Warning: DO NOT view the Sun without suitable visual protection!

Information from NASA about the eclipse here and a link to an animation here

I’ll be watching the solar eclipse using the safest method; using my home made pin hole eclipse viewer built following the guide from Visual Astronomy;

Until the next post, Clear Skies…

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Once I’ve got the concrete delivery arranged and then laid that’ll be the base finished.

Until the next post, Clear Skies…

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Here is a picture of the base with the shuttering and hardcore;

And here is a picture of the shuttering for the block on top.

I’m fairly fortunate in one respect that I didn’t have far to dig to get to solid ground.

Just waiting for the steel rods, nuts, and bolts to arrive and then I can finish off the base preparation ready for the concrete.

Next steps;

1)      Build shed, modify roll-off-roof, and preserve (hopefully before the winter sets in)

2)      Build and Mount pillar including mount for scope

3)      Mount scope

4)      Enjoy first night’s observing

I visited a friend’s home observatory a couple of weeks ago and got lots of ideas for developing my home observatory.

Until the next post, Clear Skies…

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Common guidance in ‘introduction to astronomy’ books suggest you to sketch what you see.  I’ve often dismissed this advice with the thinking ‘why draw an inaccurate sketch when you can get a more accurate image with a digital camera’.  A couple of weeks ago I found out why.

After two very frustrated hours trying to get an image of M42 (Orion Nebular) I decided to give sketching a go.  So, I got out my pad and pen and drew what I could see through the eyepiece.  Now, I’m no artist but I did manage to draw part of the Orion Nebular; the Trapezium with the surrounding nebulosity.

That’s the first time I’ve ever sketched what I’ve seen through the eyepiece and what really struck me was that you have to pay a lot more attention to what you are viewing in order to make a decent sketch.  When simply viewing through an eyepiece it is easy to miss lots of detail.  When you simply look at anything it’s amazing how much the brain takes for granted; try looking at any scene and then turn away from it and draw what you’ve seen without looking back at it; not easy.  Sketching really makes you pay attention to the detail of the object in view.

I looked around for other astro sketchers and amongst them I found this site http://www.deirdrekelleghan.com/.

One obvious mistake I made was using white paper and black pen when really I need to use black paper (to represent the background – or should that be black with a hint of orange?) and white pen/pencil.

I’m going to improve my sketching skills before I post any pictures of my work.

Why not give astro sketching a go.  Do you already astro-sketch?  If so leave a comment with a link to your work, website, or blog.

Until the next post… Clear Skies!  – and keep asking WHY?

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At first I thought it must have just slipped through my net but from listening/reading other people I find they were in the same situation.

In my last post I said I’d be interested to know if Earth Hour would make any difference to our levels of light pollution; I was near the East coast of England (near Skegness but far enough away from the town to see the effects of light pollution) on Saturday night and I didn’t notice any difference at all

So, to reduce the risk of missing Earth Hour next year I’ve signed up for notifications by email and I’m following them on twitter @earthhour too.

Until the next post… Clear Skies!  – and keep asking WHY?

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On the back of it’s success in 2007 and 2008, Earth Hour 2009 aims to get 1 billion people switching off their lights with lots of famous landmarks joining in.  All you have to do is switch off your lights at 8.30pm and leave them off until 9.30pm, and during that hour why not go outside and take a look at the night sky!

I should add that as ever safety comes first, e.g. leave your vehicle lights on if you’re travelling …

Now, I’m not going to state where the blame lies for global warming (man made or natural), nor am I going to state whether the earth really is warming up or how fast it’s happening; Why? (I hope you ask Why? a lot:-)) Because I really don’t know enough about the topic (nor does the average man in the street for that matter) to make an authoritative statement; I’ve simply not done enough research of my own, pawing over enough evidence to make my own mind up.

That said, I do believe that wasting energy is wrong, whether it be renewable or non-renewable, whether or not it has a lasting effect on the environment or our way of life.

Wasted light, especially that which hits the sky (Light Pollution), is also a big annoyance for Astronomers, and it’s for that reason that I took note when I first heard of Earth Hour whilst listening to my local radio station.  The one good thing about Light Pollution (for Astronomers that is) is that as soon as you kill the source you kill the effect; ok, you might have to wait 30 mins to recover from any affect on your light adaptation.  Mustn’t forget about the lasting effects light pollution has on the environment though.  Go to the Campaign for Dark Skies CfDS website for more information.

Ordinarily I wouldn’t be switching my lights off on Saturday night, because they’d already be off; undecided whether I should turn them on for 5 mins just before 8.30pm to add to the big dip in demand; counter productive I know.

I’ll be outside hopefully with no cloud blocking my view of the heavens; it’ll be interesting to see if Earth Hour makes our skies darker; tell me your findings by leaving a comment.

You can find out more about Earth Hour from the Earth Hour website

Until the next post… Clear Skies!  – and keep asking WHY?

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I’ve often wondered if Stellarium could be configured to help track comets but never looked into it; now I know how   Just need the clouds to part and then we’ll see if it really works.  Failing that, here’s an animated gif tweeted by @astrophoto.

Until the next post… Clear Skies!

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I have been asked a few times recently by friends why this is so.  The answer lies in the fact that the Earth orbits our star tilted on it’s North-South axis by 23.5 degrees (the 23.5 isn’t that important here only that it is significant enough to make a difference).  When the Earth is at it’s closest point to the Sun, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun and the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun.  This means that the Northern Hemisphere inhabitants (me included) experience shorter time spans of exposure to the sun (i.e. shorter days) and being further way from the Sun; all leading to a general reduction in temperature.  The Southern Hemisphere inhabitants are having their summer; lucky so and so’s.

On the 4th July, other than Independence Day (for our US friends), we can celebrate Aphelion where the tables change; Northern Hemisphere people get to sunbath and the Southern Hemisphere people have to rap up warm.

I should add that the main reason for the season change is axel tilt as opposed to the distance from the sun.

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2009 promises to be a great year for astronomy.  I have a number of astronomy projects lined up, some to start and some to complete; AstroImaging, Astronomy GCSE, Home Observatory, Astronomy Guides, Shows, Tutorials, and (hopefully) more… but maybe not in that order. 

Until the next post… Clear Skies!

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Unfortunately I didn’t get to take any images but here’s one from Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD).

Do you have any links to images of the Moon’s occultation of Venus?  If so please leave a comment; good quality images will be linked from the body of this post.

Until the next post… Clear Skies!

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