HOORAY - THE DAYS ARE GETTING LONGER!

[paulastro]

Well, it is better for solar observers.  A nice sunrise this morning, though the forecast indicates I'll be lucky if I manage to see the  sun again until after Christmas 🙄.

 

[Ouroboros]

2 seconds longer today than yesterday apparently. 🙃

[paulastro]

Well, it's a start 😊.

[DaveGibbons]

I like many others Paul love the majesty of a clear dark night  but hate the deep dark day's of winter , if only we could live in perpetual spring! 🌝

[Nigella Bryant]

Yep, us solar viewer's can't wait, lol. Yay. It's difficult at the mo with the sun so low down I've only an hour and a half window between tree's and the horizon. Image taken in November.

[DaveS]

Depressing. The nights are getting shorter with no clear sky in sight for as far as the forecasts run ☹️.

Is there really any point in astronomy from this wretched island?

[paulastro]

44 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Yep, us solar viewer's can't wait, lol. Yay. It's difficult at the mo with the sun so low down I've only an hour and a half window between tree's and the horizon. Image taken in November.

Thanks Nigella, lovely photo.

[Nigella Bryant]

30 minutes ago, DaveS said:

Depressing. The nights are getting shorter with no clear sky in sight for as far as the forecasts run ☹️.

Is there really any point in astronomy from this wretched island?

As far as night observing I bought a new mount in September not used it in anger since apart from polar alignment. I find there's more opportunities for solar than night but that might be because if there's a break in the clouds I'm awake to see it and open up the obsy. 

[paulastro]

36 minutes ago, DaveS said:

Depressing. The nights are getting shorter with no clear sky in sight for as far as the forecasts run ☹️.

Is there really any point in astronomy from this wretched island?

Keep the faith Dave, and YES there is!  Good skies will come however bad you think it is now, and you'll be glad you hung in there.  Much as in life generally really 🙂.

PS If you have a grab and go set up  ready to roll, it's amazing the number of brief clear periods you will have. 

Edited December 22, 2021 by paulastro

[Dixie]

This has been a bleak spell of weather.  Last time I saw the sun was a week a go and last night I stayed up beyond 3am on the forecast of clearing skies. True I could just about see the moon and one of two of the very brightest stars, but transparency was so terrible it amounted to a joke. Now more cloud for the foreseeable, plus fog.   Hmm, time to bring the big scope insides for a little while. Suspect we may lose yet another dark sky period.  How many times has that happened in the last few years?  For anyone else living in Yorkshire - I feel your pain. 

[DaveS]

The kit I have in my obsy cost roughly as much as my car (Which wasn't cheap). Whether it's *worth* as much as my car depends on your definition of "worth".

Looking at my folders on the NAS, my last session was on the 1st of this month when I captured 4 hours [OIII] on M1 to go with the 6 hours H-alpha I got back in Jan / Feb. Yep, that's what I have to think about now, building a deep image is something for a multi-year project.

[paulastro]

3 hours ago, Dixie said:

This has been a bleak spell of weather.  Last time I saw the sun was a week a go and last night I stayed up beyond 3am on the forecast of clearing skies. True I could just about see the moon and one of two of the very brightest stars, but transparency was so terrible it amounted to a joke. Now more cloud for the foreseeable, plus fog.   Hmm, time to bring the big scope insides for a little while. Suspect we may lose yet another dark sky period.  How many times has that happened in the last few years?  For anyone else living in Yorkshire - I feel your pain. 

Dixie, I live in Yorkshire but I don't have any pain for you to feel because of any bad weather that comes my way. 

Over many years I have  learned to be grateful for the observing opportunities I have, rather than  becoming upset when my plans might be thwarted.  The universe isn't there for my convenience, and it owes me nothing. 

 

[F15Rules]

7 hours ago, DaveGibbons said:

I like many others Paul love the majesty of a clear dark night  but hate the deep dark day's of winter , if only we could live in perpetual spring! 🌝

Agreed, Dave. 

But with winter, not spring, constellations!☺️

Dave

[JeremyS]

18 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Agreed, Dave. 

But with winter, not spring, constellations!☺️

Dave

I can see my favourite asterism all year round Dave: the handle of the Big Dipper

 

[paulastro]

7 hours ago, DaveGibbons said:

I like many others Paul love the majesty of a clear dark night  but hate the deep dark day's of winter , if only we could live in perpetual spring! 🌝

I agree with you Dave.  Just imagine having a wonderful thin crescent moon high in the evening sky every month 😊.

[F15Rules]

19 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I can see my favourite asterism all year round Dave: the handle of the Big Dipper

 

Yes, I love it too, Jeremy, but at this time of year in the evening it's obscured from view by tall conifers and I just can't get a handle on it at all!

Dave

[JeremyS]

31 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Yes, I love it too, Jeremy, but at this time of year in the evening it's obscured from view by tall conifers and I just can't get a handle on it at all!

Dave

And it will be a while until we can enjoy this Dave 

[Mr Spock]

Just remember, because of our clocks not being synchronised with the Earths orbit, nights have been drawing out a while while mornings are still drawing in. Overall we are round the corner though 

[jjohnson3803]

I'll vote for dark at 7PM and sunrise at 7AM - perpetual equinoxes.  Not much chance of me moving closer to the equator though.

[Second Time Around]

19 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Just remember, because of our clocks not being synchronised with the Earths orbit, nights have been drawing out a while while mornings are still drawing in. Overall we are round the corner though 

Yep, at our latitude  the earliest sunset was on December 12th, the latest sunrise will be on December 31st.   The winter solstice will be halfway in between.

Doesn't make any difference  to the almost perpetual cloud  though!

[kirkster501]

On 22/12/2021 at 11:08, DaveS said:

The kit I have in my obsy cost roughly as much as my car (Which wasn't cheap). Whether it's *worth* as much as my car depends on your definition of "worth".

Looking at my folders on the NAS, my last session was on the 1st of this month when I captured 4 hours [OIII] on M1 to go with the 6 hours H-alpha I got back in Jan / Feb. Yep, that's what I have to think about now, building a deep image is something for a multi-year project.

Yes, I feel the same.  Indeed, I'm not buying any more astronomy equipment.  My last purchase was a Lunt60/B1200 in June and I have used that a heck of a lot more than I have my night time gear.  I'd love to create a FSQ85 and a TEC140 dual rig with two of each scope but it is a complete waste of money in the UK.

[kirkster501]

20 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Just remember, because of our clocks not being synchronised with the Earths orbit, nights have been drawing out a while while mornings are still drawing in. Overall we are round the corner though 

Yeah, why is that?????  I have often wondered and used to think it was symmetrical about the solstice but it isn't.

[Mr Spock]

18 minutes ago, kirkster501 said:

Yeah, why is that?????  I have often wondered and used to think it was symmetrical about the solstice but it isn't.

It's because the Earth's orbit is elliptical. It moves quicker around its orbit in the winter and slower in the summer. The earth rotates at the same speed each day. That means sometimes the rotation is ahead, and sometimes behind the distance travelled - but our clocks stay the same. So what we see is the sun rising and setting at different clock times as a result.

[jjohnson3803]

30 minutes ago, kirkster501 said:

Yes, I feel the same.  Indeed, I'm not buying any more astronomy equipment. 

Wait, there's desirable equipment in stock somewhere?  Where is this mythical land of which you speak?

(In all fairness to FLO and others, I know it's not the vendors' fault and there is some nice kit out there.  For me though, everything I'm currently interested in is out of stock, on backorder, coming soon, more on the way, or delivery unknown.)

[Owmuchonomy]

1 hour ago, kirkster501 said:

Yeah, why is that?????  I have often wondered and used to think it was symmetrical about the solstice but it isn't.

As @Mr Spocksays, known as the 'Mean Sun and 'True Sun' difference.  Clocks are set to the Mean Sun.