Hawksmoor

Still grim astronomy blight weather here on the East Coast but on the whole a productive day.  Made a metal sleeve from a bit of scrap stainless and fixed it over a crack in the ABS on Mrs Hawksmoor's Jenome sewing machine. Said crack was preventing the cotton from moving correctly and this in turn was causing stitches to be dropped and some stitches not to work at all!  Generally it is a well made machine but why use ABS in a location where a moving thread over time is likely to wear a groove and mess everything up?  It now works Igor! and I am in her good books.  The other 'result of the day' was addressing the stripped thread in my x2.5 Barlow. Overtime and due to my real fear that one or other camera was going to drop out and fall to its doom on the concrete paving, I had overtightened and stripped the thread in the soft aluminium. Yet again the £5.99 Tap and Dye set from Lidl's middle aisle has saved the day. I await the M4 al thumb bolt from my friend Mr Amazon Prime as I now have a new M4 threaded hole awaiting its company. Now this small engineering feat may not rate with all you proper engineers but for an ' itinerant artist and bodger' like me, this is a "small step for man but a giant leap for Hawksmoor"

My birthday today. Yay!

Spent the day making arty farty metal stuff in the backyard under a very blue sky. Mrs H made lobster linguine and caramel panna cotta (served sequentially and separately) for tea and I watched a fullish Moon rise through the window as we ate.

All in all a very fine day for an old bloke in Lowestoft next the sea.

Strange week!  Managed to play an active part in the demise of my old Black and Decker Jigsaw and an inexpensive Chinese mini-vice.  Christmas crafting has its consequences.

No electrics in the backyard thanks to storm Babet accessing some junction boxes previously water-tight. Old boxes removed and new ordered and awaiting delivery. Wiring made safe, jeans covered in mud and one old man needing a rest. So wouldn't you know it - the first clear night in weeks.

Two hours of more or less cloud free night sky and the Moon waning over Lowestoft. Too good to miss. This required drastic measures- a long extension lead out the kitchen window and the telescope lives Igor!

Managed my first proper look at Jupiter this season and captured some avi clips with my newish QHY planetary camera. Hopefully all will process well but they call it 'lucky imaging' for a reason.

Mrs H was making jam and baking Christmas cakes today so the house smells great! Now off to bed with the promise of Santa and reindeer in the air.

Nighty night stargazers.

According to Metcheck we are in for 102miles per hour winds this evening in Lowestoft, followed by three days of rain!  Only got snow left to go now! 

George bracing himself in Lowestoft next the sea!

Through a brief break in cloud I observed the ‘old Moon in the arms of the new’ with Venus and Jupiter nearby. Quite beautiful without any visual aids!

George just off to bed in Lowestoft 

Not been up to much astronomy for a while as Mrs. H had her hip replaced yesterday. She is in hospital for a couple of days but doing well! I shall be swapping my personal technical challenges from 'Astro Kit' to 'Washing Machine'. Who would have thought Bosch washing machines would have got so 'digital' over the last 48 years? 

George contemplating a short-medium term period of domestic drudgery in Lowestoft.

Purchased Affinity Photo and am now bravely facing the learning curve. Lets hope my aged brain is up to it! Thing is, once you stop learning and reinventing yourself, 'you become a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard'.

The recent Affinity Photo post on SGL looks very helpful and am awaiting the arrival from FLO of Dave Eagle's Guide.

Nighty night stargazers.

Nice crisp transparent moonless night to bring in November. Had my mini-rig up and running taking some images of the Andromeda group of galaxies with my Altair Astro 66mm Doublet and Canon 600d camera. Now in bed thawing out!

Nighty night Stargazers.

Quite a bright afternoon in Lowestoft today, had a ring doughnut covered in sugar plus a black coffee on the seafront. Nice!

Great night in Lowestoft tonight. Managed to capture some more video clips of Mars. Unfortunately, very similar aspect to the captures I obtained in September. Also captured two videos of the crater Clavius and tried out Topaz DenoiseAI (now purchased) for the first time on a lunar image. Much impressed by how much this software improves high res views of the Moon.

Now in bed and awaiting the arrival of the 'Sandman'.

An unexpected clear night. Went outside and looked up. The Milkway is directly overhead running from Auriga in the east, through Cassiopeia and onto Cygnus in the west. Looking south Pegasus and Mars take pride of place. With the street lights off, M31 is visible to the naked eye. The Pleiades cluster is now quite high in the South-east and Betelgeuse is just visible over our hedge. Winter is on its way!

Nighty night stargazers.

Decided to try out Topaz Denoise AI - Quite impressed by use on a couple of planetary images. Will have a go with some widefield photos tomorrow. Think I may well be investing $99.99 of my 'paper-round' money in this software. If so there will be no more astro investments until 2021. 

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

Nice aurora display over the Shetlands last night. Good views from the new webcam location at Eshaness Lighthouse as well as from old faithfull Cliffcam 3. All at www.Shetland webcams.

Weather tomorrow night predicted fair, so might have a go at Mars and Uranus. Cloudy tonight here on the coast so off to bed.

Night  Night stargazers

George

  Beautiful Mars and waning gibbous Moon conjunction. Took a few images with my Canon DSLR at f=300mm. Interesting how the naked eye and brain can better accommodate the difference in brightness between the Moon and Mars than can the camera. To my eyes Mars shone like a pink jewel whilst the Mare on the Moon were in dark contrast to the southern highlands. My camera, set to show lunar detail, rendered Mars a very dull and tiny disc. Looks like a job tomorrow for 'photo editing software'!

Now in bed in Lowestoft. Nighty night stargazers.

I put up a small gazebo for a socially distanced meal with my daughter and grandchildren. Instantly, the rain became torrential and the wind speed increased to + 50 mph. Erecting a gazebo appears to have a more dramatic impact upon the weather than purchasing a new telescope! Who would have guessed?

George holding on tight to a lifting gazebo in Lowestoft. A bit like the film 'Up' but damper.

Lovely night here on the East Coast. Most unexpected as Metcheck was less than encouraging. Set up my pier mounted scope and managed to capture some video of Saturn and Jupiter. Been a long time since I've done any planetary imaging, so not expecting great results with both planets so low. Plenty of heat was coming off my neighbour's roofs and the planetary images were wobbling all over the place. Decided that I would have to get Mrs Hawksmoor to remove some more hedging if I'm going to be able to image Mars anytime soon. Poor long suffering woman, she deserves better!

Nighty night stargazers wherever you are.

George in bed in Lowestoft.

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.

Cloud remains almost unbroken. Noticed number of reflections being detected by my sdr meteor set up has increased. Clearly the Delta Aquarids and Perseid showers are making there mark. Would be nice if the clouds departed by the night of Perseid maximum so I could capture a few visual images.

Night all and hope the weather is more astro-friendly for you than here in Lowestoft.

Wall to all cloud in Lowestoft tonight. Brought about by Mrs Hawksmoor who kindly trimmed back the honeysuckle on our southern fence in order that I might capture some video clips of Saturn and Jupiter with my pier mounted 5 inch refractor as the gas giants transit the small patch of sky between my two neighbours' roofs.  Sigh!

Also acquired some Nikon 8x40 bins which probably put the tin lid on clear skies of any sort within the forseeable future. GRRRR! 

"Does buying new kit make you feel happier" I'll let you know!

George in murky Lowestoft.

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

Lovely night again after quite a poor day here on the East Coast. Managed to get some views through my 11x80mm bins of the star clouds and Messiers in and around Sagittarius. Scraping the roofs to my south but remarkably clear and steady. Jupiter and Saturn still too low to be observed through my pier mounted refractor, but very bright to the naked eye. Saturn usually dim is surprisingly bright. I don't often get to see Sagittarius from our Backyard, so a bit of a treat. From our front door looking North Comet NEOWISE is easily visible with the naked eye even before the street lighting is extinguished. Very beautiful in the environs of the Great Bear. Not much photography tonight, just looking and enjoying the beauty of it all. Fabulous evening under the stars!

Night all stargazers wherever you are.

When you see wide field photos  in AN and S@N they usually have a wonderful foreground landscape.  A wild lake, a dark forest,  a deserted beach with abandoned lighthouse or an engineering masterpiece all adding grandeur to the night sky phenomenon pictured. So tonight I give you Comet 2020F3 NEOWISE over my neighbours' guttering - awesome !