Philip Pugh's Astronomy Blog: November 2018

November 26^th 1125 GMT

It was clear for a change. I checked the Sun but it looked quiet and did not show the granulation features that it showed a few days before.

November 22^nd

I had been “missing in action” for a while, due to bad weather and an even “badder” back! I checked the Sun with my PST. I could see no large-scale features but thought I could see some granulation.

November 14^th 1920 GMT

I aimed the camera at Perseus again, just in hope.

Although it was partially ruined by cloud, I caught a meteor near Melotte 20.

The first few frames were cloudless. It was a nice shot, including Melotte 20 but was very similar to others that I'd taken.

This is the Perseus stitch and stack so far. A few more needed.

November 14^th 1915 GMT

I took some snaps of the Moon with my DSLR.

November 11^th 1625 GMT

I had a look through the Moon with my bins. Mare Crisium was clear of the terminator and some of the southern craters were on show. I followed up with some DSLR shots.

November 11^th 1000 GMT

I had not seen the Sun for a few days but I could not see any detail on the disc in hydrogen alpha light. At least there was some detail in the photo,

November 11th 0000 GMT

It finally cleared after days of cloud and rain but not until late evening. As the air was humid, I did not feel comfortable taking any cameras out. With no planets about, it was time for some binocular browsing with my 15x70 binoculars. Although it was quite clear in the north west and I could see the Milky Way, it was somewhat hazy near the horizon.

Unlike recent sessions, Perseus was riding high overhead and it was rather neck-straining to see Melotte 20. The Double Cluster and M34 looked good, too. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) showed the centre and some structure but I could not spot the Pinwheel (M33). The Hyades and Pleaides (M45) showed well but not any memorably better than usual. I could see the Auriga star clusters M36, M37 and M38, which are not always easy with my binoculars. M35 in Gemini stood out, as did the Orion Great Nebula (M42). I could not see M81 and M82 but spotted the Beehive (M44), although it was low and in the haze.

All-in-all a rather nice session, especially after a lean spell.

November 2^nd 1400 GMT

The Sun was quiet in hydrogen alpha light and, even after a bit of etalon tuning, did not show any details.

November 2^nd 0900 GMT

I took some shots of the Moon with my DSLR.

November 1^st 2115 GMT

I copied the files from the camera and went out again and aimed the camera at northern Perseus with the same settings.

The three sets of frames caught Melotte 20,

This was the composite of the three.

Finally, the stack so far.

November 1^st 1900 GMT

After a stormy day, it cleared in the evening. I aimed my camera at Gamma Andromedae. It was not the intended target but I was hoping to catch more of Perseus. I used 70mm focal length, ISO6400 and 8 seconds’ exposure.

48 frames in, I caught a faint meteor, quite possibly a Taurid.