Michael O'Connell

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Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 116 total)
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  • in reply to: Preparing for the eruption of T CrB #622224
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Hi,
    Not monitoring purposefully but I like to keep an eye out for anything that might crop up in the background…
    A fortuitously placed meteor right next to CrB but no sign of the outburst yet…
    Cheers,
    Bill.

    Interesting you mentioning that Bill.
    I’m planning to adjust a couple of my GMN cameras a little to bring it in to their FOV for a longer period of time.
    I may put a UV/IR rejection over the lens as well to allow some approximation of magnitude.
    Michael.

    in reply to: 2023 – how was it for you? #621114
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    I don’t keep a log, but the weather here has been a real disaster. Worst I’ve seen in a long time.
    Met Éireann, the Irish met service, had confirmed that we had the wettest March on record, and the wettest July on record. 2023 was also the warmest on record.

    in reply to: Scrapping Honorary Membership ! #620805
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Thanks Andy for answering my queries.
    Much appreciated.
    Regards,
    Michael.

    in reply to: Scrapping Honorary Membership ! #620802
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Sorry, inadvertently deleted my own message there. Reposting again:

    Good to see the BAA actively reviewing it’s by-laws, membership structure and seeking to broaden it’s membership base whist maintaining prudent financial accounting practices.

    It’s also great to see members actively involved and debating the measures – a sign of a healthy organisation.

    As someone who is well away from achieving honorary status, it has always impressed me to see the names added to list each year.

    I fully appreciate the accounting reasons for proposing such a change.
    However, I note the points made above by Denis and Tony, which are quite valid.

    Two financial-related questions if you don’t mind please:
    1) Does ‘Honorary’ imply free posted hard copy, or is it limited to digital subscription only?
    2) Aside from a couple of very large well publicised financial bequeaths in recent years, does the BAA receive many smaller bequeaths? And on this note, has the BAA actively looked at the benevolence element of fund raising? I am sure many members would like to support the organisation on their passing, if their personal financial position allowed and they felt that their monies would leave a tangible legacy for many years to come. The reason I ask is that maintaining a close relation with the older generation of members may bring in more financial benefits than the cost savings this measure may provide in the short term.

    Regards & Thanks,
    Michael.

    in reply to: Auroracam at NLO #620733
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    That’s a nice feed David.
    Mind me asking what camera you are using?
    Regards,
    Michael.

    in reply to: Betelgeuse #620672
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Folks,
    My initial thoughts after successfully observing the occultation last night:
    ————————————————————

    Through hazy skies, we (myself and Alex Pratt) had a successful observation of the occultation of Betelgeuse from just south of Alicante, near the airport.
    My personal thoughts from visually observing it are:

    Skies consisted of variable levels of haze, which made the observation more challenging (and head-wrecking) that I would have liked.
    The dimming was not sudden like a typical occultation, but rather quite gradual which appeared to take approx 2-3 seconds.
    The star appeared to dim by approx 1 to 2 magnitudes – quite noticeable.
    The rise was more difficult to detect visually due to the haze.
    I was expecting it to remain at its faintest magnitude for a period of time, and was surprised to see it brightening almost immediately after reaching minimum magnitude.
    Attached is a handheld photo of Orion taken during the event with an iphone.
    Also attached is a screenshot of a lightcurve taken with my Watec 910 HX/RC and 40mm f/4.5 apo with Bessel V filter.

    ————————————————————
    Regards,
    Michael

    in reply to: Preparing for the eruption of T CrB #619096
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Really good talk!
    Thanks for sharing Ian.
    Michael.

    in reply to: Variable Star Section Meeting, Sept 2 #619055
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Looking forward to seeing them Andy. Thanks.

    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Janice,
    Attached are some photos from that website where I have enhanced the face a little.
    Regards,
    Michael.

    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Ha! Yes Peter, that’s a good idea.
    She might have been waiting quite a while for that to occur though.
    Michael.

    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Well spotted Janice.
    Nice way for the three meteorological organizations to come together on the selection of names.
    Looking forward to next season’s selection where I’m sure Storm McClean will make an appearance… 😉
    Clear Skies,
    Michael.

    in reply to: Jack Newton’s Journey to the Stars documentary #618877
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Thanks David for sharing the link.
    Looking forward to watching this.
    Had the pleasure of staying at the B&B run by Jack and Alice in Osoyoos.
    Lovely place and lovely people.
    Regards,
    Michael.

    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Safe to say I won’t be observing the occultation tonight anyway, thanks to Storm Betty.

    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    I hope to give this a go too as it passes across Ireland, not too far from my observatory.
    Michael.

    in reply to: Subscription Renewal Options #618379
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Thanks Andy.

    in reply to: Comet Section meeting. Saturday July 8. #618015
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Hope you folks have a great event.
    I can’t make it unfortunately, but I’m looking forward to seeing the videos later.
    Michael.

    in reply to: BAA Annual General Meeting #613339
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Once again, many thanks for the YouTube recording.
    Greatly appreciated.
    Regards,
    Michael.

    in reply to: 2022 Solar Eclipse Conference #585277
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Thanks Sheridan.

    Provisional booking made now.

    Regards

    Michael

    in reply to: 2022 Solar Eclipse Conference #585275
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Hi Sheridan,

    Great to see this conference going ahead!

    Thanks for organising it and posting the details.

    I visited the website and tried booking the day delegate rate.

    Is it possible to add an option for:

    – Both days as a single transaction

    – Select the number of people

    Myself and my wife would like to attend both days (we will be staying in local accommodation).

    I note that it is not possible to complete the booking form for a day delegate without having to select a ‘room type’.

    Thanks,

    Michael.

    in reply to: Busy skies #585208
    Michael O’Connell
    Participant

    Nick,

    Very nice video.

    Query on the file size if you don’t mind please.

    When I run the timelapse script, I get a much smaller file size (approx 30MB) – I’m running this on a Pi3.

    Have you configured the settings to improve image quality or something (thereby resulting in a larger file size)?

    Re focus, IIRC Denis recommends keeping the focus a little soft in order to improve magnitude estimation.

    Regards,

    Michael.

Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 116 total)