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Posted by Paul A Brierley at 18:02 on 2012 Feb 19
Like tonight. When according to the Met. It is supposed to be clear !!!Thank you for the link Jeremy.I will take a look at it.
Posted by Jeremy at 17:19 on 2012 Feb 19
Yes, the American Libraries Internet Archive has many interesting old books to view for free, Paul.Another online book I have enjoyed lately is one that purports to list all observatories and astronomers worldwide in 1907. You can see who was living and observing near you in 1907. http://www.archive.org/details/lesobservatoire00delpgoogYou can select to read on line – or download if you prefer.Something for a cloudy night. Go well!Jeremy
Posted by Paul A Brierley at 17:19 on 2012 Feb 19
I have Hi-Lux mirror coatings on both my 254mm F4.8 and 200mm F4 Orion Newtonians.And I agree with Gary.They are well worth having, because the reflectivity is better, but also. The life of the mirror coatings is considerably longer, than with out this extra coating.With your 12.5" Dob and HiLux coatings. You will gain an extra inch in light grasp
Posted by David Malamatenios at 09:52 on 2012 Feb 19
I am about to have the mirrors re-aluminised on my Astro-Systems 6 inch Newtonian (bought in 1987 from Astro-Systems of Luton – alas, they are no longer in business). The company that has been recommended to me is Galvoptics. They will also re-aluminise the secondary mirror for free.
Posted by Paul Jenkins at 08:54 on 2012 Feb 18
hiim using sky wire, but even if u unplug it and plug back in it rememberspaul j
Posted by Paul Kesterton at 09:52 on 2012 Feb 13
Thanks Paul, sounds good. Are you using Wi-Fi (SkyFi) or the SkyWire?Paul
Posted by Paul Jenkins at 00:36 on 2012 Feb 12
Hi Paulim using the pro version on my Tak EM400 mount using a Iphone 4,when im away from home stargazing.the goto is spot on with my mount and i suspect it be the same with most mounts.Its a brill bit of software considering the cost of it.I would strongly recommend itpaul j
Posted by Nick James at 22:56 on 2012 Jan 29
Gordon,Thanks. I’m pleased that they are so useful.I understand your point about coming down to meetings in London. Last year I decided to take the train up to Denis Buczynski’s observatory on Tarbatness. It was a great journey but took over 13 hours from Essex. Flying easyJet to Inverness is much quicker but less fun.I hope you can make our Aberdeen meeting next September.Nick.
Posted by Gordon MacLeod at 22:25 on 2012 Jan 29
Nick,Can I just say as someone who lives on the North Coast of Scotland, and getting to Glasgow for the BAA Out of London meeting several years ago was a days travelling in itself on public transport, that these videos are a brilliant way of keeping in touch with the meetings that are held in London, which I would be very unlikely ever to get to.Many Thanks for providing this service.Best Wishes,Gordon
Posted by John ONeill at 11:56 on 2012 Jan 27
My website should be Variable Star NightsJohn
Posted by John ONeill at 11:53 on 2012 Jan 27
433 Eros is heading south in Sextans, so catch it while you can. It will not have a better opposition for many decades to come.I imaged it on 19 Jan 2012. See my image at
Posted by Gordon MacLeod at 14:29 on 2012 Jan 22
Good Luck with that Paul.I ‘m sure it will go well.Unfortunately I doubt I would make it down as far as yourself as I’m on the North Coast.But Best Wishes and Good Luck!
Posted by Paul A Brierley at 12:14 on 2012 Jan 22
You might be interested to know. I am organising an Introduction to DSLR imaging" event on Friday 27th from 19:00hrs.The idea is to encourage members, from my local astronomical society, to take fixed, tripod, images of the sky using very short exposures.I have a good number of people wanting to come along. So with any luck. It should be a good night.It will be very interesting to see, the make and models of cameras people have. And do a comparison.
Posted by Graham Relf at 17:04 on 2012 Jan 06
Eros has now crossed into Leo. I managed to photograph its trail last night (the first clear night in weeks here). Result can be seen on Flickr: 433 Eros trail
Posted by Gordon MacLeod at 14:01 on 2012 Jan 03
Thanks for that comprehensive response Martin which I have been slow to respond to. I just got a 1000d Canon SLR which I am delighted to have received a few days in advance of my birthday!My own telescope for imaging is a modest Skywatcher Evostar 80mm ED, so I am buying some parts to attach the camera to it.I read with interest, and although it’s not really amusing- I have some shared sympathy, about your weather situation.I too have a small shed/utility room I store my equipment in, more so I can get in and out quickly to avoid and return things into quickly in the event of rain, snow, sleet, etc..I originally was raised on Arran, the most southerly island, but now live in Caithness, so I know how the wind can both be prohibitive to stable images, and just how quickly it blows over clouds when you’re back is turned!Best Wishes and thanks again for responding,Gordon
Posted by Gordon MacLeod at 13:33 on 2012 Jan 03
I do not have the same format or information that you provide, however I moved to my current location at 58 degrees 32′ north in latitude and – 3 degrees 16′ west in longitude, and commenced observations from here on 04.02.2011, and spent 24 hours and 10 minutes comet hunting the dark skies of Caithness throughout 2011.Best Wishes and clear skies to all for 2012,Gordon
Posted by Gary Poyner at 13:44 on 2012 Jan 01
To continue Jeremy’s thread, here are my observing stats for North Birmingham 2011…A partially clear night is 50% or more cloud, and clear night is 50% or less. Useable gaps in cloud are counted as partialy clear. Clear 51 (2010 – 50)P/Clear 37 (2010 – 32)Of these 88 nights, 6 had some Moonlight interference and 33 had heavy Moonlight interference. I observed on 78 nights as 10 nights were missed due to holidays or giving talks to astro societies. Best month May with 12 nights. Worst month July with 4 nights.8,715 variable star observations were made visually, with 850 CCD obs obtained using robotic telescopes. Not counting 2010, when I was without a main telescope for 6 months, this was my poorest return since 2002. The quality of sky continues to worsen, and I cant explain it. The light pollution seems no worse than previous years, indeed LED streetlights are going up all over the place here and they are excellent, but transparent nights here get rarer and rarer. I saw the Milky Way three times in 2011 from home, and they were just vague sightings easily missed if you didnt look for it. Observing faint stars just gets tougher, despite having a big scope (although I did break the mag 17 barrier visually this year on a rare night with a Polar airstream).I hope other observers post their 2011 results here. It makes for an interesting read!Happy New year!Gary
Posted by Duncan Bryson at 19:30 on 2011 Dec 27
I saw a few after the date. Quite bright but not frequent. ~ 3 days later.
