February 22nd 2140 GMT Mixed Session
I used Procyon as a "sighter" in an attempt to capture
the moon. However, cloud obliterated the moon.
I took two videos of Jupiter, one showing the moons and the other
the cloud belts, both at 4x zoom. I shot longer ones for 1 minute and 1 jiffy
(93 seconds) to combat the moving cloud. I combined them using GIMP.
Despite moving cloud, I had another go at galaxy NGC2903, which
was playing hide-and-seek through the clouds. I had quite a few discarded
frames.
February 17th 1200 GMT
A binocular scan of the solar disc revealed a single, large sunspot.
February 16th 2030 GMT Jupiter and Deep Sky
I took two videos of Jupiter with the Seestar S50, with the intention of stacking them. One showed the moons at 2x zoom and the other showed the cloud belts at 4x zoom. I then combined the two images.
I did a one minute integration on M95 to find the right part of
the sky. It showed very little.
I aimed the Seestar S50 at the galaxy NGC2903. Unfortunately, the battery died before I could save an image on my smartphone. However, I found an image on the Seestar. I did not know how long the integration was. I tidied in GraXpert and GIMP.
February 16th 2026 1050 GMT Sun
The Seestar S50 not only failed to find the sun but was a long way from it. Instead, I took out my 127mm Maksutov and DSLR camera and took some full disc shots. There was a single, large sunspot to the right of centre that I spotted through my camera viewfinder.
February 15th 2230 GMT Leo Triplet
Conditions were not perfect but I decided to have a go at photographing the entire triplet of galaxies (M65, M66 and NGC3278) in Leo, using the Seestar S50 in Framing mode. I stacked 5 integration runs, the longest 60 minutes, in Deep Sky Stacker. I finished in GIMP.
February 15th 2045 GMT Jupiter and Sigma Cancri (Double Star)
There was clear-ish sky but with some moving cloud.
I took two videos of Jupiter with the Seestar S50, one with moons and one showing cloud belts. I then combined the two images.
I shot the double star Sigma Cancri with the Seestar S50. I stacked 5 integration runs in Deep Sky Stacker, the longest 10 minutes. I tidied in GIMP. The two brightest stars form the double but each have stars close to them. I'm not sure whether they are true companions or a line-of-sight effect. I was also drawn to the snake-like asterism in the centre of the image.
February 15th 1510 GMT Sun
Conditions were worse than the day before. Despite the moving cloud, I managed to see two sunspots but not at the same time! I made a drawing from binocular observation.
February 14th 1120 GMT Sun
It was not a good start. The Seestar S50 failed to find the sun and a binoculars scan failed to show any sunspots.
February 13th 0110 GMT M101
Although there was moving cloud, I had a go at the galaxy M101 with the Seestar S50. I took lots of images but only used the last 5 in my stack, as the sky had cleared for a while. The total integration time was 228 minutes and I tidied up in GraXpoert and GIMP.
February 12th 2345 GMT Regulus and M60
It cleared somewhat after a shower but it was still hazy.
I used the Seestar S50 to photograph Regulus with its faint companion star. I stacked 5 images for a total integration time of 20 minutes and tidied up in GraXpert an d GIMP. I did not know whether a faint star at the 2 o' clock position was another faint companion (Regulus has two) or a background star.
I tried to photograph the double star Algeiba in Leo but
could not split it.
I photographed the galaxy M60 in Virgo with the Seestar S50, a Messier object that I had not photographed before. I stacked many images in Deep Sky Stacker, the longest integration time being 31 minutes and finished in GIMP.
February 12th 1840 GMT Jupiter
I took videos of Jupiter showing the moons, then the cloud belts. I then combined the shots.
February 8th 0140 GMT Moon
Conditions were poor, with only the bright star Arcturus
visible. I shot a video of the moon with the Seestar S50 lasting a jiffy (93) seconds. I
used a longer run to combat the conditions.
February 7th 0030 GMT Moon
In a cloudy sky, almost devoid of stars, a waning gibbous moon was low in the south east. As there was a lot of moving cloud, I ran the video from the Seestar S50 for one minute, rather than the normal 30 seconds.
February 6th 2000 GMT Jupiter, Asteroids and Double Stars
Fortunately, it remained clear-ish and I re-did my Jupiter shoot.
As earlier in the evening, I could not use 4x zoom with the Seestar S50 as the
moons were spread out. I noticed that the positions of the moons had changed
since the last session, I also did another video of the cloud belts, in case
the twilight shot did not work.
I combined the two images.
As I often do in dubious weather conditions, I decided to photograph double stars, as they are easier to get results from than faint galaxies and nebulae. I used the Skymap function to find them.
My first object with the Seestar S50 was the asteroid Psyche, which was near the star SZ Tauri and was the second brightest object in the image. I stacked 3 images for a total integration time of 10 minutes and tidied in GraXpert and GIMP.
I photographed the double star Delta Tauri with the Seestar S50. I stacked 3 images for a total integration time of 12 minutes and tidied in GraXpert and GIMP.
I photographed the double star Theta Tauri with the Seestar S50.
I photographed the double star Sigma Tauri with the Seestar S50.
I photographed the asteroid Hygeia with the Seestar S50.
I photographed the double star Omega Tauri with the Seestar S50. I stacked 3 images for a total integration time of 17 minutes and tidied in GraXpert and GIMP.
I photographed the double star Mintaka, in Orion's belt with the Seestar S50. With the primary star being bright and the secondary being close, I processed a single image of 1 minute integration.
As it is a close double star, I used Scenery mode and 4x zoom with
the Seestar S50, trying both still images and video. The still images showed the double quite well but no background stars.
The stacked video in Scenery mode produced the same result as the still image.
I photographed the double star Phi Orionis with the Seestar S50. I stacked 3 images for a total integration time of 11 minutes and tidied in GraXpert and GIMP. The third bright star on the top right is not related.
I photographed the double star 23 Orionis with the Seestar S50.
As 23 Orionis is a close double star, I used Scenery mode and 2x zoom with the Seestar S50.
I photographed the double star Iota Orionis with the Seestar S50.
Cloud moved in and it started to drizzle, ending the session. This explains why the above image is fuzzy.
February 6th 1800 GMT Jupiter
After persistent rain, sometimes heavy, the sky cleared somewhat
at dusk. I would not normally shoot Jupiter at dusk but, with the risk of
further cloud later, I proceeded. I shot two videos, as usual, one showing the
moons (this time at 2x zoom, as the moons were too far apart to use my usual 4x) and the other showing the cloud belts, or at least attempting to.
February 4th 1340 GMT Sun
February 1st 2030 GMT Moon and Jupiter
The conditions were poor but I managed to photograph Jupiter with the Seestar S50, taking one video of the moons and the other the cloud belts.
I took a full disc video of the moon.
