An Aurora Storm

 Was just about to write a post about autumn colours, when I looked outside, and noticed a faint glow in the sky. An initial photo seemed to reveal a faint pink glow, but when I went out again about 15 minutes later, the glow in the sky was visible to the naked eye.

Turn a phone camera to it in night sight mode, and by golly, you get spectacular results!

Constellations and the March of Time

 After an intense period of trying to organise a children's party - lots of walking, lots of cycling in the rain, getting locked in a venue - I've not had much time to write for you this last week, and the freezing weather has prevented any expeditions on the bike. 

Ugh, how fat winter makes me feel. 

-7 nights however have proved to be a blessing, with infinite skies diamond strewn with stars. Mars shines red among them, and I got some ok photos with my Pixel 6A of Gemini, Auriga, Taurus and Orion, the great winter constellations.

The universe is crazy to think about, how these balls of firey fusion energy of varying luminosities and colours randomly scattered in the cosmos, form these patterns that are immediately familiar - I've known the form of Orion since I was a small child. 

It will still look the same when I'm a very old man, but at a universal scale this is nothing. Eons from now, these patterns will have been destroyed by the march of space time.

Almost too much to think about.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 20.12.22

The Mighty Hunter

 My new phone, a Google Pixel 6A (and no they aren't paying for me to write this article!) has a night shooting mode on it, the first phone I've had that can do this.

To my delight, I've found that this has enabled me to dabble in some very basic astrophotography now that I can record brighter stars in the results. 

There is one constellation that is an obvious target because of this, because it has a number of bright stars in a small area, and that is of course the mighty hunter, Orion. 

The most magnificent constellation visible to Northern Hemisphere viewers, it really is one of the few constellations that can be said to resemble what it is meant to represent. The main group of seven stars you can imagine forming his belted tunic, with a smaller group to the right resembling perhaps an arm raising a shield, while a group to the left could be an arm raising a sword or club. 

The stars you can see in this photo represent some of the largest and most luminous stars that can be seen in the night sky, most remarkable of them being the famous Betelgeuse, seen here at the top left. It is a red hypergiant star that is expected to go supernova in some point in the near future in cosmological terms - in other words, within a few thousand years. When it does go bang, it will be bright enough to see in daylight, and to read by at night. 

You can just about make out the orange tint in this photo. 

Rigel, at the opposite corner is brighter and a rather different star - it is a blue supergiant that also may go supernova, but much further into history. Between them is the belt, Alnilam, Alnitak and Mintaka, all very luminous too. Amazingly, beneath them you can just make out a faint fuzz that marks Orion's sword, the nebula Messier 43 where new stars are being formed. 

If you get a clear night, do take a look, although you might have to stay up late at the moment - I took this photo at about 4am!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCRackeredNature 29.10.22

The 2015 Eclipse through a Fishbowl

I woke up before 9 with no great plan for seeing the eclipse in mind, having mentally written today off as a cloudy non-starter the night before.

How wrong I was. It was a beautiful day outside, and I figured I'd best come up with a plan quickly. I managed to get a half decent sort of view with a colander and a fat envelope containing a council tax bill (unopened) and was thinking a cycle to Sconce Park to "borrow" a pair of eclipse glasses off a young child might be my best bet - "Here sonny, giz a look..." "Ooooff" - when my mum phoned and announced my stepfather had a device providing spectacular views.

I cycled round, to find him looking at the eclipse through an bowl shaped industrial light fitting made of half inch thick frosted glass that rendered the sun a rather distorted dull pink crescent. Still it enabled me to get really good views of eclipse maximum, and mum barely had to get out of bed to see it through her bedroom window.

It was noticeable that around maximum, the light took on a very eerie look, but the birds did not stop singing or fly up into their trees to roost; indeed one woodpigeon was rather defiantly sat on a neighbouring chimney pot with its back turned to the event.

Things are warming up rather nicely today, I have indeed now been to the park and the blossom is buzzy with bees. I should think if it stays bright, butterflies and bumbles will be around later.

Keep your eyes peeled!

Si

The fishbowl view. The sun is a 3 o'clock at the edge.

Maximum

If you were in a plane...

"What do you think of people who look at eclipses with fishbowls Brian?" "Nobbers, Dara."

Hopeless Lunar Photography

They make it look so easy on the Sky at Night, or BBC Stargazing. You get your telescope, point it at the Moon or Jupiter, and then reach for your phone. You turn on the camera, hold it up to the eyepiece, tap the screen to focus and away you go! Beautiful lunar photographs instantly result.

Only, it isn't really like that. At all.

Although I do have a cumbersome (and living with my parents) 6 inch reflector, clear skies with a bright moon the other night had me deploying my 20-60x60 spotter scope. Designed for birdwatching, it only has a small tripod, but sat on top of a wheelie bin, you can get some quite acceptable lunar views. Although the moon was all but full, I enjoyed looking at obvious landmarks; the dark floored craters Grimaldi and Plato, the ray craters Tycho and Copernicus, and the brilliant small crater Aristarchus, the brightest spot on the moon.

The Bay of Rainbows (Sinus Iridium to the posh) is also a fascinating sight not too far from Plato. It really does have the look of a proper terran coastline, a deeply curbed bay with highlands behind it, like a lunar greek island resort.

The problem starts when I try and photograph any of this. I feel like I have to sneak up on the eyepiece so the moon doesn't run away, holding my breath all the while, such is the complete difficulty of getting the camera lens onto the eyepiece, and then onto the moon. The slightest shake of the hand makes the moon disappear out of view, and it's difficult enough to get in the bloody view in the first place.

It is so damn fiddly. The most steady handed of brain surgeons would struggle to line the moon up with the camera...you have to follow this tell tale trail of optical effects - back to front - in order to get the moon into shot. You then have to tap screen to focus, activate the shutter, and wait for the picture to be taken for what seems like an age, as the slightest tremor sends to the moon skittering off screen again, and you howl in frustration, and wake your neighbours up.

But, eventually, I got some results.

A bit of moon

Another bit of moon being attacked by a red thing

UFOs!!!!

jupiter at the eyepiece 6inch reflector x60