mcrowle

I imagine it was this one, Hale-Bopp, though it was 1996/7 rather than 1998. I'll dig out the exposure details shortly. Regards, Mike.

For me it's about combining two hobbies, astronomy and photography. Over the years I've moved more towards imaging, but it's for positive reasons: digital imaging has made photography sessions more rewarding and fun than in the days of film in my opinion. (I started both hobbies back in the 80's, so did dabble in astrophotography with film). Having said that, I still manually guide long exposures - though I'm not sure staring at a guide star counts as observing 😀. Regards, Mike.

I'm not sure I have any details to hand now, as it was a long time ago that I sold it. I know that it was made in Japan, but I've not heard any more about the "Panorama" brand. It may have been that the same telescope was marketed by different companies under different brand names. Regards, Mike.

Wow - that takes me back! I had the same model of 'scope back in the 80's. Mine was branded "Panorama", but it had the same spec. and was identical in every detail to the one in your picture, Les. I had many happy years with it, viewing the planets and deep sky objects! I was even able to see the brighter part of the Veil Nebula, with this 'scope and a 20mm eyepiece. Saturn's rings and Jupiter's main belts were no problem, though bear in mind they are low in the sky at the moment and often severely effected by atmospheric turbulence. I eventually sold the 'scope to my brother-in-law in the 90's, having bought a Celestron C8. He gave it to his grandson recently - so it's still in the family, 37 years later. Regards, Mike.

Yes, gorgeously clear here in Cornwall, with excellent transparency. I have my old C8 outside at the moment, piggybacking a 135mm lens for images of the Gamma Cygni area - while I prepare for my early start for work in the morning. Regards, Mike.

Raining here in mid Cornwall, with heavy stuff expected overnight. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for better conditions later in the week. Regards, Mike.

That's an amazing image, Donal, especially still in-progress! I didn't realise there was so much to capture in Sh2-129. By the way, I also Googled "Squid Nebula" and discovered there's an Aussie band of the same name. That's 2 things learned 😀. Regards, Mike.

Cloud was thickening all the while for me. I went to bed at 1:30am, having done nothing astronomy-related (except reading threads here on SGL of course ). However, CO and the Met Office both have Wednesday night forecast clear - it's a work night, so an early morning start, but I'll try to get an hour or two in if possible. Regards, Mike.

Like Ouroboros, I'm in Cornwall - and totally clouded out. Disappointing, as I had high hopes for this bank holiday weekend. I did get the opportunity to view and image Comet C/2018 W2 Africano on Friday night, at least until the waning Moon rose, but it looks like that will be it for now. Good luck, all, anyway! Regards, Mike.

Wow - 20 years ago today, that's hard to believe. I was at home in mid Cornwall, under the grey stuff. Like Gus I did get a glimpse of the partial eclipse some time after 3rd contact, but that was it. Fortunately, inspired by that disappointment, I have been able to travel and see a hand-full of subsequent eclipses. Regards, Mike.

I was there last month, for a week of fantastically clear nights and glorious Milky Way views! I intend to post a selection of the resulting astrophotos at some point. In the meantime, hope you too have clear skies, John, and enjoy your visit to Mt Teide! Regards, Mike.

Thanks, Chris. Yes, the mount is a Losmandy G-11, which I like a lot: it's so solid and yet not too heavy to manage! Regards, Mike Crowle

Here's my Meade 127mm ED Apo, bought in 2009. I've balanced the colour here for the white telescope tube, which is lit by house lights while the background is lit by the Moon. A Meade 5x Barlow is fitted, as I'd planned to image Mars and Saturn via a webcam (though in the event it clouded up before I could do anything). Regards, Mike Crowle.

By the way, I too, like Craig above, was hanging an extra weight off the counterweight bar for balance. It didn't seem ideal but worked surprisingly well :). I've since added a gym weight instead. Regards, Mike

My Revelation/GSO 12" Newt on a Losmandy G11. Wish I'd fitted the finder and eyepiece before taking the photo so it looked more ready for action, but never mind! The proportions are a little distorted, as the photo was taken at close-quarters with a wide-angle lens.

Things started to look promising by 6pm, so I packed the 70-300mm lens (with filter) and Coronado SolarMax 40 and headed to a nearby footpath where I could (in theory) see the Sun. The cloud closed in again before it could expose the Sun, but I decided to wait until the end of the event - just in case. Luckily, around 7:30pm the Sun shone through the cloud for just long enough to get a couple of images that showed Mercury very close to the southern limb! I didn't even try to set up the SolarMax, unfortunately, in those cloudy conditions.

Congratulations to those having seen and/or photographed the Transit. I've been enjoying the images, and the on-line coverage. I still have my fingers crossed here in Cornwall. I've been keeping an eye on the weather radar all afternoon: it does look like more broken cloud will move in later - but will it be soon enough? Still raining at the moment, but I have my lens filtered up and ready to go!

Morning all. I've taken a day's holiday for the transit, but the forecast has been very poor down here in Cornwall. Current forecast is 100% cloud for the duration of the event, before starting to clear 1 hour after fourth contact : http://clearoutside.com/forecast/50.36/-4.74 I suppose I used up all my weather luck last year, with the March partial solar eclipse and September total lunar eclipse being cloud-free. Good luck, all, with the transit!