December 2012 video

I took the odd shot during December and reprocessed a lot of older shots. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql5AQsNoEns&list=PL--6h1svyG-FeycYHvs0ZwCSHl3LAi1xg

Zenith shot

First light of 2013 was a zenith shot taken at 0100 GMT.

Sun August 19th 2011 reprocessed

I reprocessed a solar close-up from August 19^th 2011.

Sun from August 2011

I reprocessed a solar image from August 19^th 2011.

Moon August 17th 2011

I took lots of full disc frames of the Moon on August 17^th 2011, too and ended up with a nice image again.

Zenith shots December 29th

I did a zenith shot at 1845 GMT and, although I captured a cloud, there were lots of stars.

I did another zenith shot at 2010 GMT, after a cloudy patch.

 

Moon August 16th 2011

I took no less than 49 lunar full disc photos on August 16^th 2011 and about 40 of them were combined to produce the final image.

Prominences August 15th 2011

I reprocessed a solar image from August 15^th 2011 but was only able to capture the prominences.

Reprocessed solar shot

I reprocessed a full disc hydrogen alpha shot from August 14^th 2011.

Important Announcement

I may not post regularly over the next few days, as my Dad is ill, having broken his hip after a fall. He is due to have an operation tomorrow. Right now, the Moon and Jupiter are begging to be webcammed but I can't muster the energy to go out.

I may revisit some old shots this week but I'll see how it goes.

Lunar mosaic from August 9th 2011

I reprocessed some lunar close-ups, also from August 9^th and made them into a mosaic.

Moon and Jupiter revisited 1820 GMT

I took a further shot of the Moon and Jupiter at 1820 GMT and noticed that they had closed quite a lot during the day.

Christmas quick shoot 0100 GMT

I popped out for a quick break in the festivities at 0100 GMT and snapped the Moon with Jupiter, a zenith shot and a lunar halo.

Old lunar shot for Christmas

I reprocessed a full disc lunar shot from August 9^th 2011.

Composite solar shot

I used my reprocessed images from the day before to produce a composite image of the Sun in hydrogen alpha light on August 9^th 2011.

Reprocessed solar photo

I reprocessed another image from August 9^th 2011, this time showing a bit more disc detail.

Reprocessed solar photo

My next reprocessed image was the Sun on August 9^th 2011.

Recycled lunar shots

In the same set of pictures, I found 15 full disc frames corresponding to the frames used to produce the mosaic on 20th. They produced a nice result, too.

Lunar mis-shoot December 21st

Perhaps the hardest lesson I learned on this trip was that the Tasco 76mm Catadioptric is totally unsuitable for astrophotography of any kind. Indeed, my lunar shots through binoculars are much better. OK, I saw some detail on the lunar disc at 2120 GMT but the shot barely captured the “seas”.

Lunar mosaic from August 2011

I found some lunar close-ups dated August 6^th 2011 but were of a different lunar phase to that in the picture I processed the day before. There were 36 of them and I stitched and stacked them to form this mosaic.

Lunar photo reprocessed

I reprocessed a full disc lunar photo from August 6^th 2011.

Solar shot August 6th 2011 reprocessed

I reprocessed the hydrogen alpha image from August 6^th 2011 but managed to capture both disc detail and prominences.

Final solar image from August 3rd 2011

The final solar hydrogen alpha image of August 3^rd 2011 shows the prominences and the nearby disc in close-up.

Moon shoot

By sunset, conditions had deteriorated somewhat and I was out at 1840 GMT checking the Moon visually, I could make out the odd crater with the Cat but, like my previous attempt my images fell far short of what I can do with the Mak. I could make out Jupiter’s disc and one moon but there wasn’t enough light to photograph.

Solar Observation

It cleared enough by 1545 GMT to be able to check the Sun with the Cat. Although some faint sunspots were present on the Big Bear images, I was unable to see them.

Solar disc detail August 3rd 2011

I processed another solar image from August 3^rd 2011. Although it didn’t show the whole solar disc, it provided a nice close-up, with lots of detail.

Nice prominences August 3rd 2011

I reprocessed a solar hydrogen alpha image from August 3^rd 2011. Although I didn’t capture much disc detail, the prominences were good.

Orion December 14th

I had a couple of attempts to catch some Geminids but didn’t see any. At 2315 GMT, I did some zenith shots and stacked them. It was amazing to see Jupiter and Orion overhead!

Solar shot reprocessed

I processed the solar close-up from August 2^nd 2011 and saw a lot of sunspot detail.

Solar shot reprocessed

I reprocessed a white light solar image from August 2^nd 2011 and it showed a surprisingly large amount of detail.

Secomd meteor watch, Procyon and Sirius

I did another watch from outside the hotel from 2320 to 2335 GMT and took some wide field shots of Castor, Pollux and Procyon and then Procyon and Sirius in the hope that I might just catch a meteor. I saw five, mostly faint ones but at 2334 GMT a bright (mag 1) one flashed near Jupiter.

I didn’t catch anything on camera, except Procyon and Sirius together.

Meteor Watch December 12th

I had a quick look outside about 2220 GMT but didn’t see any meteors.

I did a “proper” watch from 2245 to 2300 GMT but was told that they were locking the hotel roof area. I saw a faint Geminid near Procyon at 2256 and another one near Pollux at 2259.

Reprocessed solar image

I reprocessed another solar close-up from August 2^nd 2011.

Meteor watch and constellation shoot December 10th

I went out at 2110 GMT. There was lots of thin cloud about but I was determined to have a go. I took lots of widefield shots of the area in case I caught any meteors “on film” but was also hoping to get some constellation shots. Although the thin cloud thinned enough to show Castor and Pollux, thick cloud moved in from the south at 2135 GMT and ended the session. I did not see any Geminids.

However, I did manage to capture a Geminid on camera, not as I might have expected around Castor and Pollux but to the north of Orion.

I also took some nice widefield shots, starting with Sirius and Canopus and ending with Orion, Taurus, Jupiter and Sirius.

 

Solar image reprocessed

Happy birthday to my Dad (Tom) and Mum-in-law (Maria). I reprocessed another solar hydrogen alpha image from August 2^nd 2011.

Early morning session December 9th

I was up early and out at 0450 GMT. There was thin cloud about but some stars and the Moon were visible, so I shot the zenith and the area around Orion and Sirius.

Unfortunately, none of the shots worked.

I returned at 0515 with my “Cat”. It was hard to photograph the Moon, although the view showed Grimaldi had librated some way from the limb. The practicalities of using a less than sturdy mount and eyepieces with a .965” thread were vastly different to using a Maksutov on an EQ/3 mount. Although the result was disappointing and worse than I’ve done with my binoculars, at least Grimaldi is clearly visible.

I saw Venus through the telescope but its disc was too small to estimate a phase and Mercury was the same. Oh for my Mak and a webcam!

Zenith shot December 8th

I went out again at midnight for a last minute check to see if anything was observable or snappable. Some bright stars were near the zenith but conditions were deteriorating rapidly.

Evening session December 7th

There was some clear sky to the east at about 2130 GMT, so I took the 76mm “Cat” out. Initially, I tried to view Jupiter and it had 2 moons on each side  but the realities of using a mount on top of a light camera tripod soon hit home. I took some photos, more in hope. I was also able to see parts of the Hyades at times, although the Pleiades were clouded out. Amazingly enough, some Hyades shots came out, although they were nowhere near as good as the ones I’d done in November with the Startravel 80 and the stars were faint.

I also took some constellation shots. They were close enough to stitch together, so I was able to capture Jupiter and Orion in the same field.

 

Another reprocessed image under cloudy skies

I reprocessed a close-up from August 2^nd 2011. 2 images were stacked using Registax 6 but two further ones could not combine.