January 2019

January 30^th 2045 GMT

I went out again and made sure that my aim was better. I caught many different angles and parts of Perseus, hoping that I could get the whole constellation with the set-up. Well, sooner or later.

It seemed more like later, as I only caught the top half of the constellation.

I managed an image of Melotte 20, though from it,

January 30^th 2010 GMT

Further experimentation and investigation showed that the fault in my set-up was the intervalometer and not the camera. I manually set the exposure to 15 seconds and took intermittent frames using a rote shutter release. ISO was 6400 and focal length was 35mm.

Unfortunately, my aim was out again, as I just caught the top of Perseus and caught just the top of the constellation, featuring Melotte 20 again.

January 30^th 1230 GMT

The Sun was diving in and out of clouds but I tried a solar hydrogen alpha shot regardless.

January 28^th 1010 GMT

I had some unexpected clear sky, so did a solar hydrogen alpha shoot. The Sun, however, was quiet.

January 28^th 0015 GMT

I moved the camera towards Cancer, more in hope than expectation. I did not catch the whole constellation but caught a widefield shot of the Beehive (M44).

January 27^th 2100 GMT

Well it was clear but I was having trouble with my intervalometer. I ended up taking a few manual shots every few minutes instead. It was the usual setting for my camera with the new lens. It was at 35mm focal length, ISO 6400 and 15 seconds exposure. I started off at Perseus and let the eastern stars drift across. I didn't get anything useable for publication but caught the star cluster Melotte 20 with Capella and parts of Auriga.

January 27^th 1330 GMT

There were some more clear patches, so I did a solar hydrogen alpha shoot with my PST. This time, I increased the zoom on my DSLR. I had reverted back to my 70-300mm lens and 32mm Plossl. Even though I could not see any detail visually, I caught a sunspot and some albedo features on camera.

January 27th 1225 GMT

Normally, I would just be going to the shops for a few things. I'm rather good at procrastinating on my days off work and had loads of things that needed doing. However, I had been following some sunspots on the Big Bear and Learmonth solar observatories and there was some clear sun in between moving clouds. I could not recall the last time I had attempted to observe the Sun in white light. It had been unusually quiet throughout 2018. I was surprised to see two small sunspots near the solar limb before clouds rolled in again.

January 25^th 2210 GMT

I was still coughing, so I left a camera trap at the southern half of Orion, with the objective of doing a stitch. I set my camera at 35mm focal length. ISO 6400 and 15 seconds exposure. I didn't get any more images but I didn't need a stitch, as I caught the whole constellation.

January 22^nd 2120 GMT

I still had my cold and it was sub-zero, so I snapped the Moon from an open window upstairs, with the same settings as the morning.

Unfortunately, the photos were under-exposed and I was unable to extract much detail.

January 22^{nd 0730 GMT}

The Moon was just past full and low in the west. I took some shots at 300mm focal length, ISO 100 and 1/1000 second exposure. It was rather nice for a DSLR-only shot.

January 21st 0350 GMT

In the run-up to the lunar eclipse, clouds of various thicknesses were moving over it. Sometimes it stayed cloud-free for a few seconds but never quite long enough to take a photo. By 0200 GMT, it had clouded over completely. I woke up in the night to see a partial phase of about 60% but, again, it did not stay cloud-free long enough. Although I woke up twice during totality, it was 100% clouded out.

January 17^th 1240 GMT

It was clear but even the professional solar observatories were showing a quiet sun. I decided to experiment by using a short focal length eyepiece and my new camera lens. It was harder than I thought. I set my camera focal length to 35mm and, after a lot of trial with my Moonfish 15mm focal length eyepiece, finally settled on my Moonfish 20mm eyepiece. As the professional observatories suggested, I had a very quiet Sun.

My first effort at processing was a disaster but I found that my leaving the red channel and using Curves on the green, the result was not too bad.

January 16^th 2040 GMT

Conditions were similar to the evening before, with lots of moving cloud of various thicknesses. I did my usual routine with the Moon and my DSLR. If anything, this was a shade better than the night before.

January 15^th 2115 GMT

There was a temporary gap in the clouds. I was not able to get a telescope onto the Moon, as cloud was encroaching again. I took some shots with my DSLR using various exposure times at ISO 100 and 300mm focal length. Even though I write it myself, I think it was rather nice for a DSLR.

January 13^th 2340 GMT

There were some clear patches in the sky, with some moving cloud. I left my camera out in “constellation mode”: 35mm focal length, ISO 6400 and 15 seconds’ exposure. I aimed it at Cancer and left it to do its work. Cloud ruined most frames but I managed to catch the constellation and I was pleasantly surprised how well the Beehive Cluster (M44) turned out.

I caught the Sickle asterism of Leo in another set of frames.

January 9^th 1820 GMT

The Moon was a thin crescent phase low in the west. I took some shots at 1/250 second exposure 300mm focal length and ISO 100. I tried a few snaps at 1/25 second to see if I could capture earthshine. I didn't but the crescent was OK.

Straight after it was back to the previous night’s settings, as I aimed my camera at the west side of Taurus. This was a stack of the first 50 frames.

This was a stack of the second batch of 50 frames.

I moved the camera after the third batch, so stacked 26 frames.

The rest of the photos were ruined by cloud, so I stacked the three above,

January 9^th 1040 GMT

I checked the Sun with my PST and DSLR. Visually, the Sun had an all-too-familiar feel of being bland and featureless, at least through the eyepiece. However, the photographic result was more illuminating.

January 8^th 2140 GMT

After a bit of teasing, a clear patch of sky opened up in the south. I set my DSLR at 35mm focal length, ISO 6400 and 15 seconds exposure and aimed it at Taurus. I had 48 frames that were unaffected by cloud so stacked them using DSS and finished off in GIMP.

January 7^th 0720 GMT

As I was getting ready to leave for work, I saw Venus in the morning sky. I checked it with my binoculars and the phase seemed to be about 60%.

January 4^th 1800 GMT

After a partially clear day, where the clouds seemed to be gravitationally bound to the Sun, it was a bit more clear in the evening. As I still had a cold, I left my camera searching for Quadrantid meteors while I stayed inside. I set up my camera to 35mm focal length, ISO 6400 and 15 seconds’ exposure.

No luck with meteors but I processed a few frames to obtain a snap of the polar regions.

January 1^st 1950 GMT

After yet another cloudy day, it unexpectedly cleared. I used my new lens at 35mm with a 0.45x focal reducer to catch meteors (or at least try!). I used an effective focal length of 15.75mm, 15 seconds exposure and an ISO of 6400. I aimed the camera in the rough direction of M81 to try and catch some Quadrantids. I did not stay out, as I still had a cold.

I left the camera out for almost 2.5 hours but most frames were ruined by some cloud. I stacked 24 of the best frames to get a not bad effort of Ursa Minor.

I caught a satellite trail.