2010-2013

I first used the 700D camera on a non astronomical holiday in Canada and Alaska. But the first Astro image was of Comet C/2014 E2 Jacques which moved through Cassiopeia towards the end of August. I was at Dalby Starfest over the weekend of 23rd August, and had a go then, but had guiding problems. BUT as the forecast wasn't too good, came home early on Sunday instead of Monday. And was very lucky with the clouds - just North of the Northern edge of a weather front, so had a lovely clear night until the mist formed around 2 am. So got lots of images of the comet, 50 subs in total. I was using my Meade 127 refractor, and at the focal length of 950 mm the comet was very fast moving. So I set the ISO at 3200 and used 90 second frames. Which seems to have worked quite well. the only down side is that the tail disappears out of the bottom of the image - I should have had the comet nearer the top of the frame, but at the time didn't know which way the tail was pointing or how long it was. The brightest star in the image is 7th magnitude Tycho catalog number TYC 4028-489-1 (Hipparcos number HIP 3267) Larger Size The main image is a stack of 20 subs, using the clever comet stacking feature in Deep Sky Stacker. Also heavily processed better to show the tail. Two animations using all 50 subs, here just very small GIFs, one with the comet moving against the background, the other with the comet stationary and the background moving. There are larger mp4 versions on my web site, best viewed using Windows Media Player unless you have the latest QuickTime Plug in installed: Comet moving Background moving

Comet C/2014 E2 Jacques passed by Mu Cephei, the Garnet Star at the northern tip of IC1396, on the night of 30th August. This image is 20 subs of 3 minutes at ISO3200, Canon 700D on TS65 Quad refractor (420 mm focal length). Stacked using the clever comet stacking procedure in Deep Sky Stacker. Unmodified camera, so the Hydrogen-alpha contrast is muted. But the 'Elephant's Trunk' is quite clear. Large image

In the main image the tail is pretty well lost against the background stars and nebulosity, but there is a hint of it pointing downwards at 7-o-clock. This image, stacked on the comet head and median combined to blur the background, clearly shows the tail. Cropped from the main image.

  

Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy made a fine show in the Southern sky before moving into the Northern skies in January 2015. There had been a tail detachment episode, but the tail re-established, although fainter . The dreadful weather at home continued through early January, but a short clear window gave me the opportunity to image the comet on 12th. This image is constructed from 17 sub frames, each of 3 minutes, bracketing 2100 hours UT, taken with the 700D camera, 400L lens fully open at f5.6, and ISO1600. It proved very difficult to extract the faint tail from the slightly hazy background without the image becoming overprocessed and unnatural, so this is about the best I could manage! The angular distance from the head to the left edge of the field of view is approximately 3 degrees, which at the comet's distance of 73 million Km equates to a tail length in the region of 4 million Km! Larger image

 

Asteroid 357439 2004 BL86 made a relatively close pass to the Earth on the night of 26-27 January 2015, approximately 0.008 AU (1.22 million Km, 760,000 miles) at its closest. The asteroid was estimated at greater than 1 Km diameter, large enough to have serious consequenses if it impacted with the Earth! I hoped to image it, but although the early evening was clear, I was away from home, and by the time I was ready to image, the clouds were very much in evidence. Eventually around 0100 UT I had a brief window of around 20 minutes through a hazy sky, and managed 16 x 1 minute shots before the clouds returned for good as can be seen in the animation. I was using the 700D camera at ISO 1600 with a 100 mm lens. A large field of view, in the hope of capturing around four hours worth of images, eventually passing Messier 44, alas the skies were not friendly! So these images are cropped from half size versions of the original photographs. Even at the short focal length, the asteroid was moving so fast that the 1 minute exposures produced a streak. (Image scale here is approximately 18 arc-secs per pixel). North is up, the bright star next to the streak is SAO 116818 (TYC 796-1621-1), Epoch 2000 RA 08h 29m 36s, DEC +8° 25' 02" As usual click on the images for larger versions. The larger animation GIF is 1.5 MB.

On the evening of 20th February 2015 Venus and Mars were joined by a thin Crescent Moon in the Western Sky. This image is a composite of two separate exposures - strips of cloud meant that unfortunately not all were properly visible together at any time. But I think it came out ok. The Earthshine on the Moon is particularly striking! Larger image Canon 700D, 15 second images with 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm and f6.3

  

Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy continued to delight observers in early 2015, and in March it passed by one of my favourite clusters, NGC457 the 'Owl or 'ET' cluster in Cassiopeia. So although by this time the tail was starting to fade, on 10th March I visited it with the 350D deep sky modified camera with this result. 10 x 2 minute subs on TS65 Quad. The smaller cluster centre right is NGC 436, and the modded camera also picked up Sharpless 188 (PN G128.0-04.1), to the left of the comet. I've enhanced it slightly, better to show it up, but nothing added! That's one for H-alpha imaging with my QSI! Larger size

     

As the 2015 Summer progressed, Jupiter and Venus moved closer in the sky until on 30th June they were at their closest. For once the weather was kind with a clear sky down to the Western horizon. Initially I wanted a close up using my RC10 telescope. I had to squeeze that in quickly because the Western horizon from my Observatory is obscured by my neighbour's tall shrubs. But reasonably successful, although the sky wasn't dark enough to show the Galilean moons in other than a very overexposed image. This one is 1/10th second. Larger image.   I then moved into a neighbouring field with my camera and 70-200 mm Canon L lens on my EQ3-2 mount. That location gave me a clearer Western view, and I was able again to take several images as the pair moved ever lower in the darkening sky. This is probably the most effective with them just above trees. 1 second exposure, 70 mm focal length, f6.1 (approx.) using a mask to minimise starburst. All images with my Canon 700D camera at ISO200. Larger image.

The 2015 Perseid meteor shower came at a time when the Moon was out of the way, and the night of 11-12 August promised to be dark and clear. So I set up my Canon 700D camera with 17 mm focal length lens on my tracking EQ3-2 mount in the hope of capturing some meteors. As is always the case of course they rarely obliged by passing across the field of view, but I captured two bright occurrences. The one at the top of the photo is almost certainly a sporadic, but that near the bottom is certainly a Perseid. Click on the thumbnail as usual for a medium size image, larger image here. This is of course a composite of separate photographs. Also closeups for the Sporadic and Perseid.

The end of September 2015 saw a week of stable High Pressure givng beautiful sunny days and clear nights although mist tended to thicken later in the nights. And this coincided with a particularly fine total Lunar Eclipse of a 'Super Moon' i.e. at its closest to the Earth in its orbit in the early hours of 28th. I used my Canon 700D on my Meade 127 refractor to obtain detailed images, a selection of these is in the montage showing the progress of the eclipse (from right to left). Larger image. As always click on the thumbnails for a medium size image.
Close up of the fully eclipsed Moon. It is apparent that the lower part of the Moon is brighter - this is because it did not pass through the centre of the Earth's shadow, but was nearer the bottom of the main umbral shadow. And yes, those little bright dots are stars! The brightest is a double star, magnitude 7.8 Larger image.
The low passage through the umbra is clearly seen in this triple montage where the crescent images are arranged to show the shape of the umbra with the totally eclipsed Moon in its relative position. Larger image. This montage appeared in the November 2015 issue of Astronomy Now magazine.
I also had my venerable Canon 350 set to take wide angle images on my EQ3-2 mount with a 50 mm Tamron lens. The star field was 3 x 3 minute subs, then the over exposed Moon was replaced with one from 5 x 5 second subs. The Moon was in Pisces and the 'Circlet' is clearly seen.All at f5.6 and ISO800. Larger image.
A couple of days before the Eclipse I was checking my 700D/Meade 127 setup and obtained this image of the Gibbous Moon. Had a play with it to bring up the colour for a bit of fun. So here it is. Larger image.

 

In early March 2016 we went on a trip to Indonesia - an organised tour which visited several places of interest including a *very* hot climb part way up Anak Krakatau! Hopefully I will get round to doing a travelogue. But the primary purpose of the holiday was to view the Solar Eclipse on 9th March. We were located in the courtyard of the Sultan's Palace, Ternate, a good open location with plenty of atmosphere - locals etc. At first contact the sky was beautifully clear, but there was a worrying patch of high cloud to the East. Unfortunately it moved across the Sun after about 30 minutes, and remained until 10 minutes after totality. It wasn't so thick as to block the Sun out altogether, but the outer corona was completely obscured. So my planned exposure sequence was out the window, and I just had to play seat of the pants as the cloud thickness varied, using live view on my Canon 700D. Despite taking some longer exposures (around 1.5 seconds), the cloud ruined them, and my best effort was this one. 0.3 seconds, 400L Canon lens externally stopped to f7, ISO 100. Just before third contact, a nice view of the large prominence and the start of Baily's beads at the top of the image. Cropped from the full frame. Full Size. This image appeared in the Eclipse feature in May 2016 Astronomy Now magazine

One of the group (the leader, Prof. Patricia Reiff) had a fish eye lens on a camera and took this image during totality. Venus is clearly visible, but it is also apparent just how much cloud was obscuring the corona.

        

This isn't often imaged as a 'cluster' because of its size. But definitely classed as one - the Alpha Persei Moving Cluster Mel 20. I was able to squeeze in 9 x 5 minute subs on 22nd September 2016. Canon 700D at ISO 800 with 70-200 Canon L lens at 200 mm and f5.6. The very bright star is of course Mirfak. Spikes courtesy of the camera diaphragm, further enhanced in Photoshop with Star Spikes Pro. There is an 'ordinary' cluster lurking in that image! NGC 1245 is just visible on the bottom edge near the right hand side. Larger image

21st August 2017 saw a Solar Eclipse pass across central USA. Although totality was relatively short, around 2 min 45 secs maximum duration near the town of Carbondale Illinois, it was dubbed 'The Great American Eclipse' and was probably seen by more people than ever before. I was fortunate in joining a group organised by Omega Holidays which decided to watch from a site 'Menan Buttes' near Idaho Falls. 2 mins 18 secs, but chosen for its good weather prospects. And did not disappoint! Wall to wall cloudless sky and at the altitude of around 5000 ft. above sea level a crisp clear view. Second contact produced a beautiful diamond ring with Baily's Beads and prominences nicely visible. Canon 700D with 400 mm Canon L lens externally stopped to f 7.1 (see this description) unfiltered at 1/2000 second. Full size. We were accompanied by Pete Lawrence, Dr. Paul Abel, and the impressionist Jon Culshaw who introduced excellent presentations by the other two and was extremely entertaining!
For totality I used a range of exposures from 1/400 to 2 seconds, and combined them in Photoshop to produce this image - a pretty close representation of what was visible through small binoculars. WARNING - it is safe to use unfiltered binoculars, but only during full totality. Even the diamond ring can cause serious eye damage when viewed through optical aids such as binoculars or a telescope. Larger image - approximately half size. There are several stars visible - star identification in this larger image. This image was Picture of the Month in the October 2017 issue and also appeared in the January 2024 issue of Astronomy Now
Here is fourth contact diamond ring, again clearly showing Baily's Beads and prominences. Full size.
There were several small sunspots visible. Taken with a Solar filter of course (Baader film). Larger image
The sky was beautifully clear for the whole eclipse, so here is an animated GIF of the entire sequence. Click on the thumbnail for a medium size GIF (755KB) or here for a larger one (4.48MB)
Earthshine, often seen when the Moon is recently new, is caused by light from an illuminated Earth lighting the dark part of the Moon as viewed from Earth - the equivalent of Moonlight. It was just visible in my 2 second exposure, so I have patched it into the composite here. Larger size. It is very unusual for a particular location to benefit from totality within a few years. But in April 2024 Carbondale Illinois is even closer to the centreline than on this occasion, and will experience over 4 minutes of totality - lucky them! I may go to that one, but will be approaching 81 years of age - maybe too decrepit or even gone by then! Time will tell....

During week commencing 24th June 2018 I was fortunate in being on holiday during all the lovely clear Summer weather. Staying at the Tewkesbury (Gloucestershire) Caravan and Motorhome Club site, from where there was a good view of Tewkesbury Abbey tower, and each night Venus was seen passing above the tower. So I decided to try and photograph it. The night of 26th June was suitable, so I attempted to capture a photograph when Venus was above the weathervane, and indeed succeeded. No tripod, so I positioned the camera on a wooden railing - I had to chock the front up with a stack of coins to get the required framing, and use the 10 second timer to avoid camera shake! Time 2137 UT.

But then I realised that if I changed position and waited a couple of minutes, Venus would appear lower and closer to the Tower. And more by luck than judgement I got Venus peeking through the tail of the cockerel on the weathervane. Time 2140 UT. Larger size. For both images, Camera Panasonic TZ70. Exposures 0.625 seconds at ISO 400 and f5.6, zoomed to equivalent 35 mm focal length of 172 mm

The Perseid meteor shower of 2018 was forecast to peak on the evening of 12th. August. But the forecast for that night was so dire I decided to try and capture some on the night of the 10th which was beautifully clear. So set up my Canon 700D on my Star Adventurer and let it run 30 second images for a couple of hours, using a switch in the bulb control socket and set for multiple exposures. ISO 1600, 17 mm Tamron lens at f3.2. Patched in the individual trails to a composite of 8 subs. The final result is a bit disappointing but better than nothing - I didn't eyeball any meteors at all.

After a run of very poor nights both at home and at Kelling Heath, the night of 14th September 2018 gave me a few hours of good clear sky in the early hours. So as I knew Comet Giacobini-Zinner was approaching Messier 35, I decided to have a go. It was actually going to pass right across M35, but in mid morning - I wonder if anyone elsewhere in the world captured the passage. I started imaging around 1:30 am local time, but the target was very low at only 18 degrees altitude. Also in the East which is my worst light pollution area, looking towards Newcastle upon Tyne. So I waited, and eventually was satisfied with 10 frames around 4 am when the comet was at 40 degrees altitude, at which point the clouds arrived. So here is the result. Canon 700D on TS65 quad. 10 frames at 3 minutes and ISO1600. Processed using a combination of Deep Sky Stacker, MaximDL and Photoshop. The small very old cluster to the lower right of M35 is of course NGC 2158, with IC 2157 further to the right. Larger size. This image appeared in the December 2019 Astronomy Now Deep Sky section.

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