October

Oct 30th 1130 GMT

At last, the Sun arose from the mists of morning. I took some full disc and close-up shots of the Sun in hydrogen alpha light with my PST.

 

MORE TO COME...

Oct 29th 2120 GMT

I moved the camera to aim at Auriga. I stacked 160 images to capture the constellation.

 

 

Oct 29th 2020 GMT

I aimed my DSLR at the polar regions at 18mm focal length, ISO 6400 and 6 seconds exposure. Except I didn't set the focal length to 18mm but 55 instead. This reduced the field of view so meteor detection was almost impossible. Still, I managed to stack 255 frames in Microsoft ICE to get this image.

 

 

Oct 29th 1900 GMT

 
Following a suggestion on the East Midlands Stargazers board, I tried using ISO 100 and 1/400 second exposure on the Moon with my Mak and DSLR at 1.54m focal length. I stacked 200 frames.

October 29th 1300 GMT

 

This was my first observation since the end of daylight savings. I checked the Sun in hydrogen alpha light in clear conditions. The disc was quiet but I could see some contrast at the edges. I took full disc and close-up shots.

Oct 28th 1110 GMT

 
I checked the Sun with my PST under hazy conditions. It was quite band, so I took full disc shots only.

Oct 27th 2200 GMT

While my camera was snapping away, I had a look round the sky in my binoculars. Although I could see parts of the Milky Way, it was rather hazy. With Taurus clear of the horizon, the obvious targets were the Pleiades (M45) and Hyades. I could only see about 20 Pleaides, although the Hyades showed well, as usual. Melotte 20, being bright and loose, like the Hyades, showed well but the Perseus Double Cluster and M34 were barely visible. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) was high but quite faint. I checked out Albireo and the Coathanger before finishing.

Oct 27th 2010 GMT

 

I hoped to catch a late Orionid meteor or an early Taurid. I set my DSLR at 18mm focal length, ISO 6400 and 4 seconds exposure and left my intervalometer to take 399 frames.

At 2045 GMT, I caught a firework by Perseus.

I stacked 250 images using Microsoft ICE to get this message of Perseus.

Oct 27th 1955 GMT

I did a shoot of the Moon with my Mak and DSLR. I used 1540mm focal length, ISO 400 and 1/1600 second exposure.

 

 

October 27th 0900 GMT

I checked the Sun with my PST. It appeared quite bland but there seemed to be some features near the bottom limb that was blinking in and out of view. I took some full disc frames plus some selected close-ups.

October 25th 0930 GMT

I checked the Sun in hydrogen alpha light. I could not see the sunspot. Although the solar disc was fairly quiet, there seemed to be some minor activity around the solar limb. I took close-up and quadrant frames.

 

October 25th 0845 GMT

 I photographed the Sun with my Mak and DSLR. The focal length was 1.54m, ISO 400 and 1/4000 second exposure. I caught a faint sunspot near the lower limb. No wonder I could not see it in my binoculars.

 

 

Oct 25th 0625 GMT

Before leaving home, I bin scanned Venus in the dawn sky. Its apparent size was very small and I could not differentiate its phase from a full disc.

Oct 23rd 1020 GMT

I saw a small sunspot on the Big Bear images but I was not able to see it with my binoculars.

Oct 21st 0920 GMT

I checked the Sun in hazy conditions in hydrogen alpha light with my PST. I could not see any features, so just took full disc shots.

 

 

Oct 20th 0950 GMT

The Sun appeared through a gap in the clouds, so I managed to take one full disc shot with my PST before cloud rolled in again.

 

Unfortunately, my only image caught cloud and I could not be sure whether any "features" were real.

Oct 17th 0755 GMT

The Sun was low down and in haze. I checked it with my PST but the image was faint. I took full disc images only.

Oct 17th 0630

I took a few frames of the waning crescent moon with my DSLR at 300mm focal length, 1/4000 second exposure and ISO 800.

 

 

Oct 16th 1940 GMT

The storm called Ophelia was grabbing the headlines but there were some clear patches. To go with the Pegasus shots I took, I used the same settings as usual and aimed at Andromeda. Unfortunately, Deep Sky Stacker produced the dreaded vertical lines, so I stacked 16 images using Microsoft ICE.

 

 

I moved to Aquila. Unfortunately, the lens had misted and really needed a clean. I stacked 11 light frames and 18 dark frames but cropped out Aquila, Dephinus and Vulpecula as separate images.

 

 

October 16th 1405 GMT

After a cloudy and hazy morning, thin cloud was moving across the Sun in the afternoon. I tried my luck with my PST and took full disc and close-up frames.

 

 

Oct 15th 1515 GMT

It finally cleared in the afternoon but the Sun was already low down. I checked the Sun with my PST but I could not see any detail and the image was faint. I took some full disc shots only.

 

 

October 14th 1950 GMT

I set a camera aimed to the north of Pegasus at 18mm focal length, 30 seconds exposure and ISO 800.

 

I caught a sporadic meteor at 2004 GMT.

 

I used 30 light frames and 18 dark frames to get this image of Pegasus and its surroundings.

 

At 2030 GMT I moved the camera to Perseus. I only managed 6 frames before cloud rolled in. Although I caught the main stars of Perseus and Cassiopeia, it was hardy a classic.

 
I aimed the camera at Aquila but did not get anything, due to cloud.

October 12th 2045 GMT

I took a few darks then set my camera at 18mm focal length, ISO 800 and 30 seconds exposure and aimed it at the north polar regions. I took 4 dark frames and used 9 light frames (later ones being clouded out). I cropped out a lot of skyglow and ended up with Cassiopeia, with the Perseus Double Cluster to the bottom right.

 

 

October 11th 2015 GMT

I left a camera out aimed at Draco in the unlikely hope of catching a Draconid meteor. My settings were ISO 6400, 18mm focal length and 2 seconds exposure.

 

I didn't catch so much as an aircraft trail but I stacked 399 images 50 at a time (49 on the last one) and stacked the eight stacks. I ended up with most of Draco and Ursa Minor.

 

Oct 7th 1520 GMT

I had another look at the Sun through my Coronado PST. Although the solar disc was bland, I saw some shading but still considered the level of activity too low to take close-ups. I caught my first prominence for ages, though!

 

 

October 7th 0930 GMT

 
I checked the Sun in hydrogen alpha light with my PST. The solar disc looked bland, so just took some full disc shots.

October 6th 1115 GMT

I checked the Sun with my Mak and DSLR at 1540mm focal length, ISO 400 and 1/4000 second exposure.

 

 

Oct 6th 0815 GMT

I checked the Sun in hydrogen alpha light with my PST. The solar disc was bland, apart from the sunspot was about to rotate off. I took some full disc frames plus some close-ups of the region surrounding the sunspot.

October 5th 2010 GMT

The Moon was full and I went out with my DSLR and Mak. I took 124 frames at 1540mm focal length, ISO 400 and 1/4000 second exposure.

 

October 5th 1210 GMT

I bin scanned the Sun in a clear sky and could only see one large sunspot.

 

 

Oct 2nd 1950 GMT

There was a lot of cloud around but some clear patches to the north. I set up my DSLR and intervalometer to take multiple exposures to the north east at ISO 800 18mm focal length and 40 seconds exposure. I stacked 33 images to catch Perseus rising and the surrounding constellations.

 

 

Oct 2nd 1950 GMT

There was a lot of cloud around but some clear patches to the north. I set up my DSLR and intervalometer to take multiple exposures to the north east at ISO 800 18mm focal length and 40 seconds exposure.

 

Phil's Writing: Current Projects and Activities

Introduction

I announced that I was starting a new book some time ago. I started it and have done very little about it since. This is not because of total laziness, although I have to admit it has been a factor! The short answer is that my "day job" has kept me very busy with sometimes more than full-time hours plus as much as 3 hours' driving on top. I also do volunteer work proof-reading for the International Meteor Organisation and I'm also an active amateur astronomer. I also have a family who I like to spend time with. To see a list of books I've had published so far, click here.

Updates are listed most recent first. PAGE DOWN to view.

Being an Astronomer

This has been in the pipeline for nearly two years. Although I have added a few words lately, it is still at a very early stage and I have not included any photographs and diagrams, both of which I will eventually need. Despite the slow progress, I consider it will be a great beginner book when finished, even if it is after I retire! The idea is to really get to grips with what being an astronomer is about without re-hashing a load of data that is readily available on the internet or a public library. I am of the honest opinion that there are some excellent beginner books around but most fall into the trap of trying to do too much. Yes, the Big Bang is terribly interesting and important but it won't help you to find Mars in the night sky.

Phil's Scribblings

Not many astronomy writers would admit this BUT ... most astronomy books become out of date very quickly. Amateur astronomy is changing very quickly and all of the time. Many of us are actively trying out new equipment and new ideas. At the time of writing, I was experimenting with leaving a DSLR camera unattended while it takes repeated photos of the sky to capture meteors "on film". Yes, publishers can produce new editions but this is an expensive business. What I have done instead is to provide supplementary material for free on my website. This material is in the form of articles and booklets and can be read alone or can be read with my published works for updated information. Yes, this promotes my books but also makes them more useful for those who have bought and read them. For details, click here.

As an example, DSLR cameras were prohibitively expensive for most amateur astronomers but this is no longer the case. I have written a booklet about using a DSLR on its own and have updated it recently with information about photographing meteors.

Updates

Dec 27th Well that's it

I'm starting a new thread for 2018. As 2017 was drawing to a close, writing was on the back burner, as I was busy with Christmas. In many ways, 2017 had been a bad year, worse than the bad 2016 but nowhere near as bad as the truly awful 2004 or the evil 1985. The only silver lining was that I had started writing again. Despite some commercial success in the past, I am now writing for writing's sake, a bit like the pop musician who decided to go serious. "Being an Astronomer" was well on its way but I was expecting a few twists and turns before it was finished. Meanwhile, I was planning to resurrect a couple of old projects and make then into a new one.

Dec 19th Being an Astronomer

Being well into the second draft, I feel I am over half-way. I am adding diagrams and photos, which are both bringing the book to life. I will also include an index and glossary. Of course, life outside of writing goes on, with work, family and Christmas, not to mention the odd astronomy photograph.

Dec 11th

I reached a major milestone today by finishing the first draft of "Being an Astronomer".

Dec 6th

In line with my original idea, I have decided to write a chapter about how to follow on from being a beginner. I've used some ideas from a previous attempt at a beginner book but not kept any content. Really, the amateur astronomy world has changed, especially with astrophotography becoming more affordable.

Dec 2nd

Strange thing this writing. I finished my first draft of the original content and feel in somewhat of a quandary. Even with photos, it will result in a very small book. Now do I leave it as is and just revise it and add the photos or do I add some extra content that might make it not really quite a beginner book anymore?

Nov 30th

I added a new article on the star cluster in Gemini, M35:

http://www.philippughastronomer.com/M35.pdf

Apart from that, I'm doing my normal end of month stuff, so expect the full report, summary and video soon:

http://www.philippughastronomer.com/M35.pdf

Nov 29th

Work and life got a bit busy, so no progress on "Being an Astronomer". I updated my article on the Pleaides: http://www.philippughastronomer.com/PhilsScribblings_MeMyselfAndMessier_M45.html and my one on the Beehive: http://www.philippughastronomer.com/PhilsScribblings_MeMyselfAndMessier_M44.html

Nov 23rd

I made a lot of progress on my Deep Sky chapter on 22nd. I have finished with stars and am now writing about star clusters. I also expanded the introductory section. The size of the book seems rather small but I'm thinking the later sections will end up being large when I move to more intermediate topics.

One of the most difficult aspects of being a writer is when you have more than one idea at the same time. This is one of the reasons why we all have more unfinished, abandoned books than finished ones. On the other hand, not all abandoned projects are wasted. I had started writing beginner books long before I started "Being an Astronomer". The reason I did not get far was because publishers were not interested. Now self-publishing is now a viable option, I started again but found that the amateur astronomical landscape has changed so much that I needed to start again.

With one possible personal future severely restricting the time I have available to write, I need to finish "Being an Astronomer" as far as possible. Having a few minutes to tweak sections and add photos is much easier than having a spare hour or so to complete a book section.

Nov 18th

I have started on my Deep Sky chapter and have written about being able to view and photograph objects from suburbia.

Nov 15th

Work had taken over, so progress had been slow. I had just finished small objects and thought I'd finished the Solar System chapter when I realised that I needed to add a new section on aurorae, rainbows, etc.

Nov 2nd

As work was quiet, I finished the planetary section of "Being an Astronomer". The Sun is next. I must be careful not to over-blow the section as it is the area I know most about.

Nov 1st

Being an Astronomer is progressing steadily. I added the piece about focussing in the Basics chapter and am now writing about Venus, having finished Jupiter and Saturn.

I have written the October summary but cannot upload it yet, as there are problems with my hosting service.

Oct 26th

I was going great guns on my Jupiter section then realised I needed to include some further information in an earlier section! That's writing for you.

Oct 23rd

I have just written the introduction to the planets and am now writing about Jupiter.

Oct 20th

Well, I finished my section on the Moon. It was a bit tricky debunking the "supermoon" myth and explaining libration.

Oct 15th

I am now on the Moon section of the Solar System chapter. It is tricky because I need to give enough information to make the section helpful, without repeating a lot of stuff that is readily available on the internet and in other books I have written.

Oct 7th

First draft of "The Basics" now complete. I felt tempted to start writing an article about choosing a telescope but, yes, it would take ages to do and would just be like every other "expert's" attempt to do the same thing. Well on with the book this week, I guess.

Oct 1st

I was working on my full write-up for September that would end up under an update to my 2017 retrospective. I was finishing processing and was planning to produce my video.

As I was starting a new job, I was expecting slow progress on writing for a while.

Sep 27th

I re-visited my most recent chapter, entitled "The Basics". To be honest something was missing. As I've described above, I did not want to re-hash a lot of information about the constellations that is in the public domain and is free. Yet, on the other hand, I needed to do something to address what was missing. I went back to revise my summary and plan two new sections. I'm going to describe how to use star charts and describe just some of the more interesting constellations. This balances the need to provide enough information without making the book too large and not well focussed.

Unfortunately, yes, the book WILL take longer to complete but, at this stage of my writing, I'd prefer to write a book that really addresses the needs of the audience that they cannot readily address elsewhere.

Well I've done something that most writers tell you NOT to do. I made a few tweaks to a chapter. I felt that there was the question of asterisms that I just did not address. Yes, I also changed a bit of grammar while doing it. Conventional wisdom says you should write it all and THEN tweak it but I find it better to include ideas when I have them before I forget them!

Sep 27th

I finished my proof-reading for the International Meteor Organisation.

Sep 25th

Now just over halfway through proof-reading the latest issue of the IMO newsletter. To be honest, some of it is a bit over my head but there's a load of interesting findings. For example, there are significant variations in annual meteor counts.