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Observing Report 15th-16th September 2010 (Clusters and Comets)

Posted by on September 17th 2010 in Astrostuff, Observing Reports, Pics
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It was generally nice and clear here on Wednesday evening so I got set up pretty sharpish after our weekly evening shopping trip. The seeing was quite good although there was the threat of isolated showers. The aim was to get some more views of Messier objects and to image them if possible, and then to find Comet 103P/Hartley which is increasing in brightness for the next few weeks, and which is currently above the horizon all night long.

Despite having to shut the roof a couple of times due to spitting rain, after a few hours I'd looked at a fair range of Messiers (M31, M32, M34, M35, M36, M37, M38, M45 and M110) with the 8" scope and had acquired images of the M37 and M38 with the D50. The resultant (clickable) images are as follows:

M37 (aka NGC 2099), an open cluster in the constellation Auriga.
Subs: 8 light @ 200s, darks, no flats, ISO200.
D50 and MPCC on the C8N, guided with PHD.

 M38 (aka NGC 1912), an open cluster in the constellation Auriga.
Subs: 11 light @ 200s, darks, no flats, ISO200.
D50 and MPCC on the C8N, guided with PHD.

Then it was time to have a look-see at the comet. It was just a faint smudge visible through the binoculars and through the scope, but the D50 and scope combo picked it up quite well with 200s exposures. I stacked 10 frames and, after a lot of post-processing, ended up with this pic:

103P/Hartley, currently in the constellation Andromeda.
Subs: 10 light @ 200s, darks, no flats, ISO200.
D50 and MPCC on the C8N, guided with PHD.

 As previous but cropped and enlarged a bit.

The comet's poorly-defined and quite dim at the moment, but it should develop a better tail and become much brighter in the coming weeks - it's closest to Earth on 20th October and closest to the Sun on 28th October, and is predicted to reach naked-eye visibility around those dates. If you want to know where and when to stare, have a look at http://www.calsky.com/cs.cgi/Comets/1

Another kick in The Proms

Posted by on September 12th 2010 in A bit of a rant, On the box
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I well remember the good old days when the Last Night of The Proms was a real chance for a bit of good-natured enthusiasm for our national identity. A chance to enjoy some British classical music after 9 weeks of listening to foreign imports. Oh, and there was some "bobbing" to be done, too.

Well, according to the Beeb, that same ethos still applies: "While it lives up to its reputation of a fun Last Night party celebrating British tradition..." - sounds promising, eh?

 

It didn't deliver on that promise. We got the following:

  • Jonathan Dove A Song of Joys
  • Tchaikovsky Capriccio Italien
  • Tchaikovsky arr. Rysanov Rococo Variations
  • Parry Blest Pair of Sirens
  • R. Strauss Verführung, Op. 33 No. 1, Freundliche Vision, Op. 48 No. 1, Ständchen, Op. 17 No. 2, Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4, Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1
  • Chabrier Joyeuse marche
  • Smetana Dalibor – 'Dobrá! Já mu je dám! … Jak je mi?'
  • Dvorák Rusalka – Song to the Moon
  • Vaughan Williams Suite for viola and small orchestra – Prelude; Galop
  • Wagner Lohengrin – Bridal Chorus
  • Rodgers and Hammerstein Carousel – 'You'll never walk alone'
  • Trad, arr. Nic Raine Fisher's Hornpipe
  • Arne Rule, Britannia!
  • Parry, orch. Elgar Jerusalem
  • Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major ('Land of Hope and Glory')
  • The National Anthem

Sift the Brit-Grit out of that. Be careful, there ain't much there, and there were hardly any "bobbing" opportunities. How on Earth can anybody justify omitting works by Henry Wood, such as his Fantasia on British Sea Songs? FFS, Wood started the whole shebang, he conducted the Proms for almost half a century, his bust looks down over the whole show, and now he's snubbed.

 

Just in case you don't remember those good old days, here's what we used to get. British stuff. Red meat on the bone...

  • Elgar Pomp and Circumstance: Military March No. 4
  • Walton Crown Imperial
  • Elgar Enigma Variations: No. 9 Nimrod
  • Holst I vow to Thee, my Country
  • Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Greensleeves
  • Elgar Chanson de matin
  • Coates London: No. 3 Knightsbridge
  • Handel Zadok the Priest (Coronation Anthem)
  • Clarke Trumpet Voluntary
  • Wood Fantasia on British Sea Songs
  • Arne Rule, Britannia!
  • Elgar Pomp and Circumstance: Military March No. 1
  • Parry Jerusalem
  • The National Anthem

There you go. Proper stuff.

We used to get British conductors too, but that's gone all "PC" as well.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a Nationalist by any stretch of the imagination. It's just that I get narked by this constant erosion of our national identity.

Summery summary

Posted by on September 11th 2010 in Pics
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An evening stroll around Croft Country Park

Me nuts are falling off!

Posted by on September 11th 2010 in In the garden
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Autumn has arrived:

Hazelnut clusters - the best I've found so far is a niner

The harvest so far - not bad from just the one small bush

A couple of the many Shield Bugs on our hazel bush

Observing Report 30th-31st August 2010 Part 2 (Jupiter)

Posted by on September 1st 2010 in Astrostuff, Observing Reports, Pics
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As previously mentioned, I did get a bit of Jupiter data. I didn't expect the results to be any good bearing in mind the glare and the less-than-reasonable seeing conditions, but it's turned out fairly well:

 

Jupiter (31/08/2010 @ 00:43).
100/1000 per-channel RGB composite.
DMK mono CCD camera on the C8N.

Haircut, Sir?

Posted by on August 31st 2010 in LMAO!

I found this while trawling for jobs. I wonder if they'll set me on part-time... at that salary rate, just one day per year would be enough for me :mrgreen:
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