In this section I will be detailing any major updates I've made to the site or talk about any high or low points that I have encountered:

 Thursday 24th April 2008
Well I think for the time being its best that I admit defeat and put things on hold for a while. After a catalogue of errors I'm not getting out of this what I intended and its just resulting in me getting more and more frustrated. I am hoping to re-visit this pastime again but for the moment I'm taking a break. Goodnight but not farewell!

 Friday 18th April 2008
Its been a while since I have found time to put any updates on my site.  Well that and the fact its been pretty ropey weather so have not been out shooting much. I ordered another adapter to connect my Canon to the scope but I'm still having problems with it achieving focus so yet again back to the drawing board. I'm actually toying with the idea of a new scope - nothing fancy a C102 Wide View spotting scope, which the the same model a friend has so if that doesn't work then it must be me at fault and not the equipment! I did find one picture that I have uploaded of a sun spot that I took the other day. Its a bit blurry but you can make out the spot. Trust me it looked better through the scope but the brightness continually over exposed my shots. Another update that I have done today is the "This Month & Star Charts" which I know is a bit late.

 Monday 31st March 2008
Went out again last night as it was wonderfully clear and again wanted to spot Saturn, which I did with no problems but yet again could not get any of the moons which was a little disappointing, but still a wonderful view never the less. Still need to work on the photo side of things - spent all day Saturday getting my Neximage working with Vista and guess what.......it wouldn't detect a single object in the night sky!

 Thursday 27th March 2008
In between the cloud and rain I managed to get out and decided to point scope due south towards Saturn, which is high up in the skies this time of year. First time I have viewed one of the planets through my scope and I wasn't disappointed one bit - in fact I did not expect the view I got. Unfortunately the conditions were not good enough to see any of the moons, but its certainly has given the drive to try again. Due to technical issues I am currently experiencing I was unable to take any photos but this is on my to-do list next time we have some clears skies.

 Saturday 15th March 2008
Have just got back from a week in Krakow, Poland and have realised that its not just the UK that is plagued with bad skies. Rain and cloud every night. Although I didn't actually go for astronomy reason...I could resist.

 Monday 25th February 2008
Bought a new lens on Saturday, Tamron 70-300mm, which should allow me better zoom without the use of the telescope. I tried on Sunday to take some moons pics and have posted them on the picture page. I have put some small pictures on my equipment page showing the full focal range of my camera now using both lenses

 Thursday 21st February 2008
Would you credit it! Clear all week and then on the night of the Eclipse its 100% cloud cover. I looked out the window at 10:30pm on Wednesday 20th and it was partial cloudy but still there were fleeting glimpses of the moon so this got my hopes up and then by 11 on the Wednesday it was completely clear. I set my alarm for 2am the morning of Thursday 21st but when I was up guess what......that's right the cloud was back - I stayed up until just past 3 in the hopes that it would clear, even a little, but sadly no such luck so no pictures to show for it this time. Still there is a partial one on 16th August which should be viewable by most of Europe and Africa, so fingers crossed for that one!

 Sunday 17th February 2008
Its been clear all week, which is a major turn up for the books!! So I have been out scoping & shooting as much as possible. The results can be seen on my pictures page. As can be seen, a vast majority of my shots are of the moon in its various stages. However hopefully soon this will all change as I am looking to upgrade my scope from the excellent beginners 4" f/8 FS 114EQ on its CG-3 mount to a more powerful 6" f/5 C6 N-GT on a CG-5 mount with full GOTO and tracking capabilities. Basically this means I will be able to see more distant objects and take longer exposure photos which ultimately will mean DSOs (Deep Sky Objects) such as Nebulae, Clusters and Galaxies.

Sunday 10th February 2008
A wonderful clear night so I though I would sit out in the garden with my binoculars gazing at the heavens. The moon phase was at 20% Waxing Crescent so I got out my 400D and tried to take some shots just off the 18-55 lens of the 'moon shine' - I have posted what I believe to be the best one on my pictures page. Lets hope that it stays nice and clear, at least up until the 21st that is when I hope to be out at 3am to shoot the eclipse.

 Thursday 7th February 2008
Made a few little tweaks to my site, no radical changes just cosmetics. Things just seem to be going from bad to worse. Firstly I wont go on again about the weather, but its a pretty big thing when trying to view the skies. Second I broke my motor drive - it never worked 100% so I was not that disappointed and lastly I cant achieve focus with my 400D and scope - think its the focal length on the adapter that's at fault  as I can get it working during the day.

 Saturday 2nd February 2008
Again for one reason or another I've been away, not only neglecting my site but also astronomy as a whole. However now I'm in a new house and have a garden to call my own with some really great southern views and for inner-city very little light pollution which is great for me :D So hopefully this means that I cant get back into astronomy.

 Wednesday 22nd August 2007
How long have I been away? Finally bought a brand new Canon EOS 400D DSLR camera with M42 adapter ring and T-Mount to allow connection directly to 1.25" eyepiece so I can try my hand at a spot of astro-photography without the difficulty of an afocal setup. I even hope that I may get to see some DSOs.

 Saturday 19th May 2007
It was my friends' wedding today in Liverpool. It was also the night that Venus was in conjunction with the moon - so half way through the merriments I had to slip out with my binoculars and camera to have a peak. I took a few shots and put what I consider the best two on my pictures page.

 Wednesday 2nd May 2007
Got a new pair of binoculars today. Nothing special 10x50 so not as powerful as my current pair but they seem to yield a crisper image. Its a full moon tonight so I'm looking forward to testing them out and hopefully it will be clear enough to get a good look at the constellations too.

 Friday 6th April 2007
Telescopes are not just limited to night-time use, with the right equipment they can be used during the day mainly for solar observing. Since today was nice and clear I thought what better time to try out the new custom built sun filter. Took a few shots on the pictures page.

 Tuesday 3rd April 2007
Well last nights full moon was a spectacular affair. Conditions were a little disappointing because the nights running up to the 2nd were perfect for viewing, but then actually on 2nd it was a little overcast and turbulent. Still took this wonderful moon shot. What do you think?

 Thursday 29th March 2007
What with one thing or another I've got quiet quite a lot on my plate so something has to give, and this being the newest has drawn the short straw. Its only on hold for a while and I'm still going to be getting out as and when I can, just maybe not as frequently. I did however saying this manage to get out last night and take some moon shots with various filter/eyepiece combinations - however conditions were not great but I have put what I think is the best one up for you all you see!! I have also put up a picture of the sun at dusk, just taken with P&S camera no filter. Have a look and see what you think on the Pictures page.

 Thursday 15th March 2007
My sun filter is now finished so I have all my fingers crossed that we are going to have a sunny weekend so not only I can test it but hopefully take some pics. Watch this space!!

 Monday 12th March 2007
Picked up my new gear today - 5 new eyepieces, a 2x Barlow, 7 filters inc. moon filter, a motor drive and a CCD imager. Typical that its 100% cloud cover so cant get out there and use them. But the forecast says tomorrow should be clear!!

 Saturday 10th March 2007
My new equipment should have arrived from the States today, will be picking it up on Monday so excited about that. Also with the help of Eric Jacob I have uploaded a movie of last Saturdays eclipse - take a look on the Pictures page.

 Sunday 4th March 2007
Well yesterday was a major date in the astronomy calendar. A full lunar eclipse with the Earth moving in between the moon and the sun. Luckily it was a nice crisp clear night with near perfect seeing conditions. I got some wonderful views of the event - however even though I did take some pictures,  don't think my little camera was quiet up to the job. Most of the shots came out blurred and the colours were not picked up. This was odd since I have taken moon shoots before with no problem. I think it was because it was so bright the optics couldn't cope! At lease I will get another go in August!!

 Tuesday 27th February 2007
How cool is this - I'm now on Google. Type 'Derby Skywatcher' and I am in the top two hits, not bad when you consider that I've not given them a penny. It was nice clear skies tonight so I got some nice clear views of the moon, unfortunately no pictures though). I have been out looking for a good spot to setup this weekend for the lunar eclipse. I really hope that it will not be raining!!

 Wednesday 21st February 2007
On Monday my new Baader Solarfilm arrived, and I have started (with some help!!) to hunt around for some material to make a sun filter. I am hoping to get some use from my scope that at present it sitting gathering dust in the corner of the room.

 Wednesday 14th February 2007
WooHoo some clear skies and semi-good seeing conditions. I Managed to go scoping. However as soon as I got my scope all setup, and what should happen? Cloud cover! But I stuck it out and after about an hour it cleared up.

 Saturday 10th February 2007
Today I went out and about looking for a good high spot with good conditions for future scoping excursions. I Found a good place, an old castle ruin (Sandal Castle). It is nice and high up and away from any street lighting, the only problem is that this was just a practice mission and I didn't actually take any equipment with me. It’s going to be fun getting around in the dark without tripping on the many hidden walls/holes.

 Sunday 12th - Sunday 28th January 2007
Holiday week – I wish had taken more then Binoculars to Lanzarote with me because the night sky was wonderful. There was hardly any street lighting and with it being a costal area, seeing conditions were good every night. Also from what I hear I picked a good week to go as the weather in England this week was snow and rain!

 Saturday 13th January 2007
I had a big car accident when I was coming back from a night of viewing, and as well as writing off my car my scope was in the back and took a few knocks and bangs. Luckily it is not too badly damaged and just needs some simple collimation, but it is going to be out of action for a while. Oh and by the way I'm fine, thanks for asking!

 Saturday 6th January 2007
I went out shooting again today, again the Moon was my target - however the results were nowhere near as good as my first attempt so you will not get to see these - sorry!

 Friday 5th January 2007
I took my scope and camera out for the very first time. I got a few shots which can be seen on my Pictures page.

 Thursday 4th January 2007
My scope has arrived and guess what? It is raining. However this gives me time to put it all together and read the instructions - and for a total beginner let me tell you it is a daunting task but I'm sure one that will reap so many rewards.