with your observatory floor. Hope the weather stays fine for your construction works. I was lucky with the weather today and managed to complete the concreting by about 5.00pm. Its staying light to quite late now, spring has arrived. Jupiter is looking good if a bit low in the sky.
George
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Had a good day building my telescope pier. Welded up the mild steel reinforcement and chem-fixed to concrete sub-base. Also chem-fixed shear studs into existing concrete. Finished fabricating timber formwork. Weather and wife permitting should be able to complete first concrete pour tomorrow.
Night all
George
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Aurora over Lerwick spectacular tonight. Have been watching it via webcams1 and 3 at Shetland.org.
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Nice transparent night in Lowestoft. Spent a happy hour in our backyard with my big bins. Jupiter a big disc and at least one moon visible. Hercules rising in the east so had a look at the two globular star clusters. The Beehive cluster a very pretty sight through bins. Could also see the more distant and older cluster in Cancer. Ursa Major overhead so had a wander through the constellation. Leo and Virgo due South picked out the chain of galaxies. Gemini and Auriga low in the west but still able to pick out four Messier open star clusters. What a lovely night!
Nighty night Stargazers
George
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Better day working in the backyard on the pier. Managed to wire together the reinforcement for the free standing column. It then started to rain with some force, so decided to give up on the arc welding. Electricity and water not the best of bed-fellows.
Continued work on the pier formwork and started Spectrometer 3 project. I love 'bumbling' about in that shed!!
Now sitting down with a beer.
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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
Just returned in from the cold early morning air having captured some images of comet C2015 V2 (Johnson)
. Pleased to have got some data as weather forecast for rest of week is grim and moonlight will also become a problem as we move into May
Anyway I think I have seen it!!
. Had to take it apart. 