Here's another one - M44 - Sir Patrick Moore's favourite object on the Moore Winter Marathon list.
The refractor has introduced some odd colours to the mix, I've left them in and enhanced them because they look a bit Christmassy 🙂
M44 (aka NGC 2632, Praesepe, The Beehive Cluster, Cr 189), an open cluster in the constellation Cancer.
Subs: 12 light @ 300s, darks and bias frames, ISO400.
Spikes added using Noel's Actions.
1000D on the C80ED-R refractor, guided with PHD.
Here you go - Kemble's Cascade - a fine asterism and one of the objects on the Moore Winter Marathon list.
To me it always looks like a waterfall of colourful stars spilling from the NGC1502 cluster.
You'll need to click it to see it in any great detail.
Kemble's Cascade, an asterism in the constellation Camelopardalis.
2 stitched images. Subs: 12 & 8 light @ 150s, darks and bias frames, ISO800.
1000D on the C80ED-R refractor, guided with PHD.
You won't need a telescope - you should be able to see the Cascade well enough through binoculars, and it's a fair size - you could fit five of our Moons into the above pic.
It's easy to find too, so long as you can locate the Big W:
Yesterday's passing of Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS, is sad news to countless folk who are expressing the loss better than I ever could. I'm not good at that sort of thing so I'll leave it to them.
In many he inspired a love of astronomy but in me he also kindled a love of classical music:
Last night the sky was calm and clear, as close to perfect as it gets here, so it seemed fitting that I should get outside and have a look at The Moon and some objects from the Moore Winter Marathon and from his Caldwell Catalogue.
I'll post some pics later if they pass muster.
I was out Moon-gazing again the other night. It was so damned cold that I didn't feel the need to use the camera cool-box, the sensor was well below zero throughout the imaging run. This time I decided to get full-frame shots instead of video. With the 1000D on the 6" R-C I took 50 subs with APT, stacked them in K3CCDTools3, applied wavelets in RegiStax and colour-enhanced the result in Photoshop. I reckon it's a bit better than my previous effort:
You've spent many a year wading through many of the works of the Tolkiens.
You've paddled around in the children's books.
You've dipped your toe into The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, vowing to go in knee-deep next time.
You've dived into the mysteries of Arda and have navigated the ways of Middle-earth many times.
The end of the voyage is in sight, the Quest is almost completed, each reading now extends understanding's depth rather than its scope.
But Lo!
There's more!
The Fall of Arthur.
You can pre-order it from Amazon - see here.
I suppose I'll have to get me a copy. My bookshelves will look bare without one.
No, not
🙂
I'm on about the Extremities® Lucky Bags that Terra Nova have on sale here.
I ordered a couple after reading about them on Grahame's blog - see here.
So, what did we receive?
Chris got these:
Winter Hacking Gloves (RRP £27.00)
Boreas Windy Took Hat (RRP £29.00)
Merino Took Hat (Est £25.00)
Super Neck Gaiter (RRP £21.00?)
I got these:
Lightweight Mountain Mitts (RRP £80.00) - outers on the left, inners on the right
Balaclava (RRP £22.00)
Windy Took Hat (RRP £26.00)
and between the two of us we got five mini-karabiners and a bottle-opener:
Unless I've lost the ability to do basic addition, that lot comes to a total of £230.
Yes, I know that Extremities® kit can be had from discount outlets such as TKMaxx, but I've yet to see the Mountain Mitts there for less than £20.
I'd say that these Lucky Bags are worth getting. If you're considering getting one, act soon - they're going fast.
Now, you'll have to pardon me but I have to get back to the fight for possession of that Merino Took!
Oh and if you're wondering what a Took is, this might help.
