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For amateur astronomers the distant planet Uranus is a considerable observing challenge. With its angular size of about 3.6 arcseconds it is not easy to detect details in its atmosphere, and imaging of its faint satellites requires relatively long exposure times. Nevertheless, with the development of new digital cameras with increased sensitivity the planet and its satellites have become interesting objects of study. In this report covering the period 2006-2016, progress in imaging Uranus by the author is demonstrated. In particular this shows that the detection of features in the atmosphere of Uranus has become a promising field for future investigation.

Unfiltered CCD observations acquired using the 6-inch [155mm] robotic telescopes of the NASA/Harvard Smithsonian MicroObservatory e-learning project covering the first 163 days following the discovery of the Type IIb supernova 2011dh in Messier 51 are presented.

The Great Filter Debate took place in the BAA in the 1950s. As the writer was involved in the experiment, members of the Association may find the following account of interest.

Cycles of fading and revival of the South Equatorial Belt (SEB) are the most spectacular large-scale events that occur on Jupiter. The most recent started in 2009, when the SEB suddenly ceased its convective activity and began to fade. Modern amateur images, combined with measurements by the JUPOS team, have revealed several new insights into the process. In this pair of articles, I synthesise all the important results of the 2010 Fade (this paper) and Revival (following paper).

Bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs) are the underlying cause of all photospheric and chromospheric solar activity including active sunspot regions, white light faculae and disturbances in the solar granulation. This paper describes how monochrome imaging with commercially available H-alpha telescopes can reveal intricate detail in BMRs.

Saturn’s rings were open to their maximum extent upon the southern face. Significant new spot activity began in the South Tropical Zone and the South Equatorial Belt Zone. The STropZ activity took the form of small white spots at Saturnicentric latitude −35°, with a mean drift rate of +0.5°/day with respect to System III. White spots in the SEBZ showed a drift rate of −8.0°/day versus System III, while there was continuing evidence for a relatively slow drift in the S. Equatorial Current. A historical survey of STropZ activity is included in an Appendix, which includes previously unpublished BAA data for the 1971−’72 apparition.

An overview is presented of how to perform visual interferometry of double stars using an interference mask placed over the aperture of an undriven telescope. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate that interesting and worthwhile observations can be obtained from a basic setup using a small telescope, thereby hopefully encouraging others to pursue this interesting field of astronomy.