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Posted by Gary Poyner at 20:54 on 2013 May 21
One of the great things about CV’s is the unpredictability. U Gem could indeed enter outburst over the next few nights, or wait until Solar conjunction. Why would people want to observe anything else? :-)Gary
Posted by John ONeill at 20:47 on 2013 May 21
Hi,As of yesterday U Gem had still not gone into outburst since late last year (2012). Very late in the evening as (a kind of) darkness falls the field is getting low in the west. Have a look. It may go off any day now!John
Posted by John ONeill at 20:37 on 2013 May 21
Hi Alex and Tim,Thank you for your replies. I finally figured out it was that the DPI setting on my PC was set at 125% (I like larger print on my 1920×1080 monitor) which caused the problem. Occult works ok when the DPI setting is at 100%.My main observational interests are Variable Stars and Comets. I have also done a few asteroid occultations, with at least one positive. If memory serves me I sent the report to TA. I have seen a few lunar occultations. I am now tempted to be more systematic with lunar occultations!regardsJohn
Posted by Tim Haymes at 00:21 on 2013 May 18
Hi John,Im using 1024×768. Yes, it is a great program. I use it for the Lunar Occ predictions printed in the Lunar Section Circular (Download area) There is an enthusastic occultation observing interest group within the BAA. (Members of Asteroids and Remote Planets, and Lunar Sections). We observe both lunar and asteroid occultation phenomena. There is also a Yahoo group which I set up a year ago to bring observers together. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/UKoccultations/ My contact email is on the Lunar Section Web page should you wish to contribute observations/timings in this exciting area.Best wishes and clear skies, Tim Haymes
Posted by A R Pratt at 22:02 on 2013 May 16
Hi John,Try adjusting your screen resolution via the Control Panel.Occult requires a high resolution setting such as 1366 x 768, otherwise fields do overlap.Best regards, Alex.
Posted by Mark Stuckey at 11:09 on 2013 May 13
Thank you to all the kind comments from the memebers, I hope that when the original telescope is installed that some members on holiday in Norfolk will be able to pop over to take a look. Regards Mark
Posted by Paul A Brierley at 20:56 on 2013 May 11
That is very nice.I think Mark has done a wonderful job. And thank you Martin for sharingI had heard off the great Horace Dall, but I didn’t know too much about the man. Thanks to the latest IIS newsletter. I’m getting to know more about him.
Posted by Gary Poyner at 08:57 on 2013 May 08
I bet there are some nice vibes to be had just being in that observatory. I can almost feel them from the photo’s! Well done Mark on both observatory and Martin’s ‘old scope’!Gary
Posted by Jeremy at 18:41 on 2013 May 07
Amazing stuff – thanks for pointing us in the right direction, Martin. And well done Mark, for such cracking restorations. Truly wonderful to see.Go well!Jeremy
Posted by Bristol AS at 09:24 on 2013 Apr 18
Cheapo bookshops such as WORKS often have astronomy books–well worth a look–if interest goes you will not have wasted too much money.
Posted by A R Pratt at 23:33 on 2013 Apr 10
Hi David,’The Young Astronomer’ by Harry Ford is an excellent book for youngsters, although it might be more suitable for a slightly older age group.Best regards, Alex.
Posted by Paul A Brierley at 18:33 on 2013 Mar 31
Thank you Callum.It should be with in reach off CCD imaging equipment then.
Posted by Callum Potter at 17:39 on 2013 Mar 31
Hi Paul,I mentioned it in my Sky Notes last wednesday, but I’m not aware of an ebulletin about it.A good place to look for all supernova news is the Rochester Astronomy page at:http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/supernova.htmlOn the SN 2013am page, recent observations indicate somewhat fainter – around mag 15…http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/sn2013/sn2013am.htmlHope this helps,Cheers, Callum
Posted by Graham Relf at 15:53 on 2013 Mar 27
See http://britastro.org/computing/charts_comet.htmlNote some predicted photo opportunities:- C/2012 L2 (LINEAR) is currenty passing along the edge of the Pleiades- 273P (Pons-Gambart) will pass very close to M101 on April 9(You may need to clear your browser’s cache to see the new page. In Windows: Ctrl+F5).
Posted by Richard Miles at 18:38 on 2013 Mar 25
Spectacular image by Dave Tyler for sure.Seems that Astronomy is becoming more mainstream im the media these days. Yesterday there was quite good coverage of the Brecon Beacons International Dark Sky Reserve on BBC’s "Countryfile" with tremendous astrophotos by Michael Sinclair and interviews with various folk including Martin Griffiths of the Univ. of Glamorgan. Re. the Dark Sky Reserve ans Michael’s photos see:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2281026/Brecon-Beacons-granted-international-dark-sky-reserve-status-save-incredible-starry-views-light-pollution.htmlRichard
Posted by David Basey at 11:17 on 2013 Mar 25
For those of you who like me missed it, the url is http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/9948033/Pictures-of-the-day-22-March-2013.html?frame=2517279It’s well worth a look!David.
Posted by Steve Holmes2 at 23:37 on 2013 Mar 21
No, this is not a rhetorical question but the return to life of a thread which attracted mass interest a year or so ago – 859 views! The question in fact refers to an infamous BBC2 programme of the same name which was stuffed with inaccuracies. I was able (after long and detailed discussion with the programme’s producers) to persuade them to correct the worst errors, but not all. In doing so, however, I became so engrossed in the subjects under discussion that I decided to produce full-scale scientific articles about them for publication on my website. As I say in the introduction to them, they are written at a very much higher level than could sensibly have been included in the programme, so I have also added a "60-second summary" of the salient points in each one, to demonstrate that a scientifically accurate but understandable explanation could have been given if the producers had done their research properly.Anyway – the above is really by means of an introduction to the statement that after a very great deal of research the articles are now available for perusal! They can be found on the Astronomical Theory section of my website, which can be accessed by clicking the following link:Astronomical Theory sectionOnce there, the article you want is "Do We Really Need The Moon?" (unsurprisingly enough!). Click on the title to go into the introductory page or on the green cross next to it for a basic index.While you’re in the Theory section you might like to check out the other articles also – the major work on Saros Series contains genuinely novel information, based on my extensive research into the topic, which answers many questions posed by other notable mathematical astronomers including Jean Meeus, and that on Ecliptic Limits finds that the limits for annular and "full" eclipses are different, a fact which I have not seen reported before. If you do browse, please let me know what you think.Steve Holmes
Posted by Robin Leadbeater at 17:19 on 2013 Mar 19
Hi Peter,A starting point for ideas might be the spectroscopy section of my website herewww.threehillsobservatory.co.uk/astro/spectroscopy.htmThere are links to most of the other places where spectroscopy is discussed there tooFor self build ideas and everything else you could possibly want to know about amateur spectroscopy Christian Buil’s site is definitely worth a visithttp://www.astrosurf.com/buil/and for a wider overview of what scientific work amateurs are doing in this area currently the ARAS website and the associated forum are worth looking athttp://www.astrosurf.com/aras/ CheersRobin
