Hawksmoor

Nice day but now it's raining again! Tomorrow the shed beckons, l have a plan Moriarty.

George, soggy in Suffolk, currently and comfortably ensconced in his sleeping chariot.

Nice night here in Lowestoft. Been out with my big bins. Regulus a very nice multiple star system worth a look through binoculars. Lots of galaxies in Leo, Virgo and Coma Berenices. All just visible with averted vision through my handheld bins as small interesting fuzzies. Nice to see Vega visible and rising in the east just above my neighbour's hedge. Summer is on the way troops!

Night night stargazers everywhere.

Nice night with a few wisps of cloud. Full moon with Jupiter in close proximity - quite beautiful.

Just admired the view for 30 minutes before reaching for a camera. 

Then as I tried to accommodate the huge dynamic range of luminance between the two objects, I wondered at the complexity of the human eye and brain combination that can accomplish the feat with consumate ease.  Improvement by Darwinian selection may be wasteful,  brutal and incredibly slow but it sure delivers on performance.

I will post an image tomorrow.

Nighty night stargazers

Nice night with some high level cloud passing by. Just got back from Southend so a bit tired and the old back is playing up again. Going out with big bins for an easy hour - long eyeball trip around the Universe.  According to Metcheck Thursday and Friday night will be mega -clear so will leave scopes and astro photography until the end of the week. I will also feel a tad less sore and more 'perky' by then.

One hour later

What a lovely hour under the stars - hope I'm not going to regret keeping my scopes in their boxes - paticularly if the weather does not oblige at the end of the week.

Spent some time gazing at the Andromeda Galaxy through my bins. When your eyes get 'dark sensitive' you gradually begin to appreciate how big it really is. Virtually fills the width of the FOV in my 11x80mm. binoculars!

Also noticed the 'stick-man' asterism next to the Double Cluster for the first time. How have I missed seeing that before?

Had a long look around Cassiopeia and Cepheus lots of clusters and nebulosity. Herschel's Garnet Star - Mu Cephei  is a very pretty thing and very hard to believe that it is very probably larger than Betelgeuse and spacious enough to contain 2 billion Suns within its volume.

Looking over to the South and West - M17 was very easy to spot with my bins - a bright elongated nebulous patch at the bottom and to the west of Scutum.  A very pretty section of the sky to scan with binoculars if a little close to my horizon. 

The globular clusters in Hercules were still high enough in the sky to see well and Cygnus and Lyra were more or less directly over head. Always enjoy looking at the double -double stars in Lyra although unable to split each pair of stars using my bins. I have managed this before with both my 90mm. Mak and my 127mm. refractor. The bins just dont have sufficient magnification for the job.

Looked at the Coathanger Cluster before I called it a day and came back inside to finish this report  before heading off to bed.

Nighty night stargazers from

George 'the old man by the sea' in Lowestoft.

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

Nice waxing gibbous  moon shrouded in hazy high level cloud over Lowestoft tonight. Watched a plane and its vapour trail fly silently past. The jet condensate illuminated by moonlight shone pale yellow against the dark grey sky. Made me feel sad, I don't know why.

Nighty night stargazers.

Nice weather all day here on the East Coast. Spent the day fabricating a mild steel door for my pizza oven. Since I increased the external insulation the fire protected timber door becomes carbonised  after two firings, so a double skinned aluminium silicate wool insulated steel door is the way forward. Makes you wonder whether Pompeii was brought down by a volcanic eruption or a faulty pizza oven design?

As I had not seen a cloud all day, I decided to set up my big refractor to catch some more Mars videos. Soon as it was up and running the clouds appeared along with some straggler fireworks. Went in to eat dinner and when I came out it was clear! Managed to capture some clips of Mars and was pleased to note that Syrtis Major was prominent. The atmosphere was not that stable and the wind was also a nuisance as I do not have an enclosed observatory. Will have to wait and see how the videos process. All done and dusted by 10:30. Had a glass of brandy to warm up as it has turned cold.

Nighty night Stargazers.

No Leonids for me tonight as the rain and cloud have persisted. Decided to call it a night at 1:00am and have gone to bed. Maybe I will catch a few stragglers tomorrow?

Nighty night cloud dodgers.

No stars tonight in Lowestoft. So off to bed.

Nighty night space cadets.

Not really dark but had a pleasant 45 minutes in the backyard hand holding my big 11x80 bins. Quick sweep through Cygnus and Lyra. Couldn't identify M56.  Summer triangle always a beautiful naked eye asterism to view and the starfields around Sadr in my bins never disappoint.

Saturn just visible between the rooftops and very yellow, couldn't pick out Titan. Neither could I find M10 or M12 in Ophiuchus as sky quite murky low to the south.  By contrast, M13, M92 and M5 all easy spots. 

Now in bed ready to surf the realm of the unconscious.

Night night stargazers wherever you are.

• George zzzzzzzzzzzzzz Lowestoft 

Obtained a 'book recover', preowned in excellent condition, hardback version of Chris Hadfield's 'An astronaut's guide to life' for £1 from Poundland.?

One transit, two shadow transits and the GRS and...................wall to wall cloud.  GRRRRRRx3.  I'm right pigged off!  It doesn't matter how many times I look at BBC weather for Lowestoft or SAT24 or out the window, all I can see is CLOUD with a high chance of precipitation. GRRRRRRRx27.  Thats pigged off cubed.

Perseids -Smershieds! - 100 percent of your classic 'British Clouds' overhead. Now going to bed with the hump! -Full on dromedary!  'Remote Robotic Scopes' are looking more attractive by the minute!

Disgruntled of Lowestoft

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

Quite a bit of cloud about tonight but I managed to see Comet NEOWISE under the Great Bear. Couldn't help but take a few 'snaps' through our bedroom window. I've had my money's worth out of my little Poundland tripod.

It is a mind boggling thought that this comet last visited our planet in the Neolithic period and will not return for another 7000 years. There was a Neolithic presence on the coast at Pakefield which is only 2 miles from our home. I wonder what our distant ancestors made of it?

Night all

Quite pleased with these two blurry images. Jupiter and Saturn virtually perched on the ridge tiles of my neighbour's roof and imaged with my old ETX 90 Ra balanced (just) on a Star Adventurer mount.

Returned from an enjoyable holiday break in Northumberland. Got to use my newly acquired Nikon 8x40 Action EX cf bins on seals and stars. Well pleased with these bins for hand held observations by the older gentleman!

Weather in Lowestoft however, remains poor and much as it was when I left. Will I ever get to image Saturn and Jupiter with my pier mounted scope or will the hedge grow back closing my window of opportunity ? A snap or two of Mars would be nice too!

George in bed and under a cloud in Lowestoft.

Sad o say I dopped my lapop and as a esul some o he keys on my lapop no lone wok!? On a moe cheeul noe I capued a nice wideield imae o he Milkyway and he Andomeda alaxy on 13 Au 2018 - sadly no meeos saw some u no picues - ey damp in he Lake Disic oo much condensaion.

Saturn and Mars too low on my southern horizon. Gave up at 1.00am. One blurry video of Mars and some Moon clips. Sky very light , probably time for a short summer break.

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

Sky over Oulton Broad has just cleared. Little bit of high level scattered cloud remains and some haze towards the northern horizon mixed with light pollution from Great Yarmouth. Comet NEOWISE still visible to the naked eye but not so sharp as when last viewed on the 13th July. It has moved quite a distance west towards Ursa Major. The tail appears longer. A really nice thing to see when viewed through my 11x80 mm bins. Had a quick look at the Double Cluster always a treat. Jupiter and Saturn very bright to the South. Saw a nice white fast moving meteor, going south to north, before I called it a day and came to bed.

Night all

Spectrometer Mk3 has moved on a bit - started to put the separate parts together and in a '4 year old kid with a new toy' sort of way I could not resist poking the fibre optic cable out the window and squinting down the camera end of the beast. Low and behold when I inserted the 0.15mm. slit and 600 line/mm. grating I could see a small displaced but definite continuous spectrum. Will it actually work? - "Tension mounts and then gets off again"

Sheds is off tomorrow as we have visitors - but maybe at the weekend ?

George 'ever so slightly excited' in Lowestoft

Spent all day in the loft installing a bathroom extraction fan plus ducting. Now I know how Quasimodo felt. Nice gibbous Moon waxing quietly outside but I'm in bed.

Night night Stargazers.

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 .

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.