2014-2018

Comet 46P Wirtanen passed close to the Earth during December 2018, at its closest on 16th at which time it was also near Messier 45, The Pleiades. On that day and either side of the day it would have made a splendid wide field photograph - the comet was very bright - almost naked eye. Alas the weather did not cooperate, cloudy all three nights.The next really interesting encounter was the night of 16th January 2019, when it was due to pass almost directly over the interesting polar ring galaxy Arp 336 (NGC2685\) in Ursa Major. I kept my fingers crossed for a clear sky in the small hours (Moonset was not until 4 am on 17th) and for once the sky gods smiled on me and after a snowy cold front passed through it was beautifully clear for a couple of hours. By that time the comet core was approximately 10 arc-minutes from the centre of the galaxy. I used my Canon 700D on my 10" RC scope (2000mm fl) to try for some galaxy detail with a succession of 5 minute subs - any longer would show too much movement of the comet at that focal length. And this was the result. The galaxy really needed much longer exposures, but the polar ring is just visible. Larger image
I already had an image of the galaxy from 2008 and there was enough detail and nearby stars to position it exactly in the main image. 16 x 5 minute subs, darks, flats and bias frames also used. Guided with my Lodestar on a Celestron off-axis guider. The two distant edge on galaxies in the lower part of the image are (reading down) PGC 25034 (mag 17.1) and PGC 25046 (mag 16.7) Larger image
This is an animation of 16 frames. There is a slight jump, a couple of the originals were unusable. Larger version here (2.68MB). As you can see by tracing the path back, the coma would have passed over the galaxy. A pity there was a bright Moon - if it had been New, with full darkness at 6.30 pm on 16th instead of 4 am on 17th, the comet would have been at its closest to the galaxy at the start of the imaging run and I would have many more exposures and a much longer animation.

The total Lunar Eclipse of January 21st 2019 was to be the last fully visible from the UK until 2029, so fingers were firmly crossed! Although the weather in general was very poor during December 2018 and January 2019, I was fortunate with sky conditions, and managed to image the eclipse right through to the exit from the Umbra. Unfortunately although the sky was decently clear for totality it hazed over as time progressed. Nevertheless I was able to capture a good selection of images. So here is a composite of before and after with the images in correct configuration and spacing to show the shape of the Umbra. This image appeared in the Astronomy Now magazine Gallery for March 2019 Larger image Canon 700 D on Meade 127 refractor (950 mm fl), all at ISO100 The exposure hour times and settings were: Before 0403 1/200th second Totality 0511 10 seconds After 0625 1/50th second (haze necessitated a longer exposure)

And here is a single image of Totality. This eclipse was not as bright as the previous one in 2015, and with thin haze not as stunning visually, but still a wonderful sight - a perfect demonstration of celestial mechanics in action! Larger image

On the evening of 15th December 2019 comet C/2017 T2 PANSTARRS was due to pass close to the bright Open Cluster NGC 1528 in Perseus. Unfortunately that evening was clouded out during the short 'window' of darkness before a bright (85%) Moon rose. Fortunately the following evening was clear, the comet was still in the vicinity of the cluster although of course not as close, and I was able to capture several images before the Moon again rose later. So this is the result of 12 x 5 minute images using the modified Canon 700D with TSFLAT2 on the Meade 127 refractor. I'd never imaged NGC 1528 before and think it deserves closer attention - at magnitude 6.4 it's certainly a binocular object. I'm surprised that Messier didn't include it in his catalogue. Larger Image

On the night of 14th May 2020, comet C/2017 T2 PANSTARRS was due to pass very close to NGC 2633 (Arp 80) in Camelopardalis. NGCs 2634 and 2643a also very close. But all these galaxies are faint, around magnitudes 12 to 13 so would need reasonable length exposures. The weather forecast was for clouds, and for once it was correct and it did cloud over. But not before I managed to get on target and snatch 5 subs! 5 minute subs with the Canon 700D on the Meade 127 refractor, at ISO3200 to try to catch the faint galaxies. I knew they would be a bit noisy at that ISO, but had it stayed clear I would have gone for at least 12 subs, probably more. But this will have to do. Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker using the comet and stars setting, finished in Photoshop. At least I managed to capture those faint galaxies as well. 'Mouseover' the medium size image for identifications. Larger size.

On its travels, comet C/2017 T2 PANSTARRS passed close by Messiers 81 and 82 towards the end of May 2020. The few days when it was close were badly affected by a deep low pressure system, so I had to make the most of any chance. The night of 22nd May was marginal for framing, but cleared shortly after midnight and I was able to capture several images before the clouds returned. so this is the result. Canon 700D with Celestron off-axis guider and TSFLAT2 (the back focus worked out beautifully!) on TMB105 refractor. 10 x 5 minute subs at ISO1600. I could of course have framed the comet lower down in the image, but that would then have missed out the little galaxy NGC 3077, poor thing. North is up. Larger image

After my effort above, I hoped to have a second crack at comet C/2017 T2 PANSTARRS in the vicinity of Messiers 81 and 82, with it better placed for the composition of the image. A number of weather forecast sites promsed clear skies on 24th May, and indeed in the early evening things were clearing up nicely. With Astronomical twilight being the best on offer I decided to image between 12.30 and 1.30 to get the darkest sky available. But when I went out around 11.30 to make a leisurely start - disaster! Solid cloud cover. It wasn't until almost 1 am on 25th (midnight UT) that things cleared enough for me to start aligning etc., so 1.15 before I started imaging in earnest, and by 2 am the sky had lightened so much that the background was excessive. So in the end I only had 7 subs to play with, the later ones with a rather light background and the combined image had a very noisy background and generally poor contrast. Much processing later and this is the result, but not what I'd hoped for. Canon 700D with TSFLAT2 on TMB105 refractor (650 mm focal length). 7 subs x 5 minutes at ISO1600. Larger image

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE graced the Northern Skies during the Summer of 2020 and for many days was a faint naked eye object, beautiful in binoculars. Unfortunately during twilight hours at my latitude, and low in the sky, almost due North. But the brightest and best comet for many years, just visible naked eye even with my old eyes, so I couldn't miss opportunities to photograph it, particularly as I wasn't doing any main imaging at the time. These were on the night of 13th July. Plagued by cloud at the darkest time (1 am Summer Time), so the ion tail to the upper left was lost in the background. Increasing the blue level just shows it, but the overall colour is wrong. I hope to try again of course. Canon 700D with 200 mm telephoto lens at f5, several 15 second sub frames combined in Deep Sky Stacker. Larger main image
For a number of days the midnight sky was disappointing, either cloudy or hazy. But the night of 19th cleared nicely with this result now showing a hint of the ion tail. I couldn't expect any better from my location - not only astronomical twilight, but low in the Northern sky - the brightest part at this time of the year. Again Canon 700D with 200 mm telephoto lens at f5, ten 30 second sub frames combined in Deep Sky Stacker. Note the 9th magnitude galaxy NGC 2841, indicated in the medium sized image (click on the thumbnail). A 2010 image of this beautiful spiral galaxy is here. Larger Size
A few more cloudy nights, then 24th was nicely clear, although as before background twilit sky, but with the comet fading as it moved away from the Sun, no longer visible to the naked eye (mine anyway!) So this was the final attempt. 8 frames at 30 seconds, camera as above. Larger Size

Comet C/2021 A1 LEONARD brightened nicely towards the end of November 2021, and was due to pass near the interesting galaxies NGC 4631, the 'Whale' and NGC 4656, the 'Hockey Stick' on the night of 24th. Rising late and not at a decent height until after 2 am, but the forecast was for clear sky, so I set up my Canon 700D camera on my Meade 127 refractor with TS FLAT2 field flattener. The sky did clear beautifully, but unfortunately there was a bright 73% mag -11 waning gibbous Moon. But while waiting for the comet to reach a reasonable height, I decided to have a look at the wonderful bright Orion Nebula Messier 42. With this result, rather 'noisy' because of the moonlight, but worth keeping, it is a combination of different exposures to bring out the bright trapezium area. 5 ISO 800 subs at 2 minutes, 9 at 30 seconds and 5 at 10 seconds. Just a bit of fun really - there is a far superior image from 2010 here. Larger image

Then on to comet LEONARD. Again because of the bright moonlight (the Moon was a little over 50 degrees from both targets) difficult to reduce noise, particularly for the fainter target. In this case 9 x 5 minute ISO 1600 subs. As for M42 processed with Darks and Flats in Deep Sky Stacker, but using the clever system to align on both the comet and stars. It doesn't always work, but this time was successful. There is a good image of the galaxies from 2009 here. Larger image. For this and M42 because of the 'noise', not full size - no point!

Mercury passed near and South of M45 at the end of April 2022. Generally cloudy weather in NE England at that time, but the evening of 29th April was clear although with a lot of moisture in the air, and as luck would have it, Mercury was at its closest to M45. I had a clear view of a low Western horizon, and was able to capture the attached. Canon 700D with Canon 400L lens (400mm fl) at f 6.3. Stack of 15 x 4 second subs at ISO 800. North is up, so the horizon is tilted by 30 degrees. As you can see when it was dark enough (22:19 BST) to show the brighter stars of the Pleiades, Mercury (4 degrees altitude) was fast sinking into horizon murk! Sod's law kicked in on 2nd May, so the even more interesting view that evening of both objects with a thin crescent Moon in a straight line parallel to the horizon was clouded out. Larger image

Comet C 2022 E3 ZTF is a very long period comet, with an approximately 50,000 year period. So last seen a very long time ago! Nicely placed high in the sky, except that in mid January although a nice clear night it was hanging in the East where I have light pollution from the Tyne Valley. 9 x 2 minute subs at ISO 3200, darks and flats with modded Canon 700D on TS65 quad on early 17th January . Processed in Deep Sky Stacker and Photoshop. Clearly the light pollution created a lot of noise when stretched. More subs might help a bit. And I didn't get the angle right to capture more of the tail even though it is very faint. Must do better! In 10 days or so it will culminate due North at 66 deg altitude for me around 4 am, and is forecast to be brighter. So another late night if the weather gods are kind. Larger image.

At last, an Aurora! With the Sun now more active, aurora are likely, but unfortunately I missed a superb one in early November2023 due to my tendon damage which at that time had me firmly in crutches with only one useable leg. But a recent solar image prompted me to keep an eye on activity and I was rewarded by a showing around 6.30 pm on 25th November. Unfortunately there was a fair bit of cloud around and also bright moonlight which diminished the effect which was barely visible to the naked eye. But good to finally get one! Times were 6:25 pm for the upper image and 6:32 pm for the lower. Canon 700d at 17 mm focal length, f2.8, ISO1600, each single 2second exposures. Larger images 6:25, 6:32