Even more sunspots on display yesterday!
Mouseover the full-disc pic for the labelled version, click it for a bigger pic:
Sunspots in Active Regions 1093, 1095, 1096, 1097 and 1098 (11/08/2010).
D50 on the C80ED-R.
Just for comparison, here's the equivalent pic taken by the SOHO satellite:
Managed a few hours in the sunshine yesterday morning, there were plenty of sunspots on display.
Mouseover the full-disc pic for the labelled version, the (poor-quality) close-ups are a bit further down:
Sunspots in Active Regions 1092, 1093 and 1095 (08/08/2010).
D50 on the C80ED-R.
Sunspot in AR1092 (08/08/2010).
50/1000 stacked frames.
DMK mono CCD camera on the C80ED-R.
Sunspots in AR1093 (08/08/2010).
50/1000 stacked frames.
DMK mono CCD camera on the C80ED-R.
Sunspots in AR1095 (08/08/2010).
50/1000 stacked frames.
DMK mono CCD camera on the C80ED-R.
Unexpected clear sky last night was the cue for another look at the heavens. Jupiter was the main target, no shadow-transits this time but good views of the Great Red Spot. There'll be pics later when I've had time to clear the backlog of image data (yes, I'm still trying to find time to process the lunar data from the previous session).
Until then, you'll have to make do with my first ever lunar mosaic - 12 stitched images from the same camera/scope combo that I usually poke skywards. The image alignment is a bit off in places, I'll do it better next time. Click it to see the BIG version:
The Moon (05/08/2010 @ 05:10).
12 stitched images, each 50/500 stacked frames.
DMK mono CCD camera on the C8N.
The was a short period of clearish sky here last night, it was the first reasonable observing opportunity for a long time so I took the chance and got set up in the obsy. The Moon was up which meant that doing any deep-sky observing was a no-no, so I had to be content with Jupiter and viewing some lunar craters.
I couldn't get any good high-resolution data for Jupiter, as the seeing was quite bad, so I went for a slightly wider field of view than usual and managed to catch a few moons and a transit as well. Here's the first edit, run yer mouse over it to see what's what:
The processing of the lunar data will take quite some time, so I'll put the results in a separate post.
So what if Budgens is selling squirrel-meat? Grey squirrels are generally unwanted, regarded as vermin, and very tasty. Pretty much in the same league as rabbits, I'd say. Seems like this situation is being regarded as just another band-wagon for the whingers to climb onto. Grey squirrels aren't endangered, they're an introduced nuisance. FFS, it's not as if Budgens is selling Red Kite, Scottish Wildcat or Bechstein's Bat.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not anti-veggie. I have many veggie/vegan friends and a veggie wife, and we never quarrel about our different views. After all, being an omnivore is a natural thing, that's why we have canine teeth AND molars, isn't it?
But it's a life-choice and we're all entitled to make our own such decisions without recrimination. Eschew meat if you wish, that's fine, I don't have any problem with that, but there's no need to get shirty with others because they have more varied diets or the good business sense to provide for them.
Here's a thought... tonight the omnivores in our house will be dining on a humanely-shot wild rabbit, it's dead now and it'll still be dead when I start to cook it and when we eat it. The same can't be said of the fresh vegetables that will be boiled alive to go with it, or of the fruit that will be eaten alive for afters. Is being a meat-eater really an inhumane thing?
Mmmm... tasty!
We'd be much obliged if all readers could have a look at the "Missing Luke Talion" Facebook page, and spread the word about it. The page was set up by our niece Katherine in the hope that somebody out there can help us to find out if Luke is OK.
I think that most of the info we have is on that Facebook page, but for the sake of clarity I'd like to add that my other half, Chris, is Luke's mother, I'm his step-father and Mike is his natural father.
If you have any info that can help, please post it via Facebook if you can. If you don't want to communicate via Facebook, you can email us via this blog's Contact Page.
Thanks for your attention.
