www.DerbySkywatcher.co.uk

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: 

Saturday 2nd July 2011

The end of June saw my birthday and thanks the generously of friends and family I bought myself some new toys. First on the list was a PC control cable which not only will allow me to update the firmware of my scopes controller and motors but also configure to allow remote control of the scope by either Stellarium or Nexstar Control Pad. I also got a 1.25" Baader Neodymium and IR Cut Filter which will hopefully cut out some of the local LP and improve the contrast of DSOs and Planetary bodies. Lastly I purchased an Antares 1.25 inch 0.5x Focal Reducer for use with my webcam to increase the FOV as at present objects such of the Sun and Moon appear to large in the view. I have now moved my observing into my garden shed which at the moment is working out quite nicely, the one draw back is that my neighbours has a very tall tree which blocks my view to some of the southern sky. I have constructed two paris of solar observing glasses and a set for my 10x50 bins, but that does mean that I need to make some small adjustments to my binocular mount to accommodate these filters. In trying out my new equipment I tried to take a picture of the sun today. Result has been uploaded to the usual place

Saturday 18th June 2011

Sorry I have not updated for nearly a month but as anyone will tell you the clouds just keep getting worse and the nights shorter and shorter so unless you are willing to stay up to the early hours (which I'm sorry to say I cant) then its not really going to get that dark. There was a lunar eclipse this month but neither I or many of my astronomy buddies get to see it which is a real shame. However my time has not been wasted as I have been busy working to create myself a dedicated observing station as opposed to working out of the conservatory. I have also used this time start construction of a new mount which I have yet to try out properly. Basically I took my Alt Az GOTO mount and made a wedge and supported it on a more heavy duty tripod so if everything works I should have a nice (but crude) GOTO EQ mount which will be able me to get longer exposure and tracking of objects. On an exciting note Derbyskywatcher has now gone international. I have had visits from Thailand and Brazil :)

Saturday 30th April 2011

The weather has been lovely these past few weeks but when night falls there has still been heat haze which means terrible conditions for viewing/imaging although it appears clears to the naked eye. This has also been a bit of a problem during the day when trying to do a bit of solar imaging. But I have managed to get one grab which kinda shows some sunspots around the edges, although they appear small the Earth could quite easily fit in them! I have also updated the monthly highlight guide for May courtesy of Ninian Boyle.

Monday 11th April 2011

Sunday was a lovely day Nice and clear night. During the day I got out and tired to grab Sunspots 1185 & 1186 with reasonable results. In the evening I was out again this time for some Lunar shots. I managed to compile my first Moon Mosaic and I am quite pleased with the results. I also added to my Lunar 100 target with a nice (but small) shot of Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina which are a series of craters. Lastly there is Lunar 'X', only viewable at certain times due to how shadows are cast of formations.

Saturday 9th April 2011

Been a disappointing week as my back and foot have been continuing to cause me problem - and just typical that we have had some pretty decent nights. On Friday I decided that I would risk it and went out with the scope and managed to capture Saturn again and this time a vast improvement on my first attempt but still along way to go. Its not helped by the fact I am still waiting for my Philips webcam to arrive so this was shot with a standard CMOS Logitech number that I thought would give a go. I also managed to squeeze in the time to give my binocular mount a full test drive and it performs well although I think that the mirror support struts could do with being lengthened and I would like to upgrade the binos I use with it.

Sunday 27th March 2011

Well not really been upto much this week as my back problems have returned with avengance, which kinda puts a damper on using a Telescope! Anyway its not been a total disaster as it has given me time to make some small adjustements to my web site. First off on the home page is now a fancy hit counter, the reason for the change is that my current counter provider is no longer trading so time for a change - the only problem is that its not retrospective so all the hits that I have had in the past 4 years are lost :( I have also uploaded my very first picture I have managed to take of Saturn. To be fair its pretty rubbish but it will be nice to compare it to other Saturn photos I take and upload to judge how far I have progressed. Lastly I have made some changed to the Equipment page as I have added some new bits of software and a new camers (coming soon). I have managed to sell my Celestron Neximage camera and putting the money towards a modded Philips SPC900NC webcam which seem to be the most popular and as mentioned this has been modded for LX so should be able to get some DSO shots with it. Thanks for Dion over at Astonomy Shed for it.

Sunday 20th March 2011

Friday was a wonderful clear night and so I was out viewing. However due to the brightness of the moon most targets were washed out. But the moon is a great target and I never get tired of looking at it and finding something new each and everytime, visually I managed to see some more of the Lunar 100 list but sadly was unable to get photographic documentation. Saturn though was also up and for the first time I manage to get it in the EP and what a wonderful sight. However viewing was one thing - when I came to trying to capture it was a totally different story I could just not achieve focus on either the moon or saturn no matter what I tried. I don't know if it was down my equipment, skills or atmospheric conditions. I would like to think it was a factor of all 3 but seeing the results from last night of fellow astronomers which has been posted on a forum I am a member off I can probably rule out blaming mother nature and take full responsibility. Oh well it was fun trying. Cant let myself get disheartened and will try again. I have updated my links page to include a link to a new forum I have joined which seems to be a friendly and helpful resource. I would highly recommend checking it out.

Saturday 5th March 2011

Haven't really done much viewing for a while due to the weather being terrible od late. On the odd few occasions when there have been some clear spells I have been out with the binos to have a scan over the skies and got some nice visuals of M45. Although I have not been out much I have been busy inside with either scope maintenance (cleaning and aligning) or making accessories. First a Bahtinov Mask to aid focusing, then adapting a sun filter from my old scope to fit my new (114mm down to 102mm) and finally and adapter to take a 30mm lens on a video camera to a 1.25" eyepiece fitting. I have also updated the monthly highlight page for March.

Sunday 13th February 2011

Both 7Timer and Metcheck said it would be cloudy and raining on Saturday night, so I had decided not to go out, however just out of curiosity I stuck my head out of the window and it was lovely and clear (although seeing conditions were not great) so I grabbed my equipment and headed outside to setup. Whilst I was allowing the scope to 'cool down' I pointed my camera at the Plough constellation and took some shots. After this I turned my attention to the moon and tried to get a capture to start my Lunar 100 project, however due to poor alignment on my behalf and the seeing conditions it did not go too well. I managed to capture Clavius, but not very well. I also took the obligatory moon shot. And then in true british weather fashion the clouds came rolling in so I called it a night. This morning I combined the Plough shots into a composite pic but due to the high ISO setting used and conditions it was very noisy and victim to excessive LP. So I decided to try and sketch it.

Thursday 10th February 2011

I have added a new section to my site and that's a handy monthly guide to the night sky. It is not something I have written myself but used with the express permission of its author Ninian Boyle from Astronomy Knowhow. I have also been experimenting again with a new technique for photo processing for adding star flares to my images. I have only tried it on one picture and although very subtle I think it really adds something to the shot.

Saturday 4th February 2011

Its raining outside and forecast to last into most of next week so doesn't look like I will be getting out anytime soon. So in the meantime I have been looking into sketching again. On 1st Feb I tried out a P&S camera on the constellation of Orion and today have attempted to turn it into a sketch - a kinda dry run for when when I start sketching again in the summer (hopefully mostly moon shots). I haven been reading up on some tips and techniques and have tried to put them into practice. In my opinion I have over processed it and have lost some of the detail in the background stars and overdone the colouring of the main stars, but for a first attempt it will surfice and will serve as a benchmark for future sketches.

Wednesday 2nd February 2011

I am currently testing out a new P&S camera (Canon A1100IS) for astro work. I haven't done much yet just a test shot taken of Orion yesterday. 15" exposure at ISO400. I am quite impressed with the result considering its not designed or intended as an Astronomy camera. I have not yet been able to try the afocal method of taking shots but maybe at the weekend if its clear. I have also tried to take a star trail picture, but me being the naive sort didn't realise how long it would actually take to produce, so what I did manage I have processed and uploaded. Now though I have a better understanding I can judge it better and hopefully will be able to show you soon my results.

Wednesday 26th January 2011

I think I have managed to correct my bins but the best target will be the moon so time to wait until it comes round again. To kill some time though I attempted to stack some subs to make an Orion shot. I am fairly pleased with the result but it is just a quick experiment that I will work on when I have some more time and the weather is clearer for longer. After doing some hunting around the web I've fond something call the Lunar 100 which as the name suggests is 100 points of interest on the lunar surface to hunt down and photograph. I have decided to make this my project for the coming year with the ultimate aim to create a moon mosaic, after of course individually shooting as many of the 100 POI I can - see here for me details.

Friday 21st January 2011

Well I have fitted my auto focuser (with bits left over) and tested it inside and all I can at the moment is its moving the focuser shaft correctly, I have not been able to test it outdoors yet as the cloud cover is too much. There are though some tiny breaks forecast so I may be able to attempt a collomation on my binos....watch this space!

Wednesday 19th January 2011

I now uploaded two more videos to my channel. Strictly speaking they are not video more a series of time lapse photos stitched together to for a moving sequence. These are my first attempts hence why so short. I have perfect my technique I hope the length and quality will improve. Also my auto focuser and 3x Barlow have arrived today so I am looking forward to trying out those at the weekend - if the weather allows!

Sunday 15th January 2011

I now have a YouTube channel (linked from home page) which is where I will be uploading any web cam movies that I take. Already there are three uploads that I have stacked into static pictures.

Friday 14th January 2011

It's been a while but I have finally managed to get my Celestron Neximge web cam configured and working and taken my first two shots with it. I am pretty pleased with the results but its so hard to focus as even the slightest movement is amplified greatly thus making it a truly difficult task to get sharp images. I do have on my shopping list a motorized auto focuser which should help matters. Turned out to be quite a bumper night since it stayed nice and clear. As well as the moon got a nice shot of M45 and a quick simple attempt at M42 but obviously need to do some more work there to really capture it in its full glory.

Sunday 9th January 2011

Hello and Happy New Year to everyone watching my site. I'm sure I make this NY resolution every year but I really want to try and get out this year as and when I can. Since NY there has been very little time when the skies are permitting. Recently on the BBC was Stargazing live hosted by Prof. Brian Cox and Dara o'briain which was a good live 3 day program but in typical fashion there was not much gazing going on due to the great British weather. Tonight though I did manage to get out and take a few images and get some good viewing in. First off I started with the lovely crescent moon currently at about 25% which makes a new view not only with the naked eye but through a scope is breathtaking. Next I turned my scope to Jupiter being that it's high in the skies and should be nice and visible. I was not disappointed. This is the first time I have managed to shot Jupiter and 4 of its moons. After I took the shot I replaced the EP and added my #21 Orange filter which improvers the giants appearance and revels the detail and structure of its Jovian belts. Lastly just using my DSLR I point it towards the constellation Cassiopeia and took a 30" shot @ ISO 1600 just as a test but I am pleasantly surprised with the results. Have at look at my 3 latest shots on my pictures page.

Saturday 17th April 2010

Have not really been much imaging hence the lack of updated; I have however been out now and again with the binos for a quick scan of the skies when clear. Tonight though I thought I would try taking a moon shot with just the camera on a tripod. Looks OK but does not do justice to the actual thing - mainly due to the fact the camera zoom is too low.

Saturday 27th March 2010

A nice clear night so I wanted to go out and try and capture M3 globular cluster. However I did not have any luck with that target so I thought I would have a stab at M44 instead. Although a lot easier to find shooting was more difficult do to the nearly full moon being too bright and washing out all but the highest magnitude starts. Anyway I shot what I could but I am going to revisit the target under darker skies sometime.

Saturday 20th March 2010

Today I have finished updating this site and its gone live. I would have liked to christen the new look with some new pictures but sadly the weather has other plans. A double shame as I recently ordered a shutter timer control for my DSLR and not been able to use it. With it though I hope to be able to capture more detail in DSO due to better control over the cameras shutter.

Sunday 14th March 2010

Since I have not been out for a while I thought I would have a stab at updating my site. I have not really changed any of the content just the layout. Most of the re-design was straight forward as simply cut and paste into new template. However the pictures page was a totally new layout and due to the number of pictures it was the page that took the most time.

Saturday 6th March 2010

A lovely night with practically zero cloud cover at all 3 levels and pretty decent  seeing conditions. I decided I wanted to try to do some sketching as well as general viewing. My target of choice was the Pleiades or M45. Although a perfect night for viewing it was very cold so I only managed a quick sketch before my hands were frozen. After the sketch I decided to connect the camera to the scope and try a spot of imaging. Both results can be found in the usual place my Pictures page.  I then decided to point 'Lucy' towards Saturn.  At the moment Saturn is pretty much face on so the rings are not that prominent but you can just about make then out. As always a lovely view but you will have to take my word for it as the gear I currently have is not really geared up to planetary imaging.

Sunday 31st January 2010

Getting out twice in one weekend will wonders never cease? Would have made it a hat trick but went out on Saturday to some friends. Being that I was impressed with my first attempt at a DSO I wanted to try and improved one it. Again I chose M42. 

Friday 29th January 2010

Finally after all this cloud the skies are clear and I can get out and test my new scope (obviously not to its full potential as I'm still learning!!) At the moment its a full moon so although as wonderful as that is it means that the brightness washes out some of the fainter objects. What I really wanted to achieve tonight was my first picture of a DSO. I first started out with the Pleiades star cluster but due to its high position in the sky at the moment I found it a bit tricky for my first outing. So I turned my attention to Orion and the M42. I am fairly pleased with the result. 

Tuesday 26th January 2010

Although its still very cloudy outside the moon was trying to break through so I just had to try out the new scope and boy am I impressed.  After some misable failings when I first got the scope and trying to attach my DSLR to it I was keen to try out a new method and just take a look at the result on my Pictures page.

Saturday 23rd January 2010

Traveled up to Sheffield today to collect my new telescope and so far I can say I am very impressed with it. Get it all setup in about half an hour and took it into the garden for some practice. Due to its specifications it can be used as a spotting scope and got some great sharp and crisp views  of local surroundings and some wildlife, however I cant take it out tonight as its thick cloud cover. Just typical so got my fingers crossed for tomorrow night.

Thursday 21st January 2010

So going shopping on Saturday to pick up my new scope so hopefully will work out how to use it on Saturday afternoon and then in the evening weather permitting I shall be taking it for a test drive. Watch this space for my initial findings and hopefully some results of what it can do!! Talking of the weather I have a new page with an 'Apanel' forecast  of current conditions. Its a little tricky to understand at first so I have included a user guide on what it all means.

Sunday 3rd January 2010

Well 2009 was a bit of a wash out when it came to my motivation and the weather. This year though I hope is going to be different. For starters I am keen in buying a new scope - the Celestron NexStar 102 SLT which if the link is still active you can see it has a range of impressive features. The main benefit of this scope is the motorised mount with built in GOTO which should make locating objects and then tracking them a breeze. 

With this I should be able to track objects easily so fingers crossed can get better sketches and this time photos of DSOs. All this is fine in principle but I just need the weather to hold up.........and if the weather keeps to its end of the bargain then I shall stick to mind and get out there!!!

Monday 25th August 2009

Nothing really that I have done which is worthy of documenting, but what is worth putting down is today is the 400th Anniversary of Galileo's Telescope, not that Galileo would have much use for it tonight if you get my drift!

Saturday 22nd August 2009

Three clear nights on the trot would be too good to be true.......and it was. Although it may have looked nice and clear (with the exception of some patchy cloud)  the atmospheric conditions were far from ideal. There was too much high turbulence in the upper atmosphere so anything viewed through the eye piece of my binoculars or telescope was just jumping around all over the shop. Oh well. Some good news though is that I was browsing some astronomy shops online and came across the Celestron Wide View 102mm spotting scope that I wanted to get earlier in the year and its now cheaper at just over £100 -  time to write a letter to Father Christmas!! Must tell him I want a graphics tablet too.

Friday 21st August 2009

Another clear night and this time I had done some planning and chosen two target. This first would be Mirphak the Alpha star in the Perseus constellation. The next would be a planet that is currently dominating the skies. Although low down on the horizon there is a good clear view of Jupiter from my garden.   

Thursday 20th August 2009

I don't believe it, a clear night at long last. Obviously I grabbed the binoculars and sketch kit and headed outside. Its funny that after all this time of sulking in doors on an evening as soon as I point the binoculars upwards the joy come flooding back and I'm all motivated again. Tonight I just tried my hand at a few naked eye sketches of some constellations. Head over to the Pictures page to have a look. 

Saturday 15th August 2009

Well its been a total letdown to the first half of the year, I have managed to get out only a handful of times to gaze skywards. But even those few times have been rewarding. We have so far had a few good clear views of the moon (I have not taken any photos as I seem to have quite a few already!!)  Unfortunately  I have not been able to  do any sketching as the clouds breaks have been far to brief, but I am hopeful that we will have a good winter.  As I am about to mention below I was really looking forward to getting out on Wednesday just gone to view this years Perseids shower. I did get quite a few shots......of nighttime clouds.

Some quite good news is that I was contacted the other day from BBC Radio Derby asking if I was going to be watching this years Perseids meteor shower.  Of course  I was going to be watching and as a result they wanted to phone me the following day to be live on air to discuss the event. Unfortunately it was a total 'cloud out' pretty much across the country and as a consequence I saw nothing and didn't appear on air. The the following week I received an email from a work colleague which was an article from the  Guardian national newspaper:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/aug/14/northerner-wainwright-meteors

First the local radio, now the Guardian.....next step the world (or should that be the stars!!)

Monday 26th January 2009

Don't you just hate this British weather? It been practically non stop clouds and rain so far this year which in a nut shell means that I have done very little gazing :(  I did manage to go out once which was the 18th and did a very rough sketch but since then my computer has died and I am in the process of loading all the software onto it so I can process what I have done. As soon as its ready it will be going live - keep watching this space!!!

Monday 30th December 2008

11:30 - My Revelation 15x70 binoculars arrived today and a quick daytime use showed them to be very impressive (even more so costing just £50), looking forward to a proper test drive when we have some clear skies. 21:06 - clearish skies so had a quick scan of the heavens and I am impressed with the results, problem now is though the view is dancing around all over the place so really need my new tripod head ASAP.

Saturday 27th December 2008

Bought a ball and socket tripod head today and guess what and getting it home and testing it was not strong enough to hold my 10x50s let alone the pair of 15x70s I will be getting. Talking of those I have ordered them today from www.telescopehouse.com along with a new heavy duty 'L' adapter. Hopefully I will get a late Christmas present on Tuesday!!

Thursday 20th November 2008

Well as a testing exercise I have tried to sketch a photo I took last year of the Orion constellation with my DSLR. I have made it in GIMP and uploaded it in the usual place. I am pretty happy with how it has turned out so really looking forward to getting out in the garden with the proper setup and getting some 'real'  sketches done :)

 Wednesday 19th November 2008

After having most of the summer laid up recovering from a foot operation its time to get back into the thick of things. This time though I am trying a new approach - instead of astrophotography I am going to try my hand at sketching what I see in the view finder, and instead of the viewfinder of a scope I am going to be using a pair of 15x70 binoculars.  I will not be getting my setup though until xmas so until then it will be lots of reading and trying to home my artistic skills :S I have also made a few site changes, nothing to drastic just removed some content and changed the layout of the navigation. Hopefully soon when I can get some ideas I will do a complete overhaul and re-work of the whole site.

 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.

 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 couldn't 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 astrophotography 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.